ChatterBank3 mins ago
Signing up with Estate Agent
9 Answers
My mother had her property valued last friday as she is interested in selling later on in the year.
The Estate agent was made aware of these facts but despite this they measured up, took photos and talked my mum into signing up with them on a set fee basis $4800 +vat on a property value of �180k , which I think is absurd.
Do these contracts have cooling off periods, like others do, or is she tied into them for 16 weeks?
I have tried calling them twice today and they wont return my calls !!!
The Estate agent was made aware of these facts but despite this they measured up, took photos and talked my mum into signing up with them on a set fee basis $4800 +vat on a property value of �180k , which I think is absurd.
Do these contracts have cooling off periods, like others do, or is she tied into them for 16 weeks?
I have tried calling them twice today and they wont return my calls !!!
Answers
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shes tied in with them if she signed at home.
BUT she doesnt have to accept any viewings, or sell the house. That way she cant be indebted for any sales commision.
Of course she wont be able to use them again as I doubt theyd be very helpful but with sales tactics like that would she really want to.
BUT she doesnt have to accept any viewings, or sell the house. That way she cant be indebted for any sales commision.
Of course she wont be able to use them again as I doubt theyd be very helpful but with sales tactics like that would she really want to.
I'm assuming that the '$' symbol should be '�'. If so, that gives the rate of commission as two and two thirds per cent (+VAT). It's at the upper end of what UK estate agents charge but it's not wildly excessive. (UK estate agents usually charge around 1.5% to 3%. In other countries, the rate can be much higher. 5% to 8% is common in New York).
While there are cooling off periods for some contracts signed at home, these normally exclude situations where the householder has invited the service provider to call by prior appointment. It seems likely that your mother has tied herself into the contract.
Chris
While there are cooling off periods for some contracts signed at home, these normally exclude situations where the householder has invited the service provider to call by prior appointment. It seems likely that your mother has tied herself into the contract.
Chris
Find out if the firm belongs to NAEA or any other professional body. If so, find out what their procedure is for dealing with complaints. Then, if your mother feels she was put under undue pressure to sign and wishes to get out of it, follow the complaints procedure & see what you can do. The charge seems inordinately high to me for what is presumably a straightforward house sale so a complaint might result in the charge being reduced to a more competitive level even if she can't get out of the contract. (You could get other local agents to tell you what their normal % fee is for similar properties for comparison purposes.)
My Mother is early 60's, she knew what she was signing but felt unduly pressurised into signing and was made to believe by the agent that she was getting a good deal !
She has never had to do this sort of thing before, she told the agent this also, and I cant help but get the sense they are taking advantage of the fact she lives in a good school catchment area and doesnt know what she is doing!
They have now ignored 4 of my calls, so yes im going to go the complaints route.
Thanks all
She has never had to do this sort of thing before, she told the agent this also, and I cant help but get the sense they are taking advantage of the fact she lives in a good school catchment area and doesnt know what she is doing!
They have now ignored 4 of my calls, so yes im going to go the complaints route.
Thanks all
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