Estate Agent Contracts - can we do this?

The Cutches · 17-05-2008, 09:34 AM

Like many of you we still haven't sold our house but we have a master plan

Here we go:

We were with Agent A from Sept 07 - Jan 08. Then Agent B from Jan 08 until yesterday. A gave B a list of people who had viewed our house with them. On this list was a couple who also have their house on sale with B. We tried to come to an arrangement re: part/ex their house plus cash for ours while we were both on with B but nothing came of it. We now want to contact them direct to see if we can re-negotiate and do a deal.

Problem is that even tho' A introduced them, and we are past the timeframe in which they would be able to claim fees, on reading the contract from B last night it stated that they could claim their fees for anyone introduced or anyone who they had negotiations with.

Just wondered if anyone knew the ins and outs of these contracts and whether B would be entitled to their fees if the part/ex went ahead.
If anyone understands that lot it will be a miracle in itself!

Stax of thanx

CC
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T-bone · 17-05-2008, 09:59 AM

Hiya,

A couple of questions for you……1. When exactly did agent A introduce the buyer? 2. Has agent B ever tried to lay claim to the buyer? 3. Did either agent attempt to put together the P/X, or was it from your own negotiations?

Agent B cannot lay claim to a sale in the future just because they introduced a buyer in the distant past.

The courts look quite favourably on the person who instigates the sale, and not the person who introduced the buyer.

T

ali · 17-05-2008, 12:48 PM

Glad you came in there T. Bone 'cos I got a little confused... but it does sound like a plan

Ali

The Cutches · 17-05-2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-bone

Hiya,

A couple of questions for you……1. When exactly did agent A introduce the buyer? 2. Has agent B ever tried to lay claim to the buyer? 3. Did either agent attempt to put together the P/X, or was it from your own negotiations?

Agent B cannot lay claim to a sale in the future just because they introduced a buyer in the distant past.

The courts look quite favourably on the person who instigates the sale, and not the person who introduced the buyer.

T

Hi T,

Agent A introduced the potential buyer in Jan 08 so they viewed and said they were interested but still had to sell theirs. Then in March the potential buyers asked if we would drop the price when we were on with Agent B (who they are also on with) as they were trying to calculate how much they needed to sell theirs for to buy ours. It was at that point that we suggested a part/ex to agent B and said we would drop if they would drop, but they wouldn't drop theirs by enough so it didn't happen.

In March when this all happened, agent B acknowledged that agent A had been the ones to introduce the buyer and when we said that we weren't about to be stung for fees from both agents they said that they would find a way around it. We have just handed notice to Agent B so they have no idea we are going to approach the potential buyers again.

The Cutches · 17-05-2008, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ali

Glad you came in there T. Bone 'cos I got a little confused... but it does sound like a plan

Ali

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Lol... I'm confused myself Ali[/color]

T-bone · 17-05-2008, 02:32 PM

Wow! How confusing is that!!

If I have my facts right…..Agent A introduced the buyer and Agent B tried to grab the sale away from them, should a p/x come to fruition, as Agent B had both your property and your buyers’ property on the market!?!!

Placing the p/x side of things to one side and focussing on the actual side of your property….The buyer viewed your property 5 months ago, and you are about to agree a sale direct with them by negotiating a price privately.

In this circumstance a court would normally side with the person who instigates the sale, which in this circumstance is you.

To be on the safe side I wouldn’t advertise the fact you’ve sold it to either agent, as they will both try and claim a fee. They’re both going to be desperate to get every penny they can in this market!

To sum up….In my opinion you can get away with not paying either agent, providing you agree the sale price between yourselves.

I’ve had a similar situation occur recently with another agent and told them what they can do with their claim to the fees! This is only my opinion and it may be wise to seek other advice before taking action.

T

The Cutches · 19-05-2008, 10:14 AM

Hi T,

Thanx for battling thro' this one with me

It will be interesting when I get the list of names from estate agent B in a couple of weeks time to see if the potential buyers names are on there or not.

Fingers crossed something happens soon anyway, can't stand waiting much longer

Cheers

CC
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