ditch agent

deeparker

MY house has been on the market for 18 months with an agent. I would like to ditch my agent and sell my house myself. However the agent has just found someone who is interested in buying the property but does not want to put an offer in for another couple of months (she is waiting for a compensation payout). Can i take my house off the market and deal with this person personally when she is in a position to put an offer in on my property or will the agent still want paying???

Vincenzo

You need to check your contract but mostly likely the agent will be due a fee since the purchaser was introduced within the period of agency. This does not sound like a problem to me though....you will only pay if you accept their offer and you will only accept their offer if you are happy with it and do not have any better offers......

Gwhiz

The agent didn't "find" this new buyer AFTER you had mentioned terminating the contract by any chance?

Cynical, moi?

evoke

You'll only be in deep doo-doo if your cr*p EA actually finds out. I'd risk it.

deeparker

Haha no Gwhiz the agent found the buyer before we mentioned ditching her. I just thought if I stay in touch with the buyer for the next couple of months while she is sorting out her money and I ditch my agent now how would my agent find out I'd sold it 2 or 3 months down the line ???

sonastin

In my experience, agents work harder chasing down money that they think they are owed than they do doing the job their supposed to do in the first place!

They can claim the money from you up to 6 years from the time that you sell the house. I would suggest that if you're going down the ditch-'em-and-hope route, you make sure that their fee is available and sitting in a high interest account for the next 6 years in case they do come after it.

How long are you prepared to wait for this buyer? If you ditch this EA, will you go to another or stay off the market until the buyer sorts her finances? What if she never gets them sorted? If you're house isn't being marketed, you're not going to find another buyer while she's messing around. And with prices dropping as they are, you could end up having to lower your price more than the EAs fees just to keep up (or down!) with the market. And if you go with another EA in the meantime, you need to check your new contract carefully to make sure they don't become entitled to a fee as well. Just a few other things to bear in mind...

deeparker

If we take the house off the market and this sale falls through we are going to stay put for the time being. The buyer is waiting for a compensation payout which her solicitor has assured her will be within the next couple of months. How would the EA fnd out that the house had been sold ???

sonastin

Loads of websites list recent sold prices from data available from the land registry. EAs use these for valuation purposes. An eagle-eyed office junior spots your property as one that is recently sold. £4 to the land registry and they know that the person who bought it is someone who viewed through them. And they start tracking you down to serve you with a bill for their fees...

DVardysShadow

The way to do this is to ditch the agent in writing and ask for a complete list of all introductions on which they would expect commission if there is a sale - to be provided within a reasonable time - eg 14 days.

If this potential buyer comes good, they should get their fee. Meanwhile, if you engage a new agent, you should advise him of the list.

Running_Horse

You've waited 18 months. What's 2 months more?

If the EA introduced the buyer, why would you not want to honour your contract?

They will find out.

Gwhiz

Have to say that if this person does buy then the EA deserves their commission.

You employed them to find a buyer, they may well have done so!