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Selling, viewings issue...
Comments
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You need to read your contract to see what payments you have agreed to.
But typically...
...if there is a withdrawal fee - you would have to pay whether or not they get get an offer, and however long the contract has lasted.
... if there is a "Ready, Willing and Able buyer" clause, you have to pay the EA 100% (not 10%) of their fee if you withdraw after they've introduced a ready, willing and able buyer.
I've heard some EAs claim that if they get a full price offer, that's good enough for them to claim under the "ready, willing and able buyer" clause. Is that what you suspect they are trying to do?
But some EAs put very creative terms in their contract - so you need to read yours. (Although you should have read it thoroughly before signing.)
The contract says we'll be liable to pay a withdrawal fee of 10% of their agreed fee if we withdraw the house from the market before the term of the contract, and/or if an offer of the asking price from a ready, willing and able purcaser is declined.
It specifically mentions the asking price...
But you could be right as after that it defines the definition of a Ready and willing and able purchaser, without the mention of asking price, and that we are liable to pay a withdrawal fee if such a purchaser is found.
But if we don't accept an offer of below the asking price then that's our right isn't it surely?!0 -
If it turns out that the agents introduce a proceedable client before the end of the contract period and wish you to pay their fees the you would surely only do that if there was actually a sale. I'm sure there are subtle ways to lessen that likelihood. People always talk of the smell of freshly baked bread or fresh flowers to increase the likelihood of a sale. There must be the opposite to lessen the likelihood. Perhaps the rotting pilchards you are so fond of or the dying dandelions in a jam jar on the mantelpiece.
We just sent out our cat to catch a couple of rats...should do the trick..?0 -
Person_one wrote: »If you're doing the viewings yourself, or present for them, then just tell any viewers that you don't wish to sell anymore and don't plan to move.
The estate agents will soon give up when they realise they aren't going to get anything.
But wouldn't that put us in breach of contract and liable for fees?0 -
Hello!
We've currently given notice on our instruction to sell our property.
We've lost the property which we were going to buy, have no interest in moving anywhere else, so have no intention to sell.
The agents are aware of our situation, have accepted our notice of termination, but are now going hell for leather to get us our asking price, purely for the reason of obtaining 10% of their costs when we don't carry it through.
Is there any legal justification in our refusing viewings?
Is there any way out of this without just going through the motions until the contract ends?
We would object wholeheartedly to having to pay the agents anything to be honest, (fully aware that this may be a rotten thing to say as everyone has to earn a living...) but it really is a lot of money which we would be happy to pay if we were moving, but we're not...
It does depend on the terms of the contract you signed. No sale No fee but with a withdrawal clause if you terminate is usual. I would have thought that having given them notice to terminate the contract that ship has sailed though.
Tell them you are on holiday/ away on business and so the house is locked up and unavailable for viewings till the end of the termiation period. Or just tell any viewers that they are wasting their time as you are not selling.0 -
Tell them that as it's a popular house you wish to increase the price by 25% ... and don't be shifted from your madness.... they'll put the price up, lose all interest in "promoting it" and nobody will want to view it as it's overpriced.
They then cannot find a proceedable buyer for you as none will exist at a daft price.0 -
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The contract says we'll be liable to pay a withdrawal fee of 10% of their agreed fee if we withdraw the house from the market before the term of the contract, and/or if an offer of the asking price from a ready, willing and able purcaser is declined.
Are you sure you're quoting accurately?
It's unusual for an EA contract to have a fixed term.
They normally have a minimum term, then run on until they are terminated by either party.0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »Tell them that as it's a popular house you wish to increase the price by 25% ... and don't be shifted from your madness.... they'll put the price up, lose all interest in "promoting it" and nobody will want to view it as it's overpriced.
They then cannot find a proceedable buyer for you as none will exist at a daft price.
Funnily enough, the price they originally set is now deemed by themselves to unachievable, and they've asked us to consider dropping our asking price. We've refused to do that, so that's kind of the same thing...0 -
Are you sure you're quoting accurately?
It's unusual for an EA contract to have a fixed term.
They normally have a minimum term, then run on until they are terminated by either party.
It was a minimum term of 15 weeks, we have passed that, and have written to give notice of termination with a termination date of 1st Feb...we received acknowledgement of that in writing from the EA.0 -
Have looked at the agreement we signed, and searched the info they gave us, and can find no mention of regulations regarding viewings...
"Regulations regarding viewings" is just some legal-sounding bullsh!t you've come up with to obscure the fact you're trying to waste their time until the 3 months (or whatever time period) until the agency contract comes to an end and/or you can terminate without penalty.
You know as well as I that there is no such thing, and you're just looking for an excuse not to pay for a service which you previously agreed to pay them for. The EA knows it as well, and I sincerely hope they come after you for the maximum amount they can under the contact. Which, at the risk of repetition, you agreed to.
You need therefore to ensure you serve notice to terminate the contact in accordance with the provisions of that contact, and realise that you'll be liable to any fees or charges as set out in that contact, or any other standard terms of business the EA operates under. Finally, you've got realise that if you employ someone to do some work for you, you have to pay them for it - you wouldn't refuse to pay the decorators just because you've changed your mind about the colour of the wallpaper or refuse to pay the supermarket because you've gone off baked beans, so why is this any different?0
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