Cancelling Estate Agent Contract

Comms69

mlp123 wrote: »

Looking for some advice on where we stand after cancelling a contract less then 24 hours after signing.

We are currently in contract with an estate agent which expires on the 1st November.

Spoke to 2 different estate agents to market the house as a sole agent from the 1st November...

We signed a contract with another agent on their premises to commence on the 1st of November. But changed our minds that night and cancelled the following morning. Which they agreed to cancel.

We would now like to proceed with a different agent but the agent we cancelled with has stated that if we sell through another agent within the period their contract stated then they would be owed their fee. I know they say if you sign on their premises you don't get the cooling off period. - That's true and it's important for you to learn that signing contracts can have consequences.

So 2 things i need to find out.

1. The agreement was to start on the 1st November... So am i right in saying the contract hasn't even started? - It has, for a service in the future. If you booked a wedding photographer for example, you would book them in advance. If they told you a few days before your big day they weren't going to do the job, how would you react?....
2. On the contract their is a tick box stating "By ticking this box you confirm that you have read the notice of the right to cancel in this agreement".... THE ESTATE AGENT PRE-TICKED THIS BOX. - Excellent. You saw this and then agreed presumably.

Any Advice would be greatly appreciated

Don't sign until you are sure.....

chappers

Just one other thing have you supplied the new agent with a list of the previous viewers of the property as if they come back via the new agent, they may have to forgo or share their fee with the previous agent

eddddy

chappers wrote: »

Just one other thing have you supplied the new agent with a list of the previous viewers of the property as if they come back via the new agent, they may have to forgo or share their fee with the previous agent

Just to be pedantic - you should tell the new EA to refer people on the list back to the first EA, and that if they don't, you will not pay them a fee.

The first EA will almost certainly not agree to a shared fee, because they would be entitled to the full fee.


(I had to be quite forceful about this with one EA. They suggested that I should let them negotiate with people on the list, and if necessary, take the first EA to the Ombudsman to challenge their fee.

Even if they were right - which I doubt - I have better things to do than seek out fights with the ombudsman.)

suereid410

Does anyone know what happens if the estate agent decides to terminate the contract? What if a new estate agent shows someone around the house that has previously seen the house with the old estate agents? does commission get split or does the old estate agent lose any rights due to the fact that they terminated?

Mutton_Geoff

Was your estate agent part of Countrywide PLC? They used to have some pretty nasty contract terms (eg "if you ever sell your house to someone introduced by us" etc) and a whole department set up to go through new land registry records to see if any of the house deals involved people registered with one of their agents.


After properly terminating a Countrywide agents contract and selling through another agent after the correct notice period, they took me to court. Turns out they had shown somebody round who they didn't follow up. He left messages to submit an offer which was never passed onto me etc. Pretty poor performance but the courts found in their favour because the contract contained a clause as above and in any case, there were no performance indicators in the contract so they could be as !!!! as they liked and still be sure of their fees.

I paid double fees.

A mate knows one of their directors and they are fully aware of their shady MO and are trying to change their methods.

chappers

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

Was your estate agent part of Countrywide PLC? They used to have some pretty nasty contract terms (eg "if you ever sell your house to someone introduced by us" etc) and a whole department set up to go through new land registry records to see if any of the house deals involved people registered with one of their agents.


After properly terminating a Countrywide agents contract and selling through another agent after the correct notice period, they took me to court. Turns out they had shown somebody round who they didn't follow up. He left messages to submit an offer which was never passed onto me etc. Pretty poor performance but the courts found in their favour because the contract contained a clause as above and in any case, there were no performance indicators in the contract so they could be as !!!! as they liked and still be sure of their fees.

I paid double fees.

A mate knows one of their directors and they are fully aware of their shady MO and are trying to change their methods.

That's unfortunate and I hate shady EAs, a decent EA who actually can sell properties doesn't need to resort to these tactics. I have sold several properties through a local EA, decent commission, 14 days notice to terminate, etc but even they will rely on the law of considerable introduction and the law interprets that as securing a viewing. It is then the vendors duty to ensure that written into a new contract with another EA are the names of everyone that has viewed and for it to be explicitly written that the new agent cannot earn a fee from that buyer

accidental_landlord_2

I'd point out that the estate agent ticked the box saying you had read the terms to explain due to signing location you were waiving your right to a 14 day cooling off period.

Failing that consider: honor your side of the contract to the letter. But be as difficult as possible, cancel as many viewings as possible last minute, refuse any offers saying it's an insult and you wont deal with the particular buyer because you don't trust them, phone them at 4:55 every single day asking for updates, be rude, generally be a pain in the !!!!... Simply waste their time, they are all commission based and will soon realise that if you don't want to work with them you're more hassle than you're worth and they will be begging to walk from the contract.... After all it is your main asset and tricking you into loosing your cooling off period doesn't entitle them to 1% of it!!!

eddddy

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

Was your estate agent part of Countrywide PLC? They used to have some pretty nasty contract terms (eg "if you ever sell your house to someone introduced by us" etc) and a whole department set up to go through new land registry records to see if any of the house deals involved people registered with one of their agents.

In that case, their contract is breaching The Property Ombudsman's Code of Practice (which Countrywide are signed up to).

The code of conduct sets the time limit at 6 months.

If you sold after 6 months, you should have complained to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman would have told the EA not to charge you.

5r At the time of accepting instructions from a seller, you must point out and explain clearly to that client in your written Terms of Business:

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.

If no other estate agent is involved this time limit extends to 2 years.

Link: https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/documents/rules-codes-obligations/residential-estate-agents/Code_of_Practice_Residential_Estate_Agents_effective_1_October_2016.pdf

eddddy

suereid410 wrote: »

Does anyone know what happens if the estate agent decides to terminate the contract? What if a new estate agent shows someone around the house that has previously seen the house with the old estate agents? does commission get split or does the old estate agent lose any rights due to the fact that they terminated?

You should have started a new thread. You're confusing some posters!

Anyway... is this a hypothetical question? Why would an EA terminate a contract?

If it's a question about a real situation, maybe explain a bit more about the circumstances.

(Although the best answer is always to read the contract, to get the answer.)

accidental_landlord_2

eddddy wrote: »

You should have started a new thread. You're confusing some posters!

Anyway... is this a hypothetical question? Why would an EA terminate a contract?

If it's a question about a real situation, maybe explain a bit more about the circumstances.

(Although the best answer is always to read the contract, to get the answer.)

It's perfectly valid IMO. I highly doubt any party could ever claim rights from a contract they effectively broke/terminate themselves - any clause that suggested it would be intrinsically unfair... See my post above, but if someone were to become a customer that was not worth the hassle yet stuck to the every single letter of a contract, it makes sense why an agent would want out........ Unless there is a worthwhile financial gain in perusing something a business won't.... Not exactly the moral high ground I'd agree :beer: