Hi, Trying to sell a property and getting mucked around with agents at the moment. I currently have two opposing agents with the keys to my house - I have not signed with either one of them. Both agents have "promised" they have potential buyers lined up.... What do I have to be careful with in regards to having to pay both of them a commission ? thanks
Why have you given agents keys to you house without having a contract with them? Your insurer will have a field day with you if you want to make a claim for theft or similar. (unless by "my house" you mean a vacant IP......but even then) You can only give the agents an "Open" listing - whoever sells it gets the commission. If you give one, or the other, or both an "Exclusive" listing, you may be up for 2 x lots of commission. I'd suggest you get legal opinion on the selling agency agreement/s the REAs present you with, before you sign anything.
Your aim is to sell. Find the best one and commit to them ONLY. A good agent brings buyers in and works to market the property. Tell the other to hand back the keys. They will commit to you. If you don't the agents would both do a half arsed job. Do you understand how agents get paid ? The listing agent gets X%. The owners of the agency gets Y%. The selling agent gets Z%. (The listing agents wants to also sell it to max his earnings). Now you want to bring in a sales guy at a different agency and he gets a fraction of Z that he must also split with his boss ? He wont try hard and either will the guy at the other agency. He must have you agree to drop your pants or his time is wasted.
Maybe the title was misleading. I will explain. I orig had a contract with an agent for 30 days. I gave him 60 days and only got one low offer. I cancelled contract with him. I spoke to two different agents from different agencies. Agent 1 tells me he has someone regional lined up and might buy sight unseen, so i give permission for him to collect the keys, go and view the house and to take photos for his buyer. He did not take the keys back to orig agent. He showed the buyer or the buyers brother (not sure) the house and am supposedly going to get a written offer tonight. He is now also pushing for a 7 day listing with him. Agent 2 - I told her to collect the keys to go and view and value the property. She did not give the keys back to orig agent. She tells me she might have one or two ppl view the property over the w.e. I have not signed any forms. Does having the keys give them entitlement to the the listing and sale commish even if i have not signed anything with them ? eg. they have the keys and might show ppl, do that give them the listing or entitlement ? thanks
It was not the title that was misleading, it was the content (or rather the lack of explaining the relevant details) of your original post. No, for an agent to get any commish, he/she must have a valid signed agency agreement. No, for an agent to get the listing or any commish, he/she must have a valid signed agency agreement. Merely being in possession of keys is not enough. Either or both of the latest 2 x agents may have done a conjuction with the first agent you had, if the selling agency agreement was still valid - which it seems not to be if the agreement was mutually cancelled and the agency period expired.
If I were you I would be asking both for a copy of the agency agreement. When they say they don't have it then you just worked out who the most inept sales agent in town is. You may have two of the worst agents dealing with your life. Rule 1 of RE is to ensure you have a client agreement before you do jack or you don't get paid. Did they tell you that you also need to have a contract ? Find one who knows their job is Tip #1.
Negligence from REA! Best you stick to one agent and attempt to sell it at higer price and favorable terms.
Hi there, Without a contract this happens quite frequently, I would not hand over the keys willy-nilly, if they have a buyer, qualify this with the agent and arrange access for that appointment only. Ensure all costs with the sale are documented in a contract including advertising fees to avoid confusion and without exclusive authority think about what the commission will be and agree upfront otherwise the agent may hold you to ransom with a buyer. In summary - document and agree on terms upfront. Cheers Ivan
Ahhhh!!! The old "I have a buyer tucked away" story. As above - get the keys back today. Get a copy of anything you have signed and cancel any authority in writing. Once you know you have a clean slate then choose one agent and list. Other agents will say "they" have the buyer you need but that buyer can see it on the net and go to the listing agent. It is very rare that a buyer will ignore a house they are interested in buying due to it not being listed with an agent they prefer to buy through. I would also suggest asking a solicitor to word something for you to add to any agreement to ensure you don't get hit for two commissions in case your buyer was introduced by a different agent.
