Q I have a three-bedroom semi which I own outright. My partner and I wanted to sell up and buy a bungalow because of my health and problems with stairs. We went with our local estate agent and luckily a buyer was found in the first week it went on the market which was in May 2017. We have had lots of problems trying to find a suitable bungalow. The properties that we showed an interest in turned out to have major problems such as drainage at the first bungalow, lack of building regulations at the second and possible foundation movement in the third. We discovered all this over the past 15 months and in that time we have had chains break below us. We are so tired and although we desperately wanted a bungalow we have decided to back out of selling our semi. At this instant we had a solid buyer but we couldn’t face any more stress of looking for another bungalow. The estate agents have billed us £420 for advertising and photos, £420 as well as a commission fee of £1,235 which is half of the commission we would have paid, because they say they had actually sold our house even although we had not exchanged contracts. Is this correct practice?
SA
A If you withdraw from a sale, it is normal to be charged to cover the costs – such as advertising – that an agent has already incurred. And it is also normal to have to pay some or all of the estate agent’s commission but only if the contract you signed contained a “ready, willing and able purchaser” clause. What this means is that you still have to pay the agent for finding a buyer even if your situation changes and you have to withdraw from the sale. If your contract didn’t have such a clause, you shouldn’t have to pay anything on top of the £420 fee for photos and advertising. Another clause to avoid in estate agency contracts is “sole selling rights” which means that the agent is the only agent with the right to sell your home during the term of the contract but also that they will earn their commission even if you find a buyer yourself. This is not the case if your agent has sole agency which gives your agent the sole right to sell your home but does not make you pay commission if you find your own buyer.
