Sold house privately 9 months after estate agents viewings

Grumpy_chap

Leehenry2014 said:

Hi everyone

just need some advice really. I had my house up for sale with a estate agent and we took many viewing but we didnt sell. We took it completly off the market 

9 months later we got a email from one of the viewers that asked if we was still selling. We stated we was not, but make us a offer

cut a long story short, we sold it to them and now the estate agent has took a debt agency against us to chase the Money we owe them - as they introduced us to the couple .

ive checked the email and it does state that if we sell with another estate agent within 6 months or privately within 2 years. We will owe them the full amount. 

This is where advice is needed please guys - 1. Is the email a official contract, i.e did not receive it or sign anything. 2. Is this legal full stop - 9 months later? 3. Is the buying eligibility to pay anything as they initiated the contact.

i understand the estate agent is angry and im willing to cover the cost of the right move, floor plan , pics etc , but not the full amount surly?!

thanks everyone.

The EA introduced you to this Buyer.
The Buyer proceeded to purchase.
All well within the time that the EA's agreement was in place.

You owe the EA the full selling fees.

Leehenry2014 said:

Sorry its not the debt collectors that have come to me , its a company called  MIL collections Ltd
nothing more “has gone on here”

he rung me last week and asked if ive sold the house - was angry (which i understand as it morally dont look good) and then i get the email 

does the buyer not take any responsibility here, we wouldn’t of sold otherwise 

No.
EA fees are solely for the vendor to satisfy.

Leehenry2014

Thanks everyone, proper kick in the teeth as its a large unexpected amount - i didnt realise it was 2 years - thats crazy really!
i understand 6 months etc - but 2 years wow!

looks like im gonna have to pay

once this company is involved - is there no way the estate agent can cancel it and i walk into the estate agents and pay them?

chanz4

" 2 years. We will owe them the full amount. "  yup due

user1977

Leehenry2014 said:

once this company is involved - is there no way the estate agent can cancel it and i walk into the estate agents and pay them?

"Cancel" what? You haven't said they're demanding anything other than the fee due to the EA under your contract? It doesn't really matter whether you pay the EA or the debt collectors.

bluelad1927

Leehenry2014 said:

does the buyer not take any responsibility here, we wouldn’t of sold otherwise 

I'd say not you were well within your right to refuse or ignore but you chose not too.

I sold my house in 2021 when the market was strong. We were SSTC when a previous viewer knocked on my door offering me 10k more than what I'd sold for. I immediately informed the agent as I didn't want people turning up at my door.

Grumpy_chap

Leehenry2014 said:

Thanks everyone, proper kick in the teeth as its a large unexpected amount - i didnt realise it was 2 years - thats crazy really!
i understand 6 months etc - but 2 years wow!

looks like im gonna have to pay

once this company is involved - is there no way the estate agent can cancel it and i walk into the estate agents and pay them?

You can probably pay the EA and they will notify the collection agency.
The total payable will still need to include the fees for the collection agency on top of whatever the EA fees were originally.

It seems odd that this reached the point of the EA engaging a collection agency straight away they had confirmation that the sale had proceeded.  I would have thought the EA would have advised / reminded you their fees were due first before following the collection agency route.

caprikid1

"You can probably pay the EA and they will notify the collection agency.
The total payable will still need to include the fees for the collection agency on top of whatever the EA fees were originally."

I would be surprised if the Estate Agent will not write off the collection agency fee's if you walked in with a cheque for the full fee's as full and final settlement.

I suspect if you offered them less than their full fee's they might be tempted, depends how good their cashflow is.

Hoenir

Cashflow won't be good at this time of the year. 

Robbo66

Have a look at this article, the conditions for claiming a fee are made clear https://propertyindustryeye.com/why-court-decided-that-sellers-did-not-have-to-pay-commission-to-first-agent/
Here are some extracts outlining when an agent can claim a fee "However, Judge Williams swiftly rejected the claim for commission, saying that to claim a fee, the agent must be able to demonstrate that they had introduced the buyer to the purchase, and that an introduction to the property was not enough to claim a fee." 

and  

If an agent is basing their contractual entitlement to the fee on the fact that they introduced the buyer, the Ombudsman will expect to see documentary evidence that the agent was indeed the ‘effective’ cause of introduction.

“Merely handing property particulars to a prospective buyer, or conducting a viewing where the viewer expressed no interest in the property and did not, at that time, make an offer, will not be considered by the Ombudsman sufficient to establish that the agent’s actions resulted in the sale of the property.

 “However, if the agent can provide detailed progress notes showing that the potential buyer was interested in the property and wanted to go ahead but was unable at the time, for whatever reason, but the agent kept in contact, trying to establish the sale, then it is likely that the Ombudsman may conclude that the agent was the effective introducer, even if that buyer subsequently made an offer through another agent.”

pinkshoes

Leehenry2014 said:

Thanks everyone, proper kick in the teeth as its a large unexpected amount - i didnt realise it was 2 years - thats crazy really!
i understand 6 months etc - but 2 years wow!

looks like im gonna have to pay

once this company is involved - is there no way the estate agent can cancel it and i walk into the estate agents and pay them?

Have you asked the EA for a copy of the SIGNED contract? Do this just to double check the 2 year bit. They can write what they want in an email, but at the time of marketing you would have signed a contract. They will keep a copy of this just in case your house sells...

Ultimately, they introduced the buyer, and if it wasn't for the house being up for sale with the EA, then this buyer wouldn't not have offered 9 months later, so it's highly likely a fee is due.

BUT... why is the letter coming from another company and not the EA? I would be contact the EA directly and paying only the fees mentioned on the contract.