80 year old widow - vulnerable?

ed_r

My mother has been trying to sell her house. She signed a contract for sole seller with her estate agent because he told her he had a buyer lined up. This buyer never materialised after she signed the contract and I cannot help wondering whether he ever existed. She has had a few offers via the estate agent but well below the price she needed to agree a sale, and told the estate agent she wanted to give notice. They promised to get back to her with details of the contract but never did. When a neighbour approached her to sell to a friend she believed she was able to accept a lower price than before (deducting the cost of the commission off the asking price). At this stage the estate agent has said they can claim commission on the transaction she found, if it goes through (which according to the contract they can). I wrote an email from her giving them notice which she sent. The next day they emailed her telling her they would continue to work on her behalf (ignoring the note). 

When I discussed what was happening with her she clearly did not understand what sole seller meant. When I asked the estate agent whether he had taken into consideration her age and vulnerable status (single widow, in financial difficulty) he said he had left the contract with her before asking her to sign it.

The Property Ombudsman lists age as an indicator of vulnerability and requires estate agents who are signed up to their code of conduct to cater for their needs. It specifically mentions not making assumptions about the knowledge that a seller has of the selling process.

Has anyone any knowledge of how the Property Ombudsman has applied the guidelines relating to vulnerability? I realise that regulator guidelines are purposely vague (that tends to cause businesses who are regulated by them to err on the side of caution) but are there any good tests related to vulnerability that I can use to judge whether my suspicion that the estate agent is in breach is reasonable?

Money is tight for her. I am inclined to offer without prejudice to pay the contract cancellation fee (£3k) as full and final settlement. This might either be unnecessary (if he is clearly in breach) and I am clearly negotiating from a position of weakness because I am unsure how strong my claim would be if it became official.

Does anyone have experience of The Property Ombudsman? 

My impression of the estate agent is that they are a bit wide, which would be ok if it was me who was the buyer (for example), but putting aside the regulator my judgement is that he should have taken a little more time to explain what everything meant. The regulator requires that the estate agent ensures the necessary arrangements are in place to provide the vulnerable consumer with the advice and guidance they need.

sevenhills

Did this neighbor see the for sale board outside the property and then the sale was down to the estate agents board? So not allowing a fee for them would be wrong.

lookstraightahead

Why don't you firstly tell the estate agent that you know everything that's happening as you're working with your mum, and see if they change their approach. It's amazing  (and totally unfair) how differently people / companies / medical / salespeople react when relatives of a younger generation become involved.

how did the neighbour find out about the house though?

user1977

Lots of non-vulnerable sellers sign up to this sort of contract too though. Would she have done anything different if she was younger or in a better financial situation?

Wasn't she given a copy of the contract?

CKhalvashi

user1977 said:

Lots of non-vulnerable sellers sign up to this sort of contract too though. Would she have done anything different if she was younger or in a better financial situation?

Wasn't she given a copy of the contract?

She should have been given a contract under the best practice guidelines.

I've just guided mom through the selling process of a property (through an agent who is an old friend) and this type of contract was signed. She definitely isn't vulnerable.

From experience, this is a standard contract unless negotiated otherwise.

Slinky

Sole selling rights is not a standard contract. Sole agency is a standard contract. They are not the same thing.

elsien

user1977 said:

Lots of non-vulnerable sellers sign up to this sort of contract too though. Would she have done anything different if she was younger or in a better financial situation?

Wasn't she given a copy of the contract?

The OP says that their mother was left a copy of the contract before she signed anything. So not entirely sure what the estate agent is meant to have done wrong here, given that the mother could have asked someone to have a look at it with her if she didn’t understand it.

eddddy

ed_r said:

Money is tight for her. I am inclined to offer without prejudice to pay the contract cancellation fee (£3k) as full and final settlement. 

Just to clarify - does the contract mention a 'contract cancellation fee'? Normally you can only cancel an Estate Agents contract during the first 14 days (the statutory cooling off period).

Is that what you mean? Has more than 14 days elapsed? 

Either way, a prospective buyer has already been introduced, so it's almost certainly too late to cancel the contract.

It's more likely that the the Estate Agent's full fee will become due on exchange/completion - because a buyer has been introduced (from any source) during the period of the Sole Selling Rights contract.


Or are you saying that the estate agent's full fee according to their contract is more than £3k - but you want to negotiate them down to £3k?

ed_r

Thank you all for your comments.

The relevant document is here:

https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/documents/guidance/TPOE33-4_Dealing_with_Vulnerable_Consumers_A4.pdf

Vulnerability seems to be a developing concept and it is really unclear where the limits are, and how to apply them.

See also this: https://thenegotiator.co.uk/take-care-with-vulnerable-customers-says-christopher-hamer-the-property-ombudsman/

_Penny_Dreadful

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6443249/80-year-old-widow-vulnerable

Should estate agents assume that because someone is of pensionable age that they must be vulnerable? Sounds ageist to me. Your mother wasn't coerced into signing the contract straight away as the contract was left with her to mull over without him present, she could have asked you for help if she felt unsure but she didn't. You weren't present when the estate agent was there so you don't know what was and what was no explained to her.

steve866

To be honest it sounds like standard estate agent practice / contract terms. The only questionable bit is them not providing details of the contract and saying they will continue working when you've asked to terminate etc