APT Fee of £250 to stop showing a bought house?

misssarahleigh

Viewed a house and made an offer which was accepted.

Estate agents are telling me I have to pay £250 to remove the house from the market (especially as they have it booked to view on Friday).

Call me stupid, but should they be showing a house that has an accepted offer?

They said it's refundable on completion, but I'm uncertain as to whether that means I won't get it back if for instance the seller backs out or the survey comes back bad.

Anyone heard of this as I did a google and asked a few friends and they haven't.

LE3

not every estate agent does this but it's not uncommon - they see it as a way to show the vendors that you are serious & not wasting their time putting offers in & then withdrawing at a later date, thus missing out on an offer from somebody serious!

You should clarify with the estate agents about conditions - if the seller backs out you should definitely get it refunded. If you back out, you may not ... I would personally not pay it till after I'd had the survey, but then my offers have always been "subject to survey" and I've arranged these very soon after my offer. One of the best £300 I ever spent was on the survey of a property I didn't go on to buy!

eddddy

Hi misssarahleigh

Definitely ask for the terms of the deposit contact in writing before agreeing to pay. And then consider possible/likely eventualities, and see whether the contract says you would get your money back. e.g.

You a refused a mortgage for the property
You don't like the results of the survey
You don't like the results of searches
You lose your job
You change your mind
The seller backs out

Personally, I've never come across a request for this kind of deposit. I would be tempted to ask that the seller pay a similar deposit, in case they change their mind etc - to cover part of my potential lost expenses.

Prothet_of_Doom

eddddy wrote: »

Hi misssarahleigh

Definitely ask for the terms of the deposit contact in writing before agreeing to pay. And then consider possible/likely eventualities, and see whether the contract says you would get your money back. e.g.

You a refused a mortgage for the property
You don't like the results of the survey
You don't like the results of searches
You lose your job
You change your mind
The seller backs out

Personally, I've never come across a request for this kind of deposit. I would be tempted to ask that the seller pay a similar deposit, in case they change their mind etc - to cover part of my potential lost expenses.

Back in 1988 when i was gazumpted 3 times in 6 weeks, I would have been happy to pay £1000 provided the Seller paid me the same if he pulled out.
As long as the T&C's allowed the results of survey and searches to be an acceptable get out.

These days I'd tell them to stuff it. £250 is not going to stop them taking a higher offer, and doesn't really take it off the market, unless they can guarantee that all internet adverts are deleted, all printed details are shredded and that no formal offers for any other person will be forwarded to the vender it's not worth a flying cow pat. :rotfl:How are you going to police that?

misssarahleigh

It's been confirmed in writing that the Estate Agents take the fee, and the only way the money is kept is If I pulled out of the sale.

They said that it will then be taken off the market, people cannot view the property or make an offer.

Sees odd but I'll have to cough up lol

roger196

How can the EA bind the seller?
What happens if the ea goes bust.
Who decides whether you get your "deposit" back and on what terms. Do you really want the hassle of going to the small claims court.

kingstreet

Interesting.

If the EA offers financial services, I wonder if they've declared they handle client money to the FCA?

iB1

So if you get a survey, find subsidence or find that the seller has a neighbour who is the local chav and you decide to pull out, the EA pockets £250? Nice earner for doing nothing. I'd tell them to shove it. After all, what guarantees do you have that they won't still show the house around to someone?

StuC75

Ask the seller to put up some multiple of it to guarantee that they wouldn't accept a higher offer either..

How is such money held if the EA went bust.. It does also limit your ability to renegotiate if the Survey was to bring up any issues.. I.e. you would be down that if decided to pull out..

I do remember a cheap\ lower-end estate agent in leeds that tried a £99 equivalent charge back in 2004..

AndyGuil

I paid £1000 to take mine off the market and block further bids. It was a deposit rather than a fee for me.

hazyjo

I would put together a long list of all the above questions (and more if you can think of any!) and say yes, of course, I'm happy to pay - on answer to all of the above. No problem.

Bet your life they'll not bother replying. I would also let the vendor know, and I would also get a friend to enquire/try to view to make sure they're no longer permitting viewings.

If you speak with the vendor direct, you'll find out if it's their decision or the EAs. Chances are they've lost a previous buyer and the EA has suggested this to them.

Jx