Estate Agents - Sole Agency Woes

fiisch

We listed our flat on the market last month with a local estate agent (A), and whilst they were very pleasant and nice to deal with (a rare commodity amongst agents perhaps!?) they didn't seem to have the killer sales instincts, and despite living in a relatively new and desirable flat we received only a handful of viewings and an offer £20k short of the asking price.

We gave A the mandatory week's notice and arranged for a second estate agent (B) to market the property on expiry of the agreement.

B have been very successful, arranging a flood of viewings and an offer just shy of the £5,000 asking price. However, A have arranged a viewing which fell just insides B's agency period, and the individual has made an offer of equal value, but intimated that there is some flexibility.

B have warned us that we will be liable for two estate agency fees if we accept the offer made via A. Is this the case, and should I simply accept the offer via B to avoid a world of pain, even though the ultimate bid may be lower?

Our flat is joint-owned, however only my partner signed the sole agency agreement with B as I was not home at the time.

Apologies for the confusing nature of this post!!

rosie383

Every single EA that will come to value your property will be absolutely lovely on the day. So it's not a rarity in that respect sadly.

As for the fees, have a look at your contracts for both EAs. You may well be liable for both sets of fees so you need to work out if the higher offer more than covers the extra fees that you are due to pay. If it is £10k more, and the extra fees are only £2k, then it would be worth it. But check the terms of your contracts yourself.

googler

Why did you let A bring in a viewer after their selling rights had been terminated, and after you'd appointed B?

How did the viewing take place? Did you conduct the viewing?

mrginge

Much as it pain me to defends EAs, this is a problem entirely of your own making. Jumping ship after a month is a bit ridiculous and your opinion of your flat is pretty irrelevant if there's no-one else out there to share it with.
Then after you've binned them you still let them introduce someone. Hey ho what a shambles.

Looks like you'll have to tell A and B that you'll only consider this buyer if they agree to split the commssion. If not then by the sounds of it the only thing you've cost yourself is a potential bidding war.

eddddy

mrginge wrote: »

Looks like you'll have to tell A and B that you'll only consider this buyer if they agree to split the commssion.

...which B won't accept, because they have the other buyer lined up (for whom they would get full commission).

eddddy

fiisch wrote: »

...
Our flat is joint-owned, however only my partner signed the sole agency agreement with B as I was not home at the time.
...

Unfortunately, that doesn't really help...

... so they might only be able to sue your partner for the commission, rather than both of you.

fiisch

Our decision wasn't rediculous - we had three viewings in a month, and watched neighbouring flat's sell despite same asking price and lower specification (fact, not opinion). There's a housing boom on - anything which sits on the market for more than a month is poorly marketed or priced incorrectly.

Is the seven (or now as Google tells me, fourteen) day cooling off period not applicable here? The contract was only signed on Friday....

martin1959

Don't accept either offer, and wait until B's sole agency period has ended, and then accept the offer from A....... or wait for a completely new offer....