Private buyer but have sole seller agreement with estate agent

yoshiyella

Give notice now to EA1, then in a few weeks give Ea2 their notice.

Tell this buyer what has happened and offer to reduce the price by how much EA2 would have charged you to keep them on good terms for waiting to start the process and advise not to contact either EA.

Seller175

I have another query;

EA2 has a 20 week tie in on which I have 11 weeks remaining, plus it also carries a 28 Notice period after expiry.

If I was to ask for termination immediately on the basis that I was taking my house off the market as no longer selling, then what period am I "tied in" for if I was to sell privately afterwards. So is it 11 weeks plus 28 days before I could theoretically sell privately without fees being payable or is it 11 weeks given that the 28 days notice is effectively inclusive as early termination?

Seller175

Peter333 - because I have a genuine private buyer that was referred by by neighbour!!! They are the scum of the earth because they are not transparent but what can u do?! There's just something completely wrong about them being able to claim the fee when the buyer has not even seen their advert but was referred by my neighbour who we told we were selling before instructing the EA

G_M

Seller175 wrote: »

Peter333 - because I have a genuine private buyer that was referred by by neighbour!!! They are the scum of the earth because they are not transparent but what can u do?! There's just something completely wrong about them being able to claim the fee when the buyer has not even seen their advert but was referred by my neighbour who we told we were selling before instructing the EA

Almost certainly, the commission charged on a sole selling contract is lower than on a sole gency contract, which is lower than on a multi agent contract.

this is because of the increased certainty of the agent getting the fee (rather than another agent in multi-agent scenario for example).

You chose the cheapest option. And hence the option that most guarantees the agent will receive their fee.

If you failed to understand what you were signing, that is no one's fault but your own.

If I was to ask for termination immediately on the basis that I was taking my house off the market as no longer selling, then what period am I "tied in" for if I was to sell privately afterwards. So is it 11 weeks plus 28 days before I could theoretically sell privately without fees being payable or is it 11 weeks given that the 28 days notice is effectively inclusive as early termination?

You can, of course, 'ask to terminate immediately'. However the contract is for 11 more weeks so it is entirely at the EA's discretion.

They are unlikely to release you early. And if they later saw that you had sold (privately) during this period, I expect you'd receive an invoice.

In most cases, you can give your (28 days) notice prior to the minimum term expiring ie in/before about 7 weeks from now.

Seller175

I totally get that commission would be payable if I sold privately within the tie in period. If it was after this tie in period however then I would not be liable for fees.
I guess that EA2 may acknowledge my termination and take the property off market but highly likely that I would still be effectively tied in until the 20 weeks + 28 days notice period was over.
Hypothetically speaking if I was to get a private buyer after all tie in periods were over and solicitors instructed after this date then there is no case to answer. Key point being that any buyer was not registered with the EA to begin with

G_M

Seller175 wrote: »

I totally get that commission would be payable if I sold privately within the tie in period. If it was after this tie in period however then I would not be liable for fees.
I guess that EA2 may acknowledge my termination and take the property off market but highly likely that I would still be effectively tied in until the 20 weeks [STRIKE]+ 28 days notice period[/STRIKE] was over. (assuming you gve notice in a timely manner)
Hypothetically speaking if I was to get a private buyer after all tie in periods were over and solicitors instructed after this date then there is no case to answer. Key point being that any buyer was not registered with the EA to begin with

That is correct.

Seller175

The contract says notice cannot be served until the 20 week tie in period is over. The wording isn't clear. Are they referring to serving notice in the event of wanting to change agent or whether it is different when the property is no longer on sale period, as surely then the 28 days can kick in whenever I choose regardless of how long I am into the tie in?

Levs01

One of the agents near me has a tie in period of 12 mths if you remove your house from the market. So if you remove your house and then 10 mths later put it on with another agent and someone they introduced buys it they still get their 10lbs of flesh!! It's all in the small print though if you read it.

Levs01

Seller175 wrote: »

The contract says notice cannot be served until the 20 week tie in period is over. The wording isn't clear. Are they referring to serving notice in the event of wanting to change agent or whether it is different when the property is no longer on sale period, as surely then the 28 days can kick in whenever I choose regardless of how long I am into the tie in?

You can't issue notice till the 20 weeks is up effectively making the tie in actually 24 weeks.

Seller175

Levs01 wrote: »

You can't issue notice till the 20 weeks is up effectively making the tie in actually 24 weeks.

Yes but what if I give notice to remove my advert at 10 weeks? I realise I'm still tied in but do I have to serve notice again at end of 20 weeks for the 28 days to kick in?