Can you approach owners with offer if property is up with agent

[Naffnaff]

We have seen a property on rightmove which is up with a local agent. We know the property's owners by sight and wonder if it is possible to approach them directly with an offer in the hope that they could save the agent's fee and we would get a better deal. Is this legal? Can agents include clauses in their contracts to avoid this kind of thing from happening?

TIA

agent will still get their fee.

They only get their fee if the owners have signed a sole selling rights contract rather than sole agency... Which you should never do for exactly this reason!! So at least try approaching them!!

I'm sure the contract will include something about this, you would not have known that the property was for sale if it wasn't for the rightmove ad.

I think it's unethical to do this.

Special is right.

When we listed our house for sale we had to write down anyone we had discussed selling the house to before signing the contract with them.

If you only know the house is for sale because you have seen their advertising, then they have done their job really (even if they don't show you round, do the negotiating).