Estate agent commission when they haven’t done the introduction.

eddddy

Albermarle said:

swingaloo said:

Its highly unusual for an agent to come out and value a property without a fee being charged if you are not going to market. 
If you want them to value it and put it up for sale but then not charge anything if you decide to buy then why would you expect them to do the wok and not get paid. It will still need photographs and marketing. Are you expecting them to do that for no charge?

I thought most EA's will do a valuation for free. Normally you would get three round and  they would all bid for the business. One would win, but you would not expect the other two to charge you.

In simple terms, if you want to sell your property, estate agents will do a free valuation in the hope of getting your business.

But they might not do a free valuation, if you want the valuation for your own purposes (like deciding how much to pay a relative).

Olinda99

All agents will come around and give you an idea of what it is worth if you call them and say you are thinking about putting it on the market and there will be no fees for rhis

if you go further and instruct them by signing a contract and if they have sole selling rights then you pay their fee if you accept an offer from anyone at all

if you instead give them sole agency then you don't pay if you sell it to someone they have not introduced

RHemmings

I believe that this thread would function better if we knew what any contract signed actually says. 

If it's a sole agency contract, then for the period of the contract only the Estate Agent has the right to sell the house. Hence, the OP would have to buy it through them. I believe. 

Assuming that there is a reasonable period and a sole selling contract, then the current situation may work. As the EA has a period of time to try and sell the house. And, if it doesn't sell in that time, then the OP can buy it. But, that's just based on a wild guess as to what the situation is. 

Depending on what the contract (if any) says, it may be the case that the OP cannot just refuse all buyers if they decide that they want to buy the house themself. There may be a 'willing and able buyer' clause. 

Albermarle

Get a RICS surveyor to do a valuation. It will cost a few quid, but the valuation should be pretty close to what it would achieve on the open market.

As a couple of people have said, this looks by far to be the best option.

Gentoo365

When I sold a property 5 years ish ago I had some initial interest from a neighbour who was considering buying it as an investment.

The estate agent added a note to the contract that named the individual and said no commission was payable if it was sold to him or a member of his family. 

But it wasn't some generic rule about 'introductions'. In fact if I sold to a different neighbour with zero involvement from the estate agent then they would be due their commission. 

The only time 'introductions' come into it is that if the estate agent introduce someone, and then that person buys after the contract ends (e.g. if you go with a other estate agent) then they can claim commission. This 'trailing' period is in the contract. 


So in your case, you need to have your name clearly stated as a potential purchaser with a clear note that if you buy it, no commission is paid. You may decide to name some other members of your family as well.

It is entirely up to the estate agent whether to agree to this.

Dave2345

Gentoo365 

Thanks for this.

I spoke to 2 out of the 3 agents who did valuations and both said they would charge. The second one said it would be a discounted fee approx. ½ their fee but he said it would be up to the agent from their company dealing with that property but that’s what he’d do. A discounted rate is better than nothing but still a lot of money.

I can see in your situation selling to another neighbour and if the agent has marketed the property it could’ve had an influence on neighbour no2 seeing it for sale. If we’re up front and declare an interest before hand I would’ve thought that person should be excluded from any introductions\commission.

I get they may have done viewings, taken pictures but how many properties don’t sell and are just taken off the market and they’ve done all this, a fair few I suspect. I guess all we can do is ask at the time but it sounds like the norm to charge now.

Dave2345

RHemmings Thanks for the reply, there currently isn't a contract in place but as per above having spoken to 2 of the 3 agents they are saying there is a charge. 

saajan_12

The problem is you're comparing what happens after the fact to what is a likely plan. 

Usually you don't have a buyer going in and the agent has a good chance of you selling to a buyer they introduced, hence they get their commission. You don't pay on the off chance that someone else finds you a buyer in what is otherwise a fair fight. They are happy to take this risk on the basis its a low risk, given most people don't know many buyers without advertising. 

In this case, you're saying upfront that there is someone who is likely to buy, so they don't want to put in the effort of viewings, negotiating offers, etc for what is likely to be zero commission. Now it becomes a service they are providing to test the market with a small chance of a sale and full commission, rather than a good chance at a sale. 

eddddy

You might have more luck with the estate agents if you give them some better defined parameters, for example:

• "We would sell if you can achieve some offers over £x within 8 weeks, Otherwise we won't sell. We'll keep the property in the family." (and you buy out your sister.)

Then the estate agent can decide whether it's worth their time and effort to market the property - or whether they see it as a 'no hoper'. And no bad feelings, if you withdraw after 8 weeks due to no offers.


But maybe propose this to new estate agents, rather than the ones you've spoken to already - as it sounds like you might have got off to a bad start with them.

Dave2345

That's a good idea I just think now this is their stance. 

I wouldn’t say we got off to a bad start just neither of us particularly like the potential situation.  I have suggested they market both mine and the other property and if they are able to get a good price as they all seem to promise the earth when trying to get the business then all well and good but that's yet to be seen. 

They take a risk with any property not selling but agree this is slightly different as there is more of a chance they won’t get a sale. We could’ve given them a month to achieve £xyz and taken it off and done this anyway.