Can E Agent Still charge fee if I find the seller?

eva11

I have just put my house on the market due to husband wishing to seperate. Before signing up with EA my upstairs neighbour put in an offer which was lower than the EA had said and said we would get a lot more. However I got the house surveyed and its no where near the valuation the Estate Agent claimed the house would achieve. WE are therefore considering taking his offer. At the time the EA came over for us to sign the paperwork we did say we had had an offer from outr neighbour but the Estate Agent didnt think it was near the value. We also cant find a copy of the Terms and Condition from the Estate Agent (mad tidying up) and I feel if i phone up they will become suspicious. Has anyone been in the situation before. We have had no viewers so we havent taken up much of their time so to speak.

Thank you

A_Nice_Englishman

It depends whether you gave the agent 'sole agency' or 'sole selling rights'. If you gave him sole selling rights he would still be entitled to commission even if he didn't introduce the buyer.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/template/publicsite,help,guides,glossary,MovingTerms6.vm

You will need to get a copy of the contract you signed to check I'm afraid.

SquatNow

I bet the estate agent was rubbing his hands together with glee when you told him you had done all his work for him and that you just wanted to give him some money he didn't deserve.

I expect he could barely stifle his evil laugh as you signed the papers.

budget_counsellor_shaz

eva11 wrote: »

I have just put my house on the market due to husband wishing to seperate. Before signing up with EA my upstairs neighbour put in an offer which was lower than the EA had said and said we would get a lot more. However I got the house surveyed and its no where near the valuation the Estate Agent claimed the house would achieve. WE are therefore considering taking his offer. At the time the EA came over for us to sign the paperwork we did say we had had an offer from outr neighbour but the Estate Agent didnt think it was near the value. We also cant find a copy of the Terms and Condition from the Estate Agent (mad tidying up) and I feel if i phone up they will become suspicious. Has anyone been in the situation before. We have had no viewers so we havent taken up much of their time so to speak.

Thank you

You need to check how long you agreed to sign up with your estate agent. When the time is up sell it to your neighbour. I have known people that have done this.

I know it doesn't seem fair if they haven't introduced a buyer to you.....but you must make sure that you cancel your contract with the estate agent as soon as possible. It also depends if you want to hurry the sale through if this is the case you may be better off just paying the estate agent although it may not seem very fair.:rolleyes:

Hope it all works out OK for you

Shaz

A_Nice_Englishman

Before you cancel the contract with the estate agent make sure the neighbour is in a position to buy. Has he got cash or a mortgage agreed in principle? If he needs to sell his place, has he sold it? What are his buyer's circumstances?

SquatNow

Agreed, if they haven't already sold their place then they may struggle in the current market.

Notlob

Irrespective whether you signed a "Sole Selling Rights" or "Sole Agency" agreement, the agent is not entitled to any commission if you disclosed to them of your neighbours interest prior to agent instruction.

Just ring them up and request a copy of your signed agreement and see if there is a note on it about the neighbour. You don't have to justify why you want it, just say you lost your copy. The agents will wonder why but so what.

If there is no reference to the neighbour and it is a "Sole Selling Rights" agreement, then I suspect you are stuffed unless you can prove his offer was made before agent instructions.

Note, agents can easily find out if you have sold your property these days. That's the web for you!