Which offer to accept?

RHemmings

20122013 said:

My agent is not a fixed fee and  their fee is due even if the sell does not complete. 

I agree with those above. This sounds completely weird to me. What motivation does the agent have to push the sale to completion if they are going to receive their fee anyway? What do you find if you check TrustPilot, Google, and other reviews of your agent? Particularly if you make sure you read the lowest rated reviews as well as the highest rated ones. 

20122013

RHemmings said:

20122013 said:

My agent is not a fixed fee and  their fee is due even if the sell does not complete. 

I agree with those above. This sounds completely weird to me. What motivation does the agent have to push the sale to completion if they are going to receive their fee anyway. What do you find if you check TrustPilot, Google, and other reviews of your agent. Particularly if you make sure you read the lowest rated reviews as well as the highest rated ones. 

My EA's  T&C's 'You must still pay our fee in full if a buyer exchanges contracts but fails to complete'  

Welcome your thoughts.

RHemmings

20122013 said:

RHemmings said:

20122013 said:

My agent is not a fixed fee and  their fee is due even if the sell does not complete. 

I agree with those above. This sounds completely weird to me. What motivation does the agent have to push the sale to completion if they are going to receive their fee anyway. What do you find if you check TrustPilot, Google, and other reviews of your agent. Particularly if you make sure you read the lowest rated reviews as well as the highest rated ones. 

My EA's  T&C's 'You must still pay our fee in full if a buyer exchanges contracts but fails to complete'  

Welcome your thoughts.

That's not so bad. I was thinking that it was a clause which would come into effect earlier. 

As mentioned above, it's rare for exchange of contracts to occur, but for the sale to not complete. And, if you end up out of pocket because of a buyer not completing after exchange, then they would have paid their deposit. And you can pursue them for damages. So, very annoying indeed. But, not as bad as I first thought. 

For any normal property, the deposit is going to be a lot more than the agent's fees. 

20122013

RHemmings good to know.

As it is a freehold I am selling, can I use any solicitor or conveyancer or do they need to be specialised in something ? As I was going to use the sollicitor who had helped me buy this property that was some years ago and their recent reviews do not look too good. Maybe instruct a different one but thinking maybe still use them as they have records of  my property?

anselld

20122013 said:

anselld said:

You have been stitched up by that agent contract.  Plenty of people have multiple sales fall through before exchange, no fault of their own.  How often is this agent going to claim their fee if sales fail to complete?  Why did you agree to such a  crazy contract?

May I ask why you say I have been stitched up? (I am a first time seller)

Because you say the agent is due their fee even if the sale falls through.  Normally it is no sale, no fee unless you withdraw from the market yourself.  There should not normally be a fee if the buyer withdraws, they just carry on and re-market the property and find someone else, and sometimes that happens several times in the course of a sale (unfortunately).

FlorayG

I think the answer to your original question is going to depend on how the house your are selling 'matches' the potential buyers. If it's modern, well maintained with an easy garden it's going to be best suited to a FTB. If it's older and needs some cosmetic work it's going to suit someone with handyman skills who perhaps LIKES to have work to do. Once the surveys are done you will have a better idea but before that there's no way to know if a potential buyer is going to say "Oh no, don't like that, changed my mind". There are lots of threads on here from FTB who have had surveys and now very worried about X, Y and Z that have come up and more experienced house buyers saying to them "That won't be a big problem".
Thing happen to kybosh even the best sales. Elderly rich relative dies unexpectedly leaving the person with another £100k to spend on a house. Person suddenly gets notice of redundancy. Person gets unexpectedly pregnant. Person finds out their other half is having an affair and planning to leave them. Any of these things can make someone who was very genuine about buying pull out of the sale. There's no way to know.

20122013

Thanks for all the replies, I am going to look more into the selling process. 

When looking for a solicitor / conveyancer,  as I do not have any personal recommendations, and have been looking at online reviews. Is there anything I should be looking for in particular, I am planning of someone who has an office and would be interested to know other's experience ? 

BungalowBel

20122013 said:

theartfullodger said:

You can pull out later, but likely to cost you 

The "best" (for seller)  offer varies by person selling.  Some may care most about price. Others timescales, others certainty of actually finally completing.  What's your priority, please?

Surprisingly purchasers timescales, price, personal circumstances (eg break up, new partners, family death ..) keep changing and you can't control that....

Good luck!

I have not plans of pulling out. As there is always a risk factor, someone had mentioned about asking the buyer for a higher deposit so at least it will cover the agent fee.

My priority is with who will be able to complete first and not necessarily the highest offer. Hence, I was asking about how to tell whether the 'chain' is near completion as their property is 'under offer'? 

I am realistic of not going for the highest offer, as even with second viewing a few had cancelled. 

You won't get any money until exchange of contracts and either of you can pull out before then.  So a larger deposit won't make any difference in that way.  It may, however mean, that as they don't need such a large mortgage, then their application is likely to be more successful, so there is less risk of them pulling out because they can't get a mortgage.

After exchange, it is very unlikely anyone will pull out.

BikingBud

20122013 said:

Thanks for all the replies, I am going to look more into the selling process. 

When looking for a solicitor / conveyancer,  as I do not have any personal recommendations, and have been looking at online reviews. Is there anything I should be looking for in particular, I am planning of someone who has an office and would be interested to know other's experience ? 

Welcome to the vagaries of selling houses in England, it is bizarre and illogical and allows significant poor behaviour, on both sides, without real jeopardy.

As always search engines are wonderful tools but try here to start:
how-to-sell-a-house
selling-a-home

and if you do look for advice elsewhere consider who is giving the advice and what they may wish to gain, your business perhaps, no such thing as a free lunch.

Read widely and educate your self, understand the decisions you need to make and also draw up your own list of needs, wishes and limits.

Consider how a decision you make or a compromise you allow may inhibit what you wish to achieve next or even some time later.

Once you have defined them, stick with your boundaries.

Herzlos

I'd definitely find a solicitor with an office that's local to either your home or work, because it makes signing stuff, providing documents and chasing them for progress a lot easier. 

My general rule for professionals is to find someone who's been around a long time and has a boring, non-flashy office. A grumpy demeanour is a bonus too - you want someone who's honest and capable, not a friend.