No Sale No Fee agent demands £300 adminstrative fee !

[scarlett423]

I have been with my current agent since April of this year, they make little contact, I feel I have to do all the running, I have to make the calls.

I have had one phone call and one printed 'activity report' they have given very little feedback from viewers, as I know for a fact they will have made very little effort to get any feedback.

I've been approached by another agent who is much more pro-active and I want to dump the useless agent and start with the new agent. I am out of the contracted period, they say I would owe them an adminstrative fee of £299 despite the fact they brag about their NO SALE, NO FEE policy. This was in the small print in the contract, I know I should have read that !

I've told them to at least come out and take a lot more photographs, there are only three photo's on the sales information despite the fact that the house is well presented.

Am I within my rights to take my own photo's and insist they use them ? and more importantly is there any way of getting out of paying a £299 fee which in my opinion is for doing nothing ! is this common procedure ?

I've registered an interest in a property I want to buy and I'm aware that the vendor of that property is very keen to move on, he may well reduce his property for a quick sale, in which case I wouldn't stand a chance of buying it.

Thanks !

[north east agent]

The no sale no fee policy that most agents use is only applicable for the sales fee eg the 1.5% plus vat. The charge you are referring to is a type of "withdrawal fee" commonly used by agents. When you employ an agent you do not enter into a service agreement - you pay a fee if they find a buyer who subsequently exchanges contracts - it is up to the agent to set a marketing plan and to decide how often they contact you. My advice would be to go and see the most senior person within the organisation and either thrash out a "deal" to leave them or to agree a clear plan of how they will market your home and what service expectations you have.

[drhouse]

Originally Posted by scarlett423

I have been with my current agent since April of this year, they make little contact, I feel I have to do all the running, I have to make the calls.

I have had one phone call and one printed 'activity report' they have given very little feedback from viewers, as I know for a fact they will have made very little effort to get any feedback.

I've been approached by another agent who is much more pro-active and I want to dump the useless agent and start with the new agent. I am out of the contracted period, they say I would owe them an adminstrative fee of £299 despite the fact they brag about their NO SALE, NO FEE policy. This was in the small print in the contract, I know I should have read that !

I've told them to at least come out and take a lot more photographs, there are only three photo's on the sales information despite the fact that the house is well presented.

Am I within my rights to take my own photo's and insist they use them ? and more importantly is there any way of getting out of paying a £299 fee which in my opinion is for doing nothing ! is this common procedure ?

I've registered an interest in a property I want to buy and I'm aware that the vendor of that property is very keen to move on, he may well reduce his property for a quick sale, in which case I wouldn't stand a chance of buying it.

Thanks !

Yes it is common practice. Could also be called a marketing fee and a lot of agents take this up front when a property is listed. I have it on my agreements but it is not in the small print it is very clear on the front. This fee covers all sorts of costs that the agent incurs - A for sale board, uploading to various websites, preparing schedules and printing. The agent has to pay for all these and it is not cheap, particularly the websites. What do the proactive agents who approached you charge ?

You can insist they use your photos providing they are not misleading - for example cropped to cut out a pylon or a pub next door. You can also insist on regular weekly, fortnightly updates with activity reports as well if you want them.

Your best bet is to get a face to face meeting with the manager to explain your concerns, try to get a reduced withdrawal fee or set up a marketing plan.

You say the vendor of the house you want may reduce the price - could you do that with yours and come to an arrangement i.e. you reduce by say 5K and they accept 5K less. If he is keen to move on I am surprised he hasn't reduced by now.

The sad fact is your house is not worth as much as it was in April and neither is the one you want to buy.

[googler]

They call it an admin fee. I think the admin might include the following.

You refer to photos in the 'sales information' - what is this? If, as I assume, it's the printed brochures or schedules, and window cards at the agent's office, then would you care to guess how much it cost to get them printed?

Do you have a For Sale board at your home? Would you care to guess how much the sub-contractor charged the agent to put this up?

Would you care to guess how much it cost, both in time and petrol costs, for one or more of the agency staff to visit your home for (I assume) a separate valuation and photo session?

Adding up the above, how much is left when you deduct the total from the admin fee?

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However, you could just shortcut this and 'fess up that you boobed when you didn't read your contract