Options
Do I send a buyer to my estate agent?
![[Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e9bcdb4fd6c79664df5950cfcd159f9c.svg)
[Deleted User]
Posts: 52 Forum Member
✭
I recently posted a thread about trying to sell my house http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1489977
Since I posted we have had 2 viewings, the first one, a family wanted to move asap, said they loved the house and then we never heard from them again, the second was a guy and his girlfriend who turned round at the end of the viewing and told us he didnt even know why he was here as they didnt even want to live in our area, they have since ignored our estate agent when they have called to get feedback.
I have been posting adverts on various websites such as gumtree and last night had two people expressing interest, one woman passed on on her phone number and seems very keen.
I refuse to get my hopes up but IF she did want the house am I supposed to send her to my estate agent and let them deal with everything? My mum mentioned to me that they did not find this "buyer" so should not get paid for doing so, they only get paid if they actually send the buyer to us, and as I found them through my own advert then their payment does not apply.
I am not trying to get out of paying the estate agent at all, because despite the lack of viewers I am happy with their service, I am just wondering what to do in this situation?
I just want to do the right thing. My estate agent is closed today and tomorrow so I cant ask them about it so thought I would ask on here.
Thanks for any help.
Since I posted we have had 2 viewings, the first one, a family wanted to move asap, said they loved the house and then we never heard from them again, the second was a guy and his girlfriend who turned round at the end of the viewing and told us he didnt even know why he was here as they didnt even want to live in our area, they have since ignored our estate agent when they have called to get feedback.
I have been posting adverts on various websites such as gumtree and last night had two people expressing interest, one woman passed on on her phone number and seems very keen.
I refuse to get my hopes up but IF she did want the house am I supposed to send her to my estate agent and let them deal with everything? My mum mentioned to me that they did not find this "buyer" so should not get paid for doing so, they only get paid if they actually send the buyer to us, and as I found them through my own advert then their payment does not apply.
I am not trying to get out of paying the estate agent at all, because despite the lack of viewers I am happy with their service, I am just wondering what to do in this situation?
I just want to do the right thing. My estate agent is closed today and tomorrow so I cant ask them about it so thought I would ask on here.
Thanks for any help.
0
Comments
If you've signed a "Sole Rights" one then you will probably find you have to pay their commission regardless of who you sell to.
You might get around it by taking your house off the market, waiting a while, then selling to your own buyer. But you have to be very careful; estate agents know all the tricks!
^^^this...and...if you used any pictures/plans or text provided by the agents on these other web sites they would have even more of a claim that you used their services to promote the sale.
If it is 'Sole Agency Rights' you wouldn't.
Estate agents are much hungrier than they used to be. The agents I used 3 years ago let a dozen potential buyers slip by. I had people wanting to buy and since I was paying the agents I passed them on to them... who then showed them other properties which they made offers on. After a month I was puzzled why it hadn't sold, so I turned up on the next "viewing."
I found out they just had some guy turn up, fling the door open and let people wander round while he had a smoke in the garden. He gave no particulars and gave no tour. For that they wanted £1,300.00
I asked the agents about "the people I had sent to them who wanted to buy", and they said they had changed their mind and bought other properties...which they had on their books. :eek:
Yours isn't the same situation, but I'd still say close the deal and worry about paying commission's later.
I take it you mean "sole selling rights" and "who sells it"?
Most agencies reduce the commission rate if you agree to sole agency or sole selling rights.
As with so many questions in this Forum, the advice can only be "Read your contract".
Except that, if the agent do find a buyer, you will have to pay a bit more. But you then might as well go with another agency too (some are better than others).
It might be worth talking to the agent and seeing if they agree a special commission if you find a buyer yourself (but this won't work if you have the agent's board outside, as you can't prove they didn't see it).
(How much commission are we talking about anyway? Last time I used an agent, I had to pay them 2% of the sale price.)
(At least you had a guy from the agent turn up! I was just sent viewers, and expected to show them round and do some sales spiel myself.
So, when these two blokes came round who were interested in buying my house for letting, I talked them into also buying another house I was thinking of selling! Saved £3000 in fees and served the agent right.
It's possible there was some small print in the contract that would stop me doing that, even though they didn't know about the other house, but I wasn't about to ask them to find out!)
They sure do. You can bet your bottom dollar that if you took your house off the market they will be snooping on you/your house/potential sale, for some time after.