Buying house direct from seller. No agent

[evedawn]

We have decided to put an offer on a house. The house is listed with agent but we are going to offer to the seller direct. We did NOT view the prop thru an agent at all. we came to know of seller snd the prop for sale thru actual friend. An I correct in thinking the agent cannot "make" us go thru them. ? Both is and seller want to
Avoid the agents fees etc ....

[gina32]

you dont have to go through an agent

[sandyRoe]

Did the agent advertise the house anywhere? He won't be happy to lose a commission. What is it now, about 2%?

[evedawn]

It is not on the agents website but the agency board is outside. The comm is 2% but on a big purchase such as this that will save the seller a fair bit .... A saving he can
Pass onto us. I was wondering if it's legal (I have no qualms about it being ethical as only listed with agents for 2 weeks and no one has viewed etc)

[sandyRoe]

The vendor must have engaged the estate agent. He might find himself in the small claims court if he tries to get out of paying the commission.

[Prudie]

Did the sellers agree a contract with the Estate agents - seem to remember you agree to keep a house on their books for a set time, 60 days?? Anyway, if not can't the seller just withdraw the house from the market and then deal directly with you?

[evedawn]

Ahh sandy roe I wondered about that. The seller is a lovely gent but spks very little English and has admitted to me he is unsure about the vaguaries of the contract . I wondered if he would be liable for full commission or if it would be partial commission.

[evedawn]

It has been on market for 2 weeks ... But agents have only been around to take photos etc this week. They seem very slack indeed

[buildersmate]

It is unlikely that the seller will 'get away' with avoiding the estate agent commission. If they have signed a contract (and it seems very likely that they have), there is normally a clause to the effect that any person making an offer that leads to eventual sale is assumed to have been introduced by that EA unless specific exclused names of potential buyers are listed in the contract. Unless the seller made it clear to the EA that you were an interested party that had approached the seller prior to the EA engagement and named you, they will be liable to pay commission.
EAs are remarkably efficient at ensuring that they don't lose out on commission.
The reason when the 'named individuals' part most often comes into play is when a seller disengages one agent to appoint another; if there are interested buyers from the first agent who eventually purchase, without such a clause, the seller would end up paying 2 lots of commission - one to each agent.

[bednobs]

with ours, we had to sign a contract that said that if we sold the house (thru any method) while we were on their books, we would pay their commission. The seller would be taking a huge risk if he took it off the market (probably has to wait at least six weeks to get out of the contract) just for you then you backed out> you are not doing anything wrong - YOU are not in a contract with the agents. He is

[d9f1c7]

you are not dealing with the agent anyway. Ignore the agent and deal with the vendor, any claim from the agent will be on the seller anyway.