Estate Agent T&C's "Ready, Willing and Able" Help

lordgaz

Hi there -

I have a meeting with an estate agent tonight to consider signing his terms of business and instructing him.

There are 2 clauses in the terms and conditions I am unhappy with

1 - If the agent provides a ready, willing, and able purchaser, and I agree the sale, but then pull out (for whatever reason) then I still must pay the fee of the agent - even though the sale has not exchanged contracts

2 - the agent wishes to have Sole Selling Rights, rather than Sole Agency - meaning even if I find a seller myself, then I still have to pay the fee to the agent.


Exact wording

" WITHDRAWAL AFTER A SALE HAS BEEN AGREED In the event of terms being agreed and a Sale Memorandum being issued for sale of the Property in accordance with the Client’s instructions and the Client subsequently terminating these instructions for any reason whatsoever and contracts are not exchanged, the Client will be liable to pay to xxxxxxxxx the Sale Commission Fee and any outstanding marketing expenses incurred or committed if a ready, willing and able purchaser has been introduced by us. A purchaser is “ready, willing and able” if they are prepared and able to exchange unconditional contracts for the purchase of the Property at the agreed price.


Are these very common terms and conditions, or a little punative and to be avoided?

sonastin

1) is very common. Perhaps a little harsh but as long as you don't go accepting an offer unless you are sure you're happy with it, you probably won't be caught out by that one.

2) is the agent trying it on. Tell them sole agency or no deal.

madmish00

We had two agents value our property and provide their T&C's

One included 'sole selling' rights and when they rang to find out whether I would be marketing with them I queried this and they said 'it's a standard term' as 'it is difficult to prove if we found our own buyer that they hadn't found the property because of their marketing (i.e seen for sale board and come to knock on the door rather than ring agent). I told them I wouldn't be requiring their services and went with the other which offered 'sole agency'

As for the ready, willing and able purchaser I think it is a somewhat fairer term as they have done the work to get you a buyer.

However I would question the terms 'prepared and able to exchange'. I would take this to mean that any buyer proceeding on mortgage must have a firm mortgage offer in place before they are at the stage of being 'able' to exchange.

steve1980

1: No agent can provide a ready, willing and able purchaser unless:

They have been approached by a purchaser who has requested to buy your home, or;

Is a cash buyer who requires no mortgage, searches or anything else and can exchange within 24 hours.

2: Tell the agent that it's either sole agency (if they are that confident in selling should only need a minimum term period such as 1 week) or you'll instruct another agent to act on your behalf. Remember YOU'RE the client, the agent does what YOU tell them to do.

shar46y

When I was researching online for information about estate agents contracts, I'm sure I came across lots of advice not to agree to the "ready, willing and able" term. I am very sure that the agent we signed with did not have this term. They did have the sole seller term but we discussed it with them and they agreed to cross it out.

In the event, they found us a buyer within 24 hours so really can't complain about their service!:D

lordgaz

Yeah, I am not happy with sole selling rights - If I went on holiday (for example) and chatted to someone who wanted to buy our house, and they subsequently bought it privately during the contract period of ther agent, I would still pay the agent a fee.

For the ready, willing and able - What if god forbid a family member dies and we needed to pull out - still have to pay a fee.

One would need to string the sale along until the buyer lost interest and walked away...

another situation - I agree a sale, but want to keep the property marketed and showing to people - and I get a better offer - What then?

Jowo_2

lordgaz wrote: »

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For the ready, willing and able - What if god forbid a family member dies and we needed to pull out - still have to pay a fee.

If the estate agent found you a buyer, you accepted their offer and then withdrew, you pay up.

The clauses don't give any exemptions.

The estate agent has spent time, money and effort in delivering a buyer and therefore, as far as I'm concerned, this is a fair clause and is ideal for deterring timewasters who put their property on the market but don't actually really have the appetite to follow through with it, inconveniencing all parties involved, other than themselves.

hcb42

I'd get it crossed out, anything could happen in practice.