Getting Out of an Estate Agent Contract (or not)

GrumpySO&SO

Basically... we were really really naive and stupid and somehow got ourselves tied in to a 26 week contract for sole agency. When it came up I expressed some doubt as to the length but she said all airly "Oh don't worry you just need to give us 28 days notice and you can cancel it" which I suppose is true but that means we can't go instructing some other agency doesn't it? They made the whole 26 week thing seem pretty standard - no other option.

They (Connells) have done basically !!!! all. We had a small flutter at the beginning and it has tailed off into nothing. They are just so... urgh useless! No communication, nothing. And when we phone up to discuss things we feel we are just getting brushed off. We get barely any feedback and when we do it is because we've asked for it. I mean frankly we might as well be doing this ourselves the amount of effort they're putting into it.

We're 8 weeks into this thing and the last 3-4 weeks we have had a grand total of 1 viewing. It's the first time we've had to sell a house and I thought we went into the process quite well prepared but then it turns out we weren't. We saw a whole bunch of estate agents and I frankly didn't like any of them so felt really deflated so we ended up for some reason choosing this one based on the fact they have quite a few sold signs in the local area.

So I'm feeling really really depressed.

Admittedly we did get one offer but it was about £11k below asking price. Maybe we do need to lower the price a bit but frankly with the little help and support we're getting at the moment I kinda wonder (paranoid-ly) if Connells want us to do that. They were more keen than any of the others at wanting a quick sale when we wanted to wait and get a better price.

I'm not against waiting - but they really do seem kinda rubbish. Maybe our expectations were too high. We've learnt a few things from this.

Any help or advice or basically you're screwed?

Mathias123

Connells are rubbish. We are currently buying a house via them (new build) and they are incapable of selling new builds and also lie a lot! Communication is rubbish and they don't seem to know their stuff.

Cliveman_Pieman

You are not being paranoid - of course Connells want you to lower the price. If it shifts for 11k less, they lose what, £110? £220? What they want most of all is to get you on their books, that is worth thousands, and they have already achieved that!

99% of these threads point to the asking price being too high.

Thrugelmir

GrumpySO&SO wrote: »

We had a small flutter at the beginning and it has tailed off into nothing. They are just so... urgh useless! No communication, nothing. (

They cannot force people to view come round and your property. Why did the party that offered £11k under walk away? Though out of interest what's your selling price. As 11k needs to be put into context.

G_M

Unfortunately you tied yourself (voluntarily) into a 26 week contract. What contract periods were offered by the other agents you invited round? What was the response when you said you'd sign connells' contract if they reduced the minimum contract period to 8 weeks?

Your options now are

* reduce the asking price
* stick to the current asking price and wait out the 26 weks (remember to give 28 days written notice after 22 weeks), then try another agent

Next time, insist on 8 weeks minimum contact with 14 days notice. As WELL as negotiating the commission fee down.

GrumpySO&SO

The asking price is 270k for an ex new build. The person who made the offer wasn't willing to budge an inch. It's not as if we're not willing to negotiate but that was his one and only offer.

I'm going to be honest and say that frankly - it is on the high end for what's around here. A bit less than other new build houses going in the area. This immediate estate is nice - but go a bit outside it and it's a bit run down and honestly I'd rather pay more to avoid that but hey-ho. But then of all the EA we saw - this was actually the lowest quote we got.

The other estate agents offered... can't remember them all but like 12-16 I think. Honestly I think the 26 week thing just came as a surprise at the time (I think after seeing a load of EA we must have forgotten to ask about that at the time- stupid!) and the way she made it out when we asked was that we could just get out and no consequences. And I asked. No consequences, clean break etc and she said yes. Which was ultimately a big fat lie.

So I guess we're stuck with the useless people for the next 18 weeks.

G_M

GrumpySO&SO wrote: »

....
... A bit less than other new build houses going in the area. This immediate estate is nice -.......

Given 2 similar properties on/near the same new estate, one a brand new build and one 2nd hand, no one is going to choose the 2nd hand unless there is a significant saving.

It's just like cars - drive a new car off the dealer's forecourt and it immediately losses 10 - 15% value.

eddddy

GrumpySO&SO wrote: »

... and the way she made it out when we asked was that we could just get out and no consequences. And I asked. No consequences, clean break etc and she said yes. Which was ultimately a big fat lie.

If the EA genuinely said that, you might have grounds for rescinding the contract on the basis of misrepresentation.

But the written contract they should have given you would have made the terms very clear...

... and the EA might well deny saying that anyway.

So you might have a very hard time arguing that.

Davesnave

GrumpySO&SO wrote: »

They (Connells) have done basically !!!! all. We had a small flutter at the beginning and it has tailed off into nothing.
We're 8 weeks into this thing and the last 3-4 weeks we have had a grand total of 1 viewing.

Admittedly we did get one offer but it was about £11k below asking price. Maybe we do need to lower the price a bit....

There's usually a flutter at the start when the house hits Rightmove etc

However, just before an election, with the uncertainty of Brexit and some signs of rocky water ahead, its not a great time to be selling. Some buyers are beginning to think there might be lower prices 6 months down the road. This makes them cautious.

So maybe an offer of 4% below asking was actually pretty decent in the circumstances. Depends on your area, but it doesn't sound like a high-demand hotspot.

Signing up with a well-known, poorly-performing agency for customer satisfaction might not be the worst thing you did....

GrumpySO&SO

Davesnave wrote: »

There's usually a flutter at the start when the house hits Rightmove etc

However, just before an election, with the uncertainty of Brexit and some signs of rocky water ahead, its not a great time to be selling. Some buyers are beginning to think there might be lower prices 6 months down the road. This makes them cautious.

So maybe an offer of 4% below asking was actually pretty decent in the circumstances. Depends on your area, but it doesn't sound like a high-demand hotspot.

Signing up with a well-known, poorly-performing agency for customer satisfaction might not be the worst thing you did....

Yeah, agreed it hasn't been the best of times to sell. But we'd expect - or like I suppose, more communication. What we can do or what they can do rather than be brushed off. And estate agents must do something other than just wait for people to come off from right move/Zoopla.

Bleeding Teresa May and her election ruining my housesale. :doh:

eddddy wrote: »

If the EA genuinely said that, you might have grounds for rescinding the contract on the basis of misrepresentation.

But the written contract they should have given you would have made the terms very clear...

... and the EA might well deny saying that anyway.

So you might have a very hard time arguing that.

Yes, we probably will. Ultimately I know it's our own damned fault in the end though. However, I did read through the contract and taking into consideration what she said I guess I didn't really understand it completely. She obviously does know the contract and all that it means. We should have researched more into the ins and outs of the different contracts into more detail beforehand.

Davesnave

GrumpySO&SO wrote: »

What we can do or what they can do rather than be brushed off. And estate agents must do something other than just wait for people to come off from right move/Zoopla.
.

They probably aren't going to change much, unless you start offering cash incentives to sell by a certain date, but you can do things to get more people through the door yourself.

Firstly, you can find the opposition and look at how their agents have presented their properties. Decide on strengths and weaknesses, especially in the photography. The lack of a floor plan is a big turn off too.

Then, look at your own Rightmove offering as dispassionately as you can and do the same. Remember you are selling a lifestyle as much as bricks & mortar. What are your property's strengths and are they reflected? Badly made beds and scrappy-looking, colourless gardens jump off the internet pages in many of the ads I see, for example. Clutter often makes properties look small with no storage space.

Do the strengths of your house stand out? Have you capitalised on the strengths of the locality? For example, is there an Ofsted 'Oustanding' school nearby, and is it mentioned?

Or, if you are really brave, stick your house ad on here and people will soon tell you what's wrong with it! Harsh but fair, that's us......OK not always fair either! :rotfl:

Work towards an idea of a better ad, then re-launch with new photos, and better blurb, maybe with a price reduction, because you want to stand out above the opposition, rather than just matching them.

I ended up writing the blurb for my last property and I even shot the lead photo and Photoshopped it too, because I was around when the weather was best. Yes I know that's the agent's job, but many EAs arent terribly bright, and demarcation disputes have no place in this.