Tie-in and notice period in estate agency contract?

smudge2013

Hi,

I am in the process of marketing my home, and awaiting the estate agency contract. I have read that tie-in and notice periods need to be carefully considered before signing. What sort of tie-in and notice periods are common/desirable?

I had in my mind 4 week tie-in with a 2 week notice period - but its the first time I've sold a property.

Thanks,

James

gg234

My estate agent gave me 20 weeks sole agency contract i didn't expect that.You have to be very careful what you are signing for no.of weeks and is it sole agency or sole selling agency.

LandyAndy

It may well say 26 weeks. Strike that through and write in your preference and get them to sign the amendment. If they can't sell it in 10-12 weeks then they aren't a lot of good.

Also watch out for a clause saying their fee is due when they introduce someone 'ready, willing and able to purchase' or some similar phrase. Strike it out and replace it with 'on completion'. Again get their signature against the amendment.

smudge2013

Is it best to get the contract re-printed with amendments such as those LandyAndy mentions above, or will a simple strike through and change in pen be sufficient?

paul_1

I signed a contract with an agency yesterday. I got these parts of their standard pro-forma contract changed


The tie-in period (pro-forma had 20 weeks, got it changed to 8)
Notice (pro forma had 28 days changed, got it changed to 0)
The contract stated commission was due on exchange and payable on completion which I was OK with


Also be careful about how the small print defines "introduced by" in the context of you being liable for commission if you use another agent after the contract with this one has ended. In the pro-forma I was asked to sign it included anyone who may have seen a for sale board, advert in the paper etc. The EA conceded this was not enforceable and agreed to the definition of "introduced by" as being anyone they took to view the house. If I ever change agents they agreed to provide a list so there would be no dispute in the future.


And always negotiate commission %!

LandyAndy

I did change agents last time I sold and I got the original agents to provide a list of the people they considered they had introduced so that I could give it to the second agent.