Selling - Sole Agency Tie In

ChesterJester

Afternoon all!

First time seller here and I wanted to gain some advice as im a first time seller to getting to grips with being in “other end” of th estate agent experience.

I’ve had 4 agents come value the house last week and all were pretty consistent in their valuation, marketing approach and feel for the local market, but I also noticed a strong pattern of their tie in period as a sole agent in which they all require 16 weeks + 4 weeks cancellation period. The only wild variable between them being their fees ranging from 1.2 - 1.8% including VAT.

Reading all the guides for newbie sellers and general feel on forums is anything above 8 weeks is pretty pointless, so I’m asking if this 16 week requirement is the current trend for agents in 2025?

Slinky

First things first, it's all negotiable! Fees, tie-ins, whatever. Speak with the agency you want to go with and tell them you only want 6 or 8 weeks or whatever, 2 weeks notice, and you're willing to pay 1.2% and see what they say.  Anything you don't agree with on their standard contract, strike through, amend and initial the changes. If they don't agree, you've got 3 other agents all wanting the business.

Whatever you do, do not agree to sole selling rights. This would mean that if your cousin found out you were moving and wanted to buy your house, you'd still have to pay the agents a fee. Our agent put sole agency in their correspondence, but sole selling rights on the contract.  I did not fall for that one, but then many moons ago I worked as an EA for a short time.

GDB2222

My impression, having sold lots of homes over the years, is that estate agents are a bit like a dog with a bone. They may have had no success selling the property, and they may be wasting their time trying to sell it. But, they don’t want to give a rival agent the chance.

I agree with the previous poster. Now is the time to negotiate. But, don’t be too aggressive. You want the agent to be incentivised to sell. So, if you drive the commission down too much, they’ll still take it on (see the bit about dogs and bones), but they will put more effort into the property with a higher commission. 

ChesterJester

Understood! The range in commission doesn’t have me too fussed as it’s an incentive after all but what does surprise me is the agency with the higher fee are trying to lock in for a longer sole agreement just like the cheapest, you’d think it would be either a higher fee or a longer agreement…….not both!

eddddy

ChesterJester said:

...I also noticed a strong pattern of their tie in period as a sole agent in which they all require 16 weeks + 4 weeks cancellation period. 

FWIW, assuming the estate agents are members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme (most are), the mandatory code of practice says...

... if the contract says the minimum contract period is 16 weeks, then that includes the notice period. i.e. You can give notice at 12 weeks, so that the contract ends after 16 weeks.



BUT... I have never come across an estate agent who wouldn't agree to reduce the minimum term to 8 weeks.

I might say "How quickly do you think it should take you to sell it?" and if they reply something like 2, 4 or 6 weeks, I suggest that, in that case, an 8 week contract period should be enough.

And/or I might say something like "I want a 8 week minimum contract, because I'll be able to judge after 4 weeks how well things are going, and decide whether to continue or give notice."

ChesterJester said:

The only wild variable between them being their fees ranging from 1.2 - 1.8% including VAT.

I would choose the estate agent I liked best, and say to them "I really want to go with you, but XYZ estate agent is only asking for a 1.2% fee. If you can price match them, I'll go with you."

(But I wouldn't fib to them about what terms other agents are offering. They will be keeping close tabs on all their competitors, and are likely to know what their terms are.)

RAS

Do check the local reputation of the agency with friends or colleagues who've bought in the last few years. We had one many people avoided because of sharp practice, so many of their advertised properties were outside the area. 

ChesterJester

eddddy said:

ChesterJester said:

...I also noticed a strong pattern of their tie in period as a sole agent in which they all require 16 weeks + 4 weeks cancellation period. 

FWIW, assuming the estate agents are members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme (most are), the mandatory code of practice says...

... if the contract says the minimum contract period is 16 weeks, then that includes the notice period. i.e. You can give notice at 12 weeks, so that the contract ends after 16 weeks.



BUT... I have never come across an estate agent who wouldn't agree to reduce the minimum term to 8 weeks.

I might say "How quickly do you think it should take you to sell it?" and if they reply something like 2, 4 or 6 weeks, I suggest that, in that case, an 8 week contract period should be enough.

And/or I might say something like "I want a 8 week minimum contract, because I'll be able to judge after 4 weeks how well things are going, and decide whether to continue or give notice."

ChesterJester said:

The only wild variable between them being their fees ranging from 1.2 - 1.8% including VAT.

I would choose the estate agent I liked best, and say to them "I really want to go with you, but XYZ estate agent is only asking for a 1.2% fee. If you can price match them, I'll go with you."

(But I wouldn't fib to them about what terms other agents are offering. They will be keeping close tabs on all their competitors, and are likely to know what their terms are.)

Now THAT I did not know. I did ask one agent what their notice period is and they stated it’s 4 weeks on top of the contract period. Looks like I’ll be having some interesting conversations.

eddddy

ChesterJester said:

Now THAT I did not know. I did ask one agent what their notice period is and they stated it’s 4 weeks on top of the contract period. Looks like I’ll be having some interesting conversations.

Are they members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme?

If so...






Link: https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/codes-of-practice/TPOE27-8_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A4_FINAL.pdf


But you probably want to negotiate the minimum period down to 8 weeks anyway.

ChesterJester

eddddy said:

ChesterJester said:

Now THAT I did not know. I did ask one agent what their notice period is and they stated it’s 4 weeks on top of the contract period. Looks like I’ll be having some interesting conversations.

Are they members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme?

If so...







But you probably want to negotiate the minimum period down to 8 weeks anyway.

I believe so, also another agent has a waiver at the end of the agreement paperwork basically saying I concede the 14 day cooling off period, I’m not sure this is entirely allowed?

eddddy

ChesterJester said:

I believe so, also another agent has a waiver at the end of the agreement paperwork basically saying I concede the 14 day cooling off period, I’m not sure this is entirely allowed?

If you sign the contract in your home, the law says you have a 14 day cooling off period - the agent cannot override that.


But is it a waiver about starting the contract immediately?

If you agree to the contract starting immediately (as opposed to waiting 14 days), and then you cancel within those 14 days - you might have to pay any costs that the agent incurred. e.g. cost of photography, writing up listing etc


(But if the agent completes the contract in those 14 days by introducing a buyer - you can't then cancel the contract.)

GrubbyGirl_2

I've owned 10 houses and the only time I've not been able negotiate a reduction in both commission and length of contract was the last move in 2020 when the market went crazy.  The house sold in 1 week anyway so wasn't a problem.  The market is very static at the moment so you should be able to get a better deal.  Definitely don't tie yourself in for more than 6-8 weeks