Estate Agent - Definition of Introduced

eddddy

Dan.Net wrote: »

Conveyancing- We were provided a piece of paper which said that conveyancing, photography, floorplans etc. to sell our property for a price of £243.

In that case, I guess you want to rescind the contract due to misrepresentation (and not cancel the contract during the cooling off period).

FWIW, £243 for conveyancing would be exceptionally cheap. If it really was that price, it would be a very bad service and/or subject to many extras.

I guess you've double-checked the piece of paper to make sure that's what it says.

Dan.Net wrote: »

My wife and I are happy to wait to move for a year if it prevents legal complexity, (contract says a buyer would be considered as introduced for 6 months after, introduction), as I said trying to understand my position.

So I guess you understand that this '6 months' clause doesn't stop you moving to another agent.

It just means that anyone introduced by the first agent should continue to deal with the first agent...

... and anyone introduced by a second agent should only deal with the second agent.

AdrianC

Dan.Net wrote: »

Conveyancing- We were provided a piece of paper which said that conveyancing, photography, floorplans etc. to sell our property for a price of £243. We thought this was very reasonable, I signed the document to go ahead, we have since been contacted by "the lawyers" to say conveyancing fee (excluding disbursement) is £750. I have double checked the form I have signed there is nothing to indicate that the cost quoted did not include conveyancing and no one had told us that.

This sounds like it's arisen from a total misunderstanding of who and what is normally involved in a house sale.


An EA would quite simply not provide conveyancing normally. The £243 (ridiculously cheap - is this an online-only outfit?) would include the EA liaising with the legal professionals providing the conveyancing. You do not have to use the lawyer the EA recommends, and it's rarely wise to do so - although that's more relevant to a purchase than a sale.

davidmcn

theartfullodger wrote: »

When they sue you the judge will decide if it applies or not.

Dan.Net wrote: »

What are they suing me for?

Dan.Net wrote: »

I'm trying to be prepared in case of worst case scenario.

The worst case scenario is surely that it ultimately ends up being determined by a court?

Dan.Net

[QUOTE=AdrianC;75662885
But just take a step back from your personal opinion of the EA, and ask yourself whether "the buyer found out the property is for sale through the EA's marketing, so contacted the EA to enquire about the property, before the EA booked the first viewing" passes a basic sniff test as to whether the EA introduced the buyer to the seller or not...?[/QUOTE]

I tend to agree with you in that the estate agents phone call would have constituted an "introduction", which I have no problem with if that is a legal definition define somewhere. Again trying to understand Impact and definition.

AdrianC wrote: »

This sounds like it's arisen from a total misunderstanding of who and what is normally involved in a house sale.

An EA would quite simply not provide conveyancing normally. The £243 (ridiculously cheap - is this an online-only outfit?) would include the EA liaising with the legal professionals providing the conveyancing. You do not have to use the lawyer the EA recommends, and it's rarely wise to do so - although that's more relevant to a purchase than a sale.

I don’t believe I have mis-understood the process or the people involved. I have sold a house before and when I did a price was quoted for conveyancing / legal fees when the estate agent "referred" me to them, at the end of the process it was that price(plus disbursement s which I have no problem with), I had no reason to expect a different quote for conveyancing on this occasion.

eddddy wrote: »

In that case, I guess you want to rescind the contract due to misrepresentation (and not cancel the contract during the cooling off period).

FWIW, £243 for conveyancing would be exceptionally cheap. If it really was that price, it would be a very bad service and/or subject to many extras.

I guess you've double-checked the piece of paper to make sure that's what it says.



So I guess you understand that this '6 months' clause doesn't stop you moving to another agent.

It just means that anyone introduced by the first agent should continue to deal with the first agent...

... and anyone introduced by a second agent should only deal with the second agent.

Yes, I’ve double checked the document, several times, I do feel like I’m missing something either they should have provided me to supplement the document, or told me. I agree that quote is cheap and i would accept normally 750 + VAT is fairly standard.

My issue is that is not what was sold to me and our thoughts are…what is going to crop up next?

I am hoping more of to have a dialog withe EA if i am honest, either come to an agreement, find out what has been missed. But given they have not responded to the query I raised over a week ago, i am not sure that is going to be the case.

System

Here are two cases where the vendors were taken to court by agents and won, they both explain what defines an introduction

https://swarb.co.uk/foxtons-ltd-v-pelkey-bicknell-and-another-ca-23-apr-2008/

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/why-court-decided-that-sellers-did-not-have-to-pay-commission-to-first-agent/

googler

Dan.Net wrote: »

... they (the Estate Agents) have booked viewings in for the 13th April (week saturday) and I am keen to understand if these potential buyers viewings (who have not viewed the property yet) are considered as being "introduced" if we chose to put our property back on the market with another agent.

I think this would pass any layman's definition of being "introduced" by the EA.

System

googler wrote: »

I think this would pass any layman's definition of being "introduced" by the EA.

Not according to the two examples I posted above

googler

Simonr66 wrote: »

Not according to the two examples I posted above

Your examples both deal with two agents, and deciding to which the commission goes, where there's dispute between the two.

The OP's situation involves one agent, and there's no doubt that that single agent has actually arranged the viewings, as the OP has told us this.

System

They still define what constitutes an introduction and that is the key point. In order for an agent to claim a fee they must demonstrate that they were instrumental in getting the sale. Just booking viewings that haven't even happened yet doesn't demonstrates that.

Takmon

Dan.Net wrote: »

eddddym

There are two things that we consider mis-sold.

1. Virtual Reality Tour - we were offered this feature my wife asked if we took this feature could we have a copy of it, as she wanted it for memories, the estate agent said yes. We have since been told by the photographer they will not provide a copy of it too us. - This is relatively minor.
2. Conveyancing- We were provided a piece of paper which said that conveyancing, photography, floorplans etc. to sell our property for a price of £243. We thought this was very reasonable, I signed the document to go ahead, we have since been contacted by "the lawyers" to say conveyancing fee (excluding disbursement) is £750. I have double checked the form I have signed there is nothing to indicate that the cost quoted did not include conveyancing and no one had told us that.

I am giving them the opportunity to sort it out or discuss it, I do, however, like to be prepared and the items above are raising red flags for us.

Dan.Net wrote: »

Sorry if it is coming across that way but, that is not my intention at all, I am simply trying to understand my position in the case of certian events. I am a Software Engineer, I deal very much in logic and like to understand my legal position when there are disputes.

Well a logical person would research the house selling process before entering into it and would realise that the quote for conveyancing is way too low and an obvious mistake considering it includes some EA work as well. But just blindly using the Conveyancer recommended by the EA is a bad idea without doing any research yourself of a few difference ones.

Does the photographer not work for the EA because even if he won't provide the files the EA will have had to upload it to their site so they can give it to you themselves. You could even just download it yourself from the website.