same flat 2 agents

noddynoo

I am posting this for a friend (really!) I hope I am clear he viewed a flat at easter with an agent and liked it. he was going to make an offer and wanted to ask a few questions first about the balcony and something else not sure The agent never got back and he rang them and it had gone under offer before he even got the replies. Thats was about 4 months ago. It appeared yesterday in his inbox as he is registered with RM and is on with another agent at a slightly lower price and he wants to view it but he has been told that the first agent will get the fees and he needs to keep quiet about having seen previously or the new agent won;t be keen on his offer It sounds to me like he is planning to actually buy it so could they really stop him

G_M

The only person who can stop him buying is the seller.

But the fact that agent A introduced him means that A can almost certainly claim their fee from the seller.

If he now goes to agent B, B will also want their fee.

Can he speak to the seller direct and ask what the seller wants him to do? Much will depend on the seller's specific contraccts with A & B.

eddddy

Assuming that both EAs have

- commission based contracts
- 'Sole Agency' contracts (as opposed to 'Sole Selling Rights')
- contracts that are compliant with The Property Ombudsman's Code of Practice,

their contracts will probably say...

• If EA1 introduced your friend - and your friend buys through another EA within 6 months, EA1 is due their fee.

• And if your friend makes their offer via EA2, EA2 will also want a fee for negotiating the purchase.

So to avoid the seller having to pay 2 lots of commission, the best bet would be for your friend to make their offer through EA1.

But as G_M says, perhaps ask the seller what they prefer (Although the seller might not have thoroughly understood the contracts they have entered into. But that's their problem.)

hazyjo

Chances are the actual sale will be after the 6 month tie-in anyway. I'd use #2 and not rush it. (Dependent on contract - presuming 6 months.)

noddynoo

Thank you very much for all the information! The first agent told him the property had been sold in March and so that was that. It must have fallen through and its now with another agent and they are showing it to him I think at the weekend I am going to forward him all this now Thanks again I don;t think he can speak to the sellers as they live abroad it seems and it is empty as used to be let for many years

noddynoo

hazyjo wrote: »

Chances are the actual sale will be after the 6 month tie-in anyway. I'd use #2 and not rush it. (Dependent on contract - presuming 6 months.)

He can only use number 2 as its not on with number one anymore

eddddy

hazyjo wrote: »

Chances are the actual sale will be after the 6 month tie-in anyway. I'd use #2 and not rush it. (Dependent on contract - presuming 6 months.)

To be precise... the code of practice says:

...that you may be entitled to a commission fee if that seller terminates your instruction and a memorandum of sale is issued by another agent to a buyer that you have introduced within 6 months of the date your instruction ended and where a subsequent exchange of contracts takes place

Link: https://www.tpos.co.uk/members/codes-guidance

So it's 6 months from when the seller terminated the contract with EA1. The seller may have only terminated the contract last week.

And it's 6 months until a memorandum of sale is issued (i.e. when an offer is accepted), not until exchange of contracts.

So it may not be so easy to avoid double fees in this case.

noddynoo

Oh that seems unfair as he would have bought with agent one but they said it was sold. Yikes he will have to tell agent 2 I think or could backfire later or thats what I would do him I'm not so sure!!!

noddynoo

OK have given him all the info and he is going to an open day now on Saturday with the new agent and plans to tell him he saw the flat previously in march this year

ChasingtheWelshdream

noddynoo wrote: »

He can only use number 2 as its not on with number one anymore

Not necessarily.

We viewed a house through one agent but didn't put in an offer. Browsing through Rightmove we noticed the house was had changed agents a few weeks later but thought no more of it.

When our purchase fell through, we decided we wanted to put an offer in. For various reasons we did not want to deal with the new agent. My BIL is an Estate Agent and advised us to approach the introducing agent. So we did - they put the offer in and proceeded the purchase. In fact, the agent worked extra hard to push the sale through as it was the only chance they had to get their commission.

As far as I am aware, there was some wrangling between the two agents, but the original agents could prove they introduced us and we had no contact with the new agent.

How that would work now he has approached the new agent for the Open Day I'm not sure. But, at the end of the day, it doesn't stop him buying, just how much the vendor is prepared to pay in fees.

eddddy

noddynoo wrote: »

OK have given him all the info and he is going to an open day now on Saturday with the new agent and plans to tell him he saw the flat previously in march this year

Ideally, he should not go to the open day with the new agent. It will complicate matters.

It would be much cleaner if your friend makes no contact at all with the new agent, and makes his offer through the old agent.

That is the 'correct' process in these circumstances.

noddynoo wrote: »

He can only use number 2 as its not on with number one anymore

So that's incorrect. That's not how EA contracts work. EA1 introduced your friend, so your friend should 'stick' with EA1.