EA contract has 'ready, willing and able' clause - should I avoid?

Lonza

I'm looking to sell my flat soon and have asked a few EAs for quotes and T&Cs.

One large North London chain offers a fairly low fee, but in the T&Cs there is a condition, under the 'sole agency' part, that says I will be liable to pay remuneration to them 'if at any time contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged with a purchaser introduced by us [blah blah blah] or where we have introduced a ready, willing and able buyer (see 6)'.

Should I ask for this to be removed? Some advice sites (e.g. Which?) say you shouldn't have such a clause; I can see why an EA would want to reclaim *some* payment if I had to pull out post-exchange (and i recognise this is hopefully unlikely anyway), and wouldn't mind a compromise of paying e.g. half a fee... And in fact the amount doesn't seem to be specified... But maybe I should ask for it to be taken out.

I will also be trying to negotiate a slightly shorter tie-in period (down from their 12 weeks to a max of 8 weeks), and potentially a lower fee - so is it worth having a battle about this too?

Thoughts welcome!

Robbo66

I would be surprised if the agent removed the able and willing clause as you become liable for the agents fee once a property exchanges as they have then done the job you employed them to do. There maybe some charges to the agent should you pull out before exchange happens such as the cost of photos, EPCs and any extra advertising other than the normal channels but these would be in the EA contract you agree and sign

Sandtree

Robbo66 said:

I would be surprised if the agent removed the able and willing clause as you become liable for the agents fee once a property exchanges as they have then done the job you employed them to do. There maybe some charges to the agent should you pull out before exchange happens such as the cost of photos, EPCs and any extra advertising other than the normal channels but these would be in the EA contract you agree and sign

Its an OR statement though, so if they find a buyer and the OP decides not to sell (ie before exchange) they still want their slice or presumably more worrying is if an exchange does happen via a buyer not introduced by the agency 

Lonza

Thanks both.

I should also say that there is a separate 'ready, willing and able' clause (separate to the one in my OP), which suggests I would be liable for a fee even if contracts were *not* exchanged:

"A buyer is ready willing and able if they are prepared and are able to exchange unconditional contracts for the purchase of your property. If such a buyer is introduced by us in accordance with your instructions our fee will become due even if you subsequently withdraw from the sale and unconditional contracts for sale are not exchanged".

Carrot007

I fail to see why in the current marktet you would not just use an online fixed fee place. (and to be fair at any time in the past 10 years).

Unless of course you expect them to show people round which would be UNWELCOME around here anyway. (it would always put me off unelss the property was empty).

lisyloo

Carrot007 said:

I fail to see why in the current marktet you would not just use an online fixed fee place. (and to be fair at any time in the past 10 years).

Unless of course you expect them to show people round which would be UNWELCOME around here anyway. (it would always put me off unelss the property was empty).

Depends on many factors including the target market.
i sold via a traditional agency where the elderly target market were probably not online and the EA already had a suitable buyer registered.

Doozergirl

Carrot007 said:

I fail to see why in the current marktet you would not just use an online fixed fee place. (and to be fair at any time in the past 10 years).

Unless of course you expect them to show people round which would be UNWELCOME around here anyway. (it would always put me off unelss the property was empty).

Because they can be shocking and they will not work to negotiate a sale between parties, nor will they have local knowledge, nor will they attempt to salvage a sale where an EA who knows their stuff can. 

The right agent can make a genuine difference.  

For a start, try getting an appointment to view a Purple Bricks property in London.  It's a joke.  I just avoided them.  

GDB2222

Doozergirl said:

Carrot007 said:

I fail to see why in the current marktet you would not just use an online fixed fee place. (and to be fair at any time in the past 10 years).

Unless of course you expect them to show people round which would be UNWELCOME around here anyway. (it would always put me off unelss the property was empty).

Because they can be shocking and they will not work to negotiate a sale between parties, nor will they have local knowledge, nor will they attempt to salvage a sale where an EA who knows their stuff can. 

The right agent can make a genuine difference.  

For a start, try getting an appointment to view a Purple Bricks property in London.  It's a joke.  I just avoided them.  

My SIL had his flat on the market with a full fee agency for quite some time. They failed to sell it.

I then suggested that he ended that contract and hired Strike (who charge nothing). I also suggested that he reduced the asking price by the amount of the saved agency fees. The flat sold quite quickly. 

Carrot007

Doozergirl said:

Carrot007 said:

I fail to see why in the current marktet you would not just use an online fixed fee place. (and to be fair at any time in the past 10 years).

Unless of course you expect them to show people round which would be UNWELCOME around here anyway. (it would always put me off unelss the property was empty).

Because they can be shocking and they will not work to negotiate a sale between parties, nor will they have local knowledge, nor will they attempt to salvage a sale where an EA who knows their stuff can. 

The right agent can make a genuine difference.  

For a start, try getting an appointment to view a Purple Bricks property in London.  It's a joke.  I just avoided them.  

Worked great for me. Why do they nee any of that if you are going to show people around yourseld (as is the norm becuase who trusts agents that do not live there, I mean do not trust the sellers either but direct questions give it away to those in the know).

Or course I would never want to live in london as it's a silly place so.. Who knows? For any of them buying or selling getting an appiontment was jusrt ringing up. Or course again I expect the selleer to show me round unless vavent and would run a mile if not.

Carrot007

lisyloo said:

Carrot007 said:

I fail to see why in the current marktet you would not just use an online fixed fee place. (and to be fair at any time in the past 10 years).

Unless of course you expect them to show people round which would be UNWELCOME around here anyway. (it would always put me off unelss the property was empty).

Depends on many factors including the target market.
i sold via a traditional agency where the elderly target market were probably not online and the EA already had a suitable buyer registered.

Which is a good reason in certain areas. Though under 71 these days I would expect to be online, how long ago was it?

GDB2222

To answer the OP's question, I always insist that fees are only payable if the sale completes. At a pinch, payable after exchange would be good enough, though.