Sole Selling Rights Agreement

Baileybridge

On the agreement I signed with an Estate Agent it had as item 7. The initial period of the Sole
Selling Rights will be 26 weeks from the date of the Agreement. 

(This was signed on 7/2/23. The last day being 11/7/2023)
Clause 8. That I agree that during that period I will have no right to end the Agreement.
Clause 9. (Which is within an outlined area and I was asked to sign separately says) 
If I want to end the Sole Selling Rights at the end of that initial period, I must give at least
28 days notice in writing ending the earliest on the last day of the initial period which was 11/7/23
and at that time pay to them an administration charge of £240. ( In Red ink within the outlined area
it says:  this has been explained to me and then my signature)
Clause 10. If I do not give notice at the end of the initial period the Sole Selling Rights will continue
after the end of the initial period indefinitely until it is ended by me or them by giving notice.
Clause 11.  After the initial period I can end the Sole Selling Rights at any time by giving them 28 days notice in writing. However, if they have not yet sold the property, they would contact me at that time to talk about renewing the Agreement and discussing a new marketing campaign. (Which they did not do)
I gave 28 days notice to the EA by email on 28th March 2024 (over 8 months after the end date of the initial period). I have since gone with a different Agent.
Can you please let me know if I am still liable to pay the £240 as I have received an invoice from
them for this amount.
I signed clause 9 as I believed this read as the £240 was payable only for the Initial Period of
26 weeks.
Your help to clarify this situation would be appreciated.

eddddy

Baileybridge said:

If I want to end the Sole Selling Rights at the end of that initial period, I must give at least
28 days notice in writing ending the earliest on the last day of the initial period which was 11/7/23
and at that time pay to them an administration charge of £240.

The way you've written the sentence above makes it a bit ambiguous - but it looks like you haven't copied the agreement word-for-word.

• If the wording is something like "If I want to end the Sole Selling Rights after the end of that initial period..." - it would be clear that the £240 is payable

• But if the wording is as you've written "If I want to end the Sole Selling Rights at the end of that initial period..." - - then I'd suggest that the £240 isn't payable

Either way, I expect the estate agent intended that you should pay the £240 in your situation, but maybe their sloppy wording has let them down.

How was it explained to you when you signed the agreement? 

(And maybe copy the exact wording here, to get more definitive advice.)

theartfullodger

I rarely favour agents but why did you sign that agreement??

BarelySentientAI

You thought that the money would be payable for 26 weeks' work by them, but not for 26 weeks and one day's work?  Very interesting interpretation.

Baileybridge

edddy,
thanks for your reply, it does read ‘at the end of that initial period.’
I do remember when signing, that I thought we wouldn’t be ending the agreement in 26 weeks, , I understood that I would have to pay the £240 if that was the case. 

propertyrental

Apologies for being so direct, but why on earth did you sign up to a contract that

* was so long (26 weeks)? If they couldn't find a buyer within 6 - 10 weeks that's when I'd have been at the very least considering switching agents

* required 28 days notice - once you decide to leave, you need to be able to leave! 1 - 2 weeks?

* required any payment at all. If they fail to find you a buyer you should not be paying them.

Hopefully the above will warn others reading this as well as yourself next time.

As for your Q it seems the agreement you signed

* allows you to serve notice during the 26 week point to end it after 26 weeks, at a cost of £250 (giving 28 days notice) or

* allows you to serve notice after the 26 weeks, giving 28 days notice) at no cost

Whether the £140 would be enforceable I don't know (suspect not) but since you are well past the 26 week period that is immaterial.

Baileybridge

Propertyrental
No excuse really, but haven’t used EA’s much. Didn’t know what the normal contracts are for EA’s.
I have since been told that most agents don’t charge.

propertyrental

Baileybridge said:

Propertyrental
No excuse really, but haven’t used EA’s much. Didn’t know what the normal contracts are for EA’s.
I have since been told that most agents don’t charge.

But as with any significant contract, presumably you got at least 3 quotes and could compare the T&C.

eddddy

Baileybridge said:

Propertyrental
No excuse really, but haven’t used EA’s much. Didn’t know what the normal contracts are for EA’s.
I have since been told that most agents don’t charge.

Yep - I'd agree it can be a bit of a minefield.

I think that sometimes people only consider "How much do I have to pay if the estate agent sells my property?" - they don't consider "What fees do I have to pay, and what other considerations are there, if the estate agent fails to sell my property?"

Whenever I get an estate agent to look at a property I want to sell, I always ask them to provide a copy of their contract right at the outset.