Sole agency agreement

Scythi

Hi,
My current estate agent states its a "sole agency" thing.
Does this mean I am not allowed to go on with multiple agents?
If I do, what happens? Would I have to pay double/triple commission regardless of who finds the buyer?

Comms69

You know that bit of paper you signed when they agreed to market your house. Have you tried reading it? Because it's pretty difficult to see from where i'm sat.

Scythi

Comms69 said:

You know that bit of paper you signed when they agreed to market your house. Have you tried reading it? Because it's pretty difficult to see from where i'm sat.

No need to be like that.
The only thing it says is "We act as your sole agent".

Comms69

Scythi said:

Comms69 said:

You know that bit of paper you signed when they agreed to market your house. Have you tried reading it? Because it's pretty difficult to see from where i'm sat.

No need to be like that.
The only thing it says is "We act as your sole agent".

No, that's not all it says. 

I'm not being like anything, the answer is written there. No-one here can tell you for sure.

I can speculate that you are forbidden from having another agent (and that if you do, that this agent will be entitled to a fee regardless). I'm probably right. But would you prefer a guess, or an answer to the question, once you quoted the relevant parts of the document. 

greatcrested

If it says it's s sole agency contract, what makes you think you can treat it as a multi-agency contract?

Yes, chances are (subject as Comms69 says to reading the contract properly) that if you get another agent to sell, you'll still have to pay the 1st agent.

How long did you agree to be locked in for contractually? How much notice did you agree to serve?

macman

Scythi said:

Comms69 said:

You know that bit of paper you signed when they agreed to market your house. Have you tried reading it? Because it's pretty difficult to see from where i'm sat.

No need to be like that.
The only thing it says is "We act as your sole agent".

So, which part of 'sole agent' did you not understand?
The only way that you won't pay commission for the duration of the sole agency contract is if you sell it privately.

rik111

You’ve probably signed a sole agency agreement which also ties you in for several months. First thing I do is cross out their standard 16+ weeks and change it to 4 weeks. You are then free to go elsewhere after 4 weeks. So yes you can go multi agency but only after the stipulated period and giving notice.
And in future it might be an idea to read a contract before signing it 🙈

NameUnavailable

You will have their T&C's so yes, read it! Sole agency means just that and you will be tied in for a period of time, probably 3 months minimum. If you sell during that time via any other source your agent will be legally entitled to their commission regardless (did I mention to read your T&C's?).

Anyway, going with multiple agents can often be counter productive. Most of us use Rightmove or Zoopla to search the market so your home will be seen by prospective purchasers. If it keeps coming up multiple times it suggest's that it's not selling/you're desperate/it's got 'issues'.

If you think your current agent isn't doing enough then speak to them about it. Ask them to be frank with you if they think it's overpriced or there's some other problem that is making it difficult to sell. If you still don't sell and get to the end of the sole agency agreement I would try a new agent rather than going multi agency.

macman

So what is the standard tie-in? 3 months or 4 months? 

greatcrested

There is no 'standard tie in'. Different agents will have different periods in their own standard contract, but these are negotiable.

Personnally I would negotiate for a 6 week tie in and would accept 8 weeks max. By then I'll know if I'm happy with what they are doing, and if I'm not I want to be able to switch agent.

If an agent is not willing to offer that, I'll find an agent who will. An agent who insists on 3 or 4 months is not exactly being optimistic regarding finding me a buyer efficiently/quickly!