Help please - agent issue

[nikki2403 6]

Hi all,

We are selling our own house and have instructed and agent( major high st name), the property is currently under offer. The contract we signed stated a fee of 1.45% of the sale price. We have a copy of this with our signature. The agent is now saying the fee is 1.5% he also produced a contract with our signature, only Christ knows how he did that as we only ever signed ONCE.

He is also saying it doesn't matter what the contract we have in our possession says, the fee is 1.5% the last I remember, a contract is a legally binding document that can't just be disregarded.

Please can someone give me some advice?

Thank

Nic

 

[Chris_Hancox 16]

Hi Nic,

The agents fee would be paid to them via your solicitors from the sale proceeds, so I would advise that you speak with them to seek advice. If you both have signed agreements stating different things then it really becomes your word vs theirs.

I'm not sure what the sale value of your property is, but even if it was £1 million, the difference of 0.05% would only amount to £500. A relatively small amount in the scheme of things, so as a worst case scenario the way I would frame this is that it's not the end of the world if you end up having to pay it. However, I would be inclined to approach the agent and frame it in the same way. If you have a signed agreement saying something different to them, it's probably not worth the bad press for them to argue over such a small amount. Common sense says they would waive the difference as a goodwill gesture, so that would be the best way to negotiate with them.

I hope that helps and good luck.

Chris (www.fintentional.co.uk)

[Vineet Gupta 124]

13 hours ago, nikki2403 said:

We are selling our own house and have instructed and agent( major high st name), the property is currently under offer. The contract we signed stated a fee of 1.45% of the sale price. We have a copy of this with our signature. The agent is now saying the fee is 1.5% he also produced a contract with our signature, only Christ knows how he did that as we only ever signed ONCE.

He is also saying it doesn't matter what the contract we have in our possession says, the fee is 1.5% the last I remember, a contract is a legally binding document that can't just be disregarded.

You can speak to your solicitor and show him your contract. Given that you are the solicitor's client, I am sure he will follow your guidance

Failing that, you can take the agent to a small claims court