Estate agent selling fees

nikwax1

I wonder if anyone has a better knowledge of this than me?!

My house was up for sale with a reputable estate agency for quite a while but I withdrew it about twelve months ago - I had more than fulfilled the contracted time with the said estate agency.

A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, the estate agents called me and said that a family would like to view my property if I was still considering to sell. I agreed and the viewing couple love the house and immediately said that they wanted to pay the full asking price! A dream scenario I guess!

The estate agents now want me to pay the full selling fee which in my case is £3600 + VAT. I have not signed any contracts with them nor have they done any admin or marketing of my property - all they have literally done is picked up the phone on the off chance. They didn't even do the viewing, I did. I am totally in agreement that I should pay them some kind of referral fee as they introduced the buyers but I am not loving the thought of paying them £3600 + VAT for essentially making one phone call.

Does anyone know where I legally stand with this scenario?

Thank you

ethank

I don't know that we can give you legal advice as not seen your original contract.

Read your contract - whilst you may be out of the minimum notice and no longer tied into them, they will have a catch all sentence which covers them for any buyer to refer to you.

You are not just paying the fee for the one phone call your EA made, you are paying for all of the service such as progression calls, and the work they will do to keep the sale moving. Most of the work for an EA will begin after the sale is agreed!

Was the fee £3600 before?

I have to give you a reality check...... You should consider yourself very lucky. The EA has obviously gone through his books found your property and passed this onto a buyer. To sell your property which you struggled to sell a year ago, your agent has done more than make a phone call. If I struggled to sell a year ago, and sold out of the blue and off the market - I would be paying the fee and giving the agent a bottle of champagne on top for his efforts!

nikwax1

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, the old fee was £3600 + VAT but they have since agreed to reduce the fee to £2600 + VAT because I was outside of the signed contract (which makes me wonder if there is in fact a set referral percentage or something).

A much better agreement I think and very happy to have sold my house! I have no idea where the old contract is so that I could refer to it but I am happy with the new agreed terms.

[Deleted User]

Could it be that although you couldn't sell a year ago, the market has now changed and that the full asking price of 12 months ago now seems like a bit of a bargain to the buyers? If so, you could try marketing it again from scratch.


Apart from that, totally agree with ethank - the EA has been proactive, remembered your property, done his homework and if you really want to sell and are happy with the price, be happy to pay him his fee. re the 'legalities' - no idea I'm afraid ...

G_M

nikwax1 wrote: »

.....
My house was up for sale with a reputable estate agency for quite a while but I withdrew it about twelve months ago - I had more than fulfilled the contracted time with the said estate agency.

It is very unusual for EAs contracts to be for a fixed 'contracted time'. Are you sure?

Usually there is a minimum period (often 12, 16, 20 weeks) but the contract cotinues after that until you give written notice. Is this perhaps the case here? and if so, did you give written notice?

If you did give written notice, I am surprised the EA would introduce a new buyer without agreeing a new contract.

On a moral note, the EA did all the work a year ago, preparing house details, advertising, marketing, contacting potential buyers. He then, eventually, found a buyer. Has he not earned his fee?

ConfusedofYorkshire

i think particularly as they have agreed to reduce the fee it is fair enough.
It may have just been a random phone call, or they may have actively tried going through their books and getting you a seller.
my only word of caution would be to make sure that the market hasn't exploded in your area to be sure that they aren't getting a complete bargain and that you aren't under selling.

mrginge

If the first one through the door is offering asking price, I'd be tempted to tell this EA it's £500 or no deal.
If they don't agree then go back on the market with another agent. Then let this EA explain to the buyer why they can't buy the house.

davidmcn

G_M wrote: »

It is very unusual for EAs contracts to be for a fixed 'contracted time'. Are you sure?

Usually there is a minimum period (often 12, 16, 20 weeks) but the contract cotinues after that until you give written notice. Is this perhaps the case here? and if so, did you give written notice?

If you did give written notice, I am surprised the EA would introduce a new buyer without agreeing a new contract.

Yes, I'm also sceptical about the EA's contract genuinely not covering this. Also about them apparently chopping £1000 off their fee between 3:29pm and 4:10pm on a bank holiday Monday, but maybe they are feeling generous for the sake of quick cashflow.

But if it is actually not covered by the original contract, I can't see a legal reason for the EA being entitled to anything.

cattie

davidmcn wrote: »

I can't see a legal reason for the EA being entitled to anything.

But surely if they introduced the buyer they must be legally entitled to some commission? I would think by agreeing with the ea to let the viewers come round, you accepted an implied contract to sell your house which would have been fortified by you accepting the introduced viewers offer.

Personally I'd be over the moon to get an asking price offer with no effort whatsoever on my part & my principles wouldn't allow me to try to do such a dirty on an ea. You get what you deserve in this life & if it doesn't catch up with you soon, it will later.