Can any legal experts offer me any advice re EA contract....?

GDB2222

cheekychappy wrote: »

tell the EA to whistle. Or maybe threaten to sue for harassment.

Why? So that all concerned can have a stressful time. How many court cases have you conducted?

must-resist-ebay

I don't want to sound negative but I don't agree that the estate agents haven't got a case due to the time elapsed since termination, from the extract of the contract you posted there seem to be two pertinent parts;

The Seller will be liable to pay fees to the agent, in addition to any other costs and charges agreed, if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged:-
·With a purchaser introduced by the agent during the period of the agents sole agency, or with whom the agent had negotiations about the property during that period or
·With a purchaser introduced by another agent during that period.

I read this part as saying that fees are payable if you sell to anyone that has been introduced while the contract was in force.

In the event of a sale taking place within 6 months of the termination of the agency to a party introduced during the period of the agency the full fee is payable.

This clause merely states that within 6 months of termination the full fee is payable, as nothing is specified for the amount of fee payable after 6 months this must be open to negotiation.

There is perhaps some argument over the precise meaning of the term purchaser, one could base a defence on Foxton's vs Bicknell where there was no intention to purchase on initial introduction however in this case it seems that an offer was made by the eventual purchaser during the period of the contract so arguably he was prepared to purchase, it was just that the negotiations took some time.

I would follow GDB2222's suggestion of initiating a complaint with a very low offer to settle (I would probably start at 5% initially) but be prepared to negotiate.

moneybunny123

Interesting...

Just had a conversation with a guy who is a EA branch owner, told him the story you all know on here. He simply said "pay them nothing, some EAs give us all a bad name - they are bluffing you". He said it would be thrown out of court if it ever got near a court and they had a nerve!

FireWyrm

moneybunny123 wrote: »

Interesting...

Just had a conversation with a guy who is a EA branch owner, told him the story you all know on here. He simply said "pay them nothing, some EAs give us all a bad name - they are bluffing you". He said it would be thrown out of court if it ever got near a court and they had a nerve!

I have the greatest respect for GDB2222 since he is obviously very knowledgeable in this area, but I have to disagree with him about negotiating any settlement.

I *think* you are home and dry. Most on this board think so too and here's another opinion backing that thought up. It's entirely up to you, but if it were me, I dont think they would get very far in court and you are in the better position.

moneybunny123

Cheers Fire

WebGuru

I am suggesting we now vote to assist the OP with making a decision.

1. Pay in full
2. Pay 50%
3. Pay 25%
4. Ask for complaints procedure.
5. Pay nothing, tell them to shove it.

I vote for #5

marcowil

Definitely #5

GDB2222

FireWyrm wrote: »

I have the greatest respect for GDB2222 since he is obviously very knowledgeable in this area, but I have to disagree with him about negotiating any settlement.

I *think* you are home and dry. Most on this board think so too and here's another opinion backing that thought up. It's entirely up to you, but if it were me, I dont think they would get very far in court and you are in the better position.

First of all: thanks for the compliment Fire.

Second, I agree that the EAs have an uphill struggle in court. OTOH I was involved in a case where the judge at a preliminary hearing said we had a mountain to climb. Yet, we won. It's hard to predict, really.

Third, paying something to make the stress go away seems a pretty good idea. Of course, you may just be encouraging the EAs by making an offer, but they have started off by offering to take 50%, so a low offer in return seems a reasonable approach.

Thinking about it, I'm a bit cautious because I have not seen the whole contract. Really, the OP ought to get legal advice, but that's going to cost money, so offering that sort of amount to the EA seems to work well for all concerned.

moneybunny123

No reply GDB so far...

sonastin

I'd vote for #5 until you hear something from the courts. Then negotiate the best deal you can. Chance at that point but I put a pretty strong probability on never getting there. If it was my money I'd gamble nothing now on a high probability against a higher payment later with low probability.