Cancellation of estate agent contract

enidmarples

I plan to sell my flat which is currently rented out and I signed a contract with an estate agent following their valuation. I informed the agent that they could not start marketing the property until the end of the current tenancy agreement so they have not yet taken photos etc or listed or advertised yet. I have now changed my mind about selling with them as have received a private offer. I am outside the 14 day cooling off period. Will I be liable for their fees?

eddddy

enidmarples said:

Will I be liable for their fees?

It depends what the contract says that you have with the estate agent.

In general...

• if it's a "sole selling rights" contract, you'd typically have to pay the EA their full fee, even if you find the buyer yourself
• if its a "sole agency" contract, you'd typically only have to pay the EA their fee if an EA introduces the buyer - so you you don't have to pay if you find the buyer yourself

But you should read your contract to confirm the precise details.

And even with a "sole agency" contract, there may be a (smaller) withdrawal fee that you have to pay.



Edit to add...
Technically, you wouldn't say to the EA that you're cancelling the contract, you'd say that you had accepted an offer which you're proceeding with, so you're not doing any more viewings etc.

The contract would continue to run in the background, and you would need to terminate it at the end of the 'minimum contract period', by giving the written notice explained in the contract.

Mickygg

You should write to them if you haven’t already saying you don’t want to proceed with their services and ‘cool off’. Your contract should detail whether you are liable for fees as above.

If you feel no work has been done to warrant a fee, The EA could easily say they have been telling people about this new property soon coming to the market, as EAs often do do this to prep for a quicker sale so even though they havent taken photos they may have started selling. 

I should imagine what Edddy says above is similar in your contract. 

If you are still unsure after reading the contract you can copy into here what it says and someone here will confirm what it means for you. 

eddddy

Mickygg said:

You should write to them if you haven’t already saying you don’t want to proceed with their services and ‘cool off’. Your contract should detail whether you are liable for fees as above.

If you feel no work has been done to warrant a fee, The EA could easily say they have been telling people about this new property soon coming to the market, as EAs often do do this to prep for a quicker sale so even though they havent taken photos they may have started selling. 

It sounds a bit like you're describing the situation if you cancel an EA's contract during the cooling off period. The OP says the cooling off period has passed. So the contract is binding.

EAs' contractual fees aren't generally based on what work they've done, they're generally based on whether a buyer is introduced during the contract period - either by the EA, or by somebody else (irrelevant of the amount of work the EA has done).

So the OP needs to read the contract to see what fees (if any) are payable, if the OP introduces their own buyer during the contract period.


(And at this stage there is no guarantee that the person introduced by the OP will become the eventual buyer)