Emyr Pierce

Professional Legal Services | Cardiff

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Will estate agent charge for market withdrawal?

I have had my house on the market with an Estate Agent for the last five months and received one offer, which was acceptable until the buyer’s survey picked up a number of issues resulting in a much lower offer being made. I have now decided to withdraw the house from the market. Will I be expected to pay any fee to the agent bearing in mind no sale will take place?

Sellers will often elect to stay put for a number of reasons, and an estate agent is only entitled to his commission in the event of his finding a Buyer who is able and willing to proceed to complete the purchase of your property.

If a sale has been negotiated through the selling agent then this will be on terms and at a price acceptable to both parties. If the Buyer subsequently varies that offer as a result of further enquiries, survey or inspection then the Seller is of course not obliged to proceed on these renegotiated terms. If the renegotiated terms are unacceptable you are of course entitled to withdraw in the same way as the buyer will withdraw as he is no longer willing to proceed at the original price.

In such circumstances the agent is not entitled to his sale commission as the sale which he negotiated did not proceed as the Buyer was not willing or able to proceed as a result of his survey but will be able to recover advertising costs and any other costs covered by the agent’s own contract.

Will independent sale mean no agent’s fee?

I put my house on the market with a local agent six months ago. A few people have been to view the property, one of whom is interested but a friend of mine has now expressed an interest directly without approaching the selling agent and has offered the full asking price. Will I have to pay the agent’s fees if I decide to sell independently to my friend?

Your selling agent will be entitled to their full commission if they can establish that the ultimate purchaser was introduced through their agency.

Be aware that this does not necessarily represent a direct approach and can simply mean that the purchaser initially became aware that the property was available for sale having seen the “For Sale” board at the property.

An agent’s “For Sale” board is of course their major marketing tool. You would not necessarily know that a property was for sale unless you saw the board advertising it.

These situations often lead to dispute between seller and agent as, of course, the agent will argue that it was through their marketing of the property that the buyer ultimately identified that it was for sale.

It is for this reason that should any relatives or friends express an interest in your property before you place it in the hands of an agent you must make this clear to them just in case that friend or relative is able to proceed and ultimately purchases the property.

So, unless you can show that once the property is in the hands of an agent, the buyer only became aware of its availability for sale directly from you, then the agent will be entitled to their commission.