Estate agent greedy for his commission - 92 year old mother

eddddy

Susieee wrote: »

He reiterated the fact that my mother had signed the contract thereby waiving her legal rights to a refund or a cooling off period.

If your mother signed the contract in her home the EA is wrong. - your mother has a 14 day cooling off period. (But she may have to pay some costs.)

Refund for what? What fees have been charged in advance?

Arrange for you mother to sign and send a cancellation letter.

Susieee wrote: »

He said we should sell as now is a 'good time to sell' and we have 'had an offer'. I doubt this as there has been no viewings.

If I were to be cynical - this might be part of a very nasty ploy to get the full fees from your mother.

Does the EA contract have a "ready, willing and able buyer" clause?

The EA may be working towards saying they have an offer from a "ready willing and able buyer". So if your mother withdraws, she has to pay full fees.


You should read this:

The new cooling-off period means that agents will have to give sellers 14 days in which they can change their mind, without penalty, about instructing them.

This applies, as before, only when the contract is signed at a location away from the agent’s business premises – usually, the selling property. It is estimated that 80–90% of all contracts are signed in the sellers’ homes.

The seller must be given clear notice, in writing, which states their right to cancel within the 14-day period.

Importantly for those agents who give the vendor the option to sign away the right in order for agents to begin work immediately, consumers will nevertheless have the right to cancel a service which has begun within the cooling-off period.

Link: http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/new-cooling-off-period-to-be-extended-to-14-days/

At this stage, don't argue with the EA - just arrange for your mother to sent the cancellation letter.

bouicca21

1. Still time to get her to sign a letter cancelling the contract under cooling off regs? If so do it. Tell agent waiving cooling off regs is not legally valid.

2. PoA quick so she doesn't get railroaded into signing a contract to sell. If doctor won't agree she is competent to sign a PoA then that's proof enough she wasn't competent to sign an EA contract.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Your first priority is to speak to your mum's GP, social services and Age Concern and clarify her exact medical situation and consequent needs. Also look into the legal aspects of PoA and chat to your mum about options for the future ie live-in carers, downsizing to wardened accommodation etc. Clearly she can't continue as she is.

The issue with the estate agent is a bit of a sideshow. Yes she may have signed a bit of paper and a picture of the house is online. That doesn't mean it's going to be sold today and removal vans with a new owner turn up tomorrow. In fact nothing is going to happen at all without her consent for viewings, and without a solicitor being engaged. Send the agency a signed letter from your mum withdrawing the house from the market ASAP. That should end that, but if they persist you'll need to keep a record of all contact.

teddysmum

The claim that the lady called the estate agent's office is easily checked by looking at her phone bill/record.

lincroft1710

teddysmum wrote: »

The claim that the lady called the estate agent's office is easily checked by looking at her phone bill/record.

Elderly people can easily get confused and perhaps when your mother saw the EA leaflet thought she had to ring them, rather than it being her choice.

teddysmum

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Elderly people can easily get confused and perhaps when your mother saw the EA leaflet thought she had to ring them, rather than it being her choice.

But the agent claims to have been called, so no listed call disproves his claim.

Guest101

teddysmum wrote: »

But the agent claims to have been called, so no listed call disproves his claim.

Who cares? What does it actually matter?


In court:


Sir, there is no record of the call to the agent on my mums phone bill......


It's hardly a strong card to play...

lincroft1710

teddysmum wrote: »

But the agent claims to have been called, so no listed call disproves his claim.

Very true, I was taking the line that OP's mother may actually have called but didn't want to admit it. Mother clamming up suggests she may have invited agent round, or agreed he could come round.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

In my experience the "freezing" or blankness is a classic sign of dementia, particularly if the topic of conversation is about very recent events. You really need to get her health checked and find out what support is available, and then decide how to proceed with stuff like her finances.

imho

I would be worried they will find a buyer then turn up with paperwork asking her to sign which they will say it's to stop marketing her house but really it's a contract to sign the house over to new buyers.