AML payments

saajan_12

MyRealNameToo said:

eddddy said:

But strangely, some estate agents have decided to charge buyers separately for AML checks - to generate a small amount of income (through referral fees). Judging by previous posts here, it seems to irritate many potential buyers,

Personally, I'm surprised that some estate agents risk irritating potential buyers, for the sake of a few pounds.

And it happens right at the start of the purchase process - which could cause friction between the estate agent and buyer, right from the outset - which seems like a bad way of doing business. But I guess they have their reasons.

If someone is going to pull out of buying a £350,000 property for the sake of a £30 fee it may be a bullet dodged and these buyers are going to get irritated and be a pain for lots of other reasons down the line. 

This goes both ways, which is why the 'its tiny' argument is a poor one.
If a seller is refusing to add a £30 fee to the commission to sell a £350k property it may be a bullet dodged and this seller is going to get irritated and be a pain for lots of other reasons down the line. 
If an agent is refusing to sell a property worth £3500 to them in commission over a £30 cost it may be a bullet dodged and this agent is going to get irritated and be a pain for lots of other reasons down the line. 

michael1234

Well, the EA I'm dealing with is wanting £75 per person. I'm yet to find out how much it would be for a ltd company. Probably all the directors get charged so in my case £300. I'm almost thinking of finding somewhere else.

Bigphil1474

If the EA has to pay for these checks every time an offer is accepted, they'll be losing out every time a buyer pulls out - unless they charge up front. Not every accepted offer goes on to a completed sale so it could cost them thousands if they didn't charge for it. Charging a fair price is another matter of course.