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Stuart Leigh

New Member
I had my house on the market to no avail but the agent's board is still outside. The sole agency has long expired. I want to know: if I advertise my house privately and get a buyer, cam the agent demand commission even though he has nothing to do with the sale? Clarification on this matter would be much appreciated. Stuart.
 
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SteveK

New Member
If you end up selling to someone who has previously views the property or sometimes even enquired then you'll need to be careful.

You can ask your outgoing estate agent for a list of everyone who viewed or made offers to avoid this situation.

Above all, read through the contract you signed with the estate agent to see what you are liable for.
 
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diyhelp

Active Member
Surely there must be a time lapse on this - what if a buyer came back 6 months later after viewing the property when the board was up? Check the small print of your contract. As a matter of interest, would the estate agent go through the hassle of monitoring your property when they have departed to see if it was a previous viewer who eventually bought? I suppose they could check the land registry?
 
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SteveK

New Member
Seeing as commission is the way that estate agents earn their money, I wouldn't be surprised if they did have some monitoring setup on the property perhaps land registry, which would only cost £3 to get name of new owner or even contact new owner at the address and ask how they came to buy the property offering some money as an incentive for the information.

At the end of the day there can be £0000s at stake so having an employee dedicated to monitoring previously marketed properties doesn't seem too unbelievable.

I would be interested to know from an agent how they actually do this.
 
Veronica

Veronica

Administrator
Usually an agent will stipulate the length of time where you cannot sell to someone they brought without paying them commission. I think it is usually 6 months. This is only fair as they will have had expenses with advertising, time, petrol etc.
But if you sell to someone new who was not originally shown the property by the agent then they should not expect a commission once the sole agency agreement expires.
 
Veronica

Veronica

Administrator
We can get details of properties that are sold and the buyer from land registry. At least here in Cyprus we can as long as we are registered agents.
 
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