Is this estate agency clause as dodgy as I think it is?

jez9999

I've been reading the contract for an estate agency I've instructed to sell my house (haven't signed yet) and this clause worries me. Am I right to be worried about it or am I misunderstanding something / is it standard?

Ready, Willing and Able Purchaser
A purchaser is a ready willing and able purchaser if he is prepared and is able to exchange unconditional contracts
for the purchase of the Property. You will be liable to pay commission to the Agent, in addition to any other costs or
charges agreed, if such a purchaser is introduced by the Agent in accordance with your instructions and this must
be paid even if you subsequently withdraw and contracts for sale are not exchanged, irrespective of the reasons.

Quite apart from whether I decide to pull out from the sale, what if the purchaser they find me decides to pull out for whatever reason and the sale falls through? It isn't uncommon, wouldn't even be my fault, and this seems like I'd have to pay the full agency commission anyway!

Am I misunderstanding this? Are there agencies out there that don't have this requirement until exchange of contracts?

jackieblack

I sold my house 3 months ago. My estate agent's contract specified that payment would be due if contracts were exchanged

subjecttocontract

Its referring to buyers where a contract is unconditional. Surely most sale contracts have conditions so the clause is not likely to be applicable.

Albermarle

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Emmia

It's intended to stop you selling to someone who views, but then tries to buy direct... Or you trying to sell direct - cutting out the agent and the fee.

user1977

if they pull out then they’re at least not “willing”.

jez9999

They could've been willing at the time they were introduced though.

Maybe they are ready willing and able… then they inherit 300k and change their minds and want to buy a more expensive house. They're no longer willing… but they were. The way that contract is written I still have to pay because they WERE rwa at some point.

Think I'm gonna keep looking until I get a contract that says I only pay once exchange has happened.

user1977

They wouldn't be ready and able until they've done their due diligence though. It's when they reach the stage of being able to say "we're ready to exchange".

twopenny

It's not something our local agents do - didn't have a written contract, may have changed and it may be because it's a small town.

Though what would happen if you had a crisis in the family and needed to withdraw from the market while you dealt with it I wonder. Happened to me and I was fortunate that the solicitor agreed to put the file on hold and the estate agents also.

They did know I was a serious seller as the first buyer wasn't in a position to proceed unknown to me and the second decided to move elsewhere before this happened.

jez9999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874855#Comment_81874855

If they're so confident the buyer will exchange then you have to wonder why they don't just write the contract to say you only pay upon exchange, then. I can understand if they only limit it to my pulling out, but not the buyer.

user1977

Because they’re covering the possibility that you are the one pulling out rather than exchanging.