Multi agency fees

[mcr]

We recently had out house sold STC and had an offer agreed on a house to buy, and everything was ticking along nicely. But then our buyer lost their buyer so we lost them and it all unravelled, and of-course this all happened while we were on holiday.

The agent we were buying through "offered" to help sell our house, and as we'd reached the end of the contract with the other agency we were able to consider it. So we spoke to the existing agent asking them what we needed to do if we went that route, and they said it was fine, no notice needed, basically "bring it on".

Now, a few weeks later, we have an offer on the table via the new agent, but checking the original contract it says that we should have given 14 days written notice before introducing a new agent.

Where do we stand? The agent definitely told us there was no need to give notice, and they've said nothing in the intervening time, but the contract is quite clear about it. (Obviously we couldn't check the contract while we were away as it wasn't with us, which the agent was aware of.)

[New Homes Expert]

I would tell your original agent to go whistle if they try for a multi agency fee.
What would they do with the notice?
Did they have any buyers lined up?
You say "a few weeks later" so presumably they didnt!

They should have no grounds to charge you anything imo but that wont stop the greedy b***ards trying I expect!

[mcr]

Originally Posted by New Homes Expert

Did they have any buyers lined up?

We did have a couple of viewings and a couple of no-show's through them, although the viewings from the other agent seemed better qualified imo.

It was about 3 weeks I think between going multi-agency and getting the offer.

The other agent thinks it's unlikely they'll come after us, as it's not good for business and there's no justification for it, so we'll have to see what happens.

[Antony Wheble]

Hi, I'm intrigued, what was the final outcome?

[mcr]

Define final!

When we told the original agent that we'd sold through the new agent, they were understandably upset that they'd lost the commission but treated it in a light-hearted way (I seem to remember being called a traitor :-) and nothing more has come of it.

That said we still haven't completed so I'll reserve judgement until after that!

But no, it looks like I was worried about nothing.

[shanmarsh2]

I've also seen a center that uses a sales tax to fund the center and then provides the services to each user agency without a fee. anyway