Withdrawing property from the market.

[Mamacute]

Hello everyone.
I’m after a few clarifications per the above , please.

I put my property on the market in March.
After about 14 viewings but no substantial offer, I’ve now decided to take it off the market.
I listed at 235 but got an offer of 228 .. of course, I wouldn’t accept that , however , the proposed buyer only just listed theirs & was waiting to sell. I honestly suspect this was the agent trying to play a fast one as I’d asked for it to be removed the day before this supposed offer came up & was asked to leave it for two further weeks which I agreed to.

Now, I’ve formally advised I’d like it removed & I’ve received this letter from them, stating these long list of individuals that “are known to have viewed my property “ and so I’d be liable to paying their fees, were any of those to purchase it within 6months from the withdrawal date , if sold through an agent or 2 years if sold privately !

They’ve listed 34 names in total.

I have an online portal with them with only 17 names in total who have requested to view , 3 of whom didn’t turn up.

Is this the norm with agents ? My agreement with them originally runs out the 07/07.

Why am I being held for a further of up to 2 years, post withdrawal date ?

Do those timescales only apply to the list of 34 people? If so, yes perfectly normal and I think perfectly reasonable. They introduced you to these people so they are entitled to their fee if you sell to one of them. But, check the contract you signed. Some agents have much stricter clauses.

Also that offer is a good offer against that asking price. It might not have been what you wanted but is not an unreasonable opening offer. I think you may need to research more about buying and selling property.

£7k under the asking price? I would have taken it!

TitusP
Point is , of those 34, only 17 of those are listed on my profile. I do not know where those other names sprung from.
Per the period , are you saying even outside the contracted period of 25 weeks which ends in August, we still are bound by the contract ?

TheRedBarrows
I hear you ! But even if I wanted to , the individual o hear is on the market and isn’t in a proceedeable position , as a result , we wouldn’t be able to put in an offer for our proposed new place.

If you've withdrawn it from sale why are you bothered? If you intend to sell it to a lead generated by an agent then start worrying if not why care?

No, I do not intend to.
I just don’t want to be in a fix if/when I choose to go with another agent.
I do not intend to until sometime next year though but seeing the list of leads they sent me threw me off balance , as I only have a record of 17 of them , as opposed to the 30+ they’ve sent me.

The new agent will probably ask you to provide the list of names or just tell them that you have it. You aren't bound to the old agents past the end of the contract unless you sell to a lead the old estate agent generated.

The list may include people who made enquires but never made a booking to view or maybe they ended up bringing more than one person to a booking last minute. The agent still generated that lead. It would make no sense for them to make up names on the off chance someone with that same name then later buys the property from you.

Completely standard and will be in the terms which you signed but I guess didn't read fully?

Sounds pretty standard for me, I think that’s why estate agents get bad names
It’s moneh for just advertising space and networking and a huge amount at that. No formal qualifications and most have no actual idea about houses or listen to people’s needs

Perhaps there were 17 couples so 34 in total? I would say the terms they have quoted are normal.

It’s normal, we had an agent previously try to claim our buyer had been introduced by them, but when pushed they had no proof and had been mistaken. It’s normal practice, as they introduced the buyer.
I would clarify who is on the list though, and object to the one she who didn’t show. See where that gets you.

Okay.
Thanks everyone.
Makes perfect sense now.

Very much appreciated.

I’m thinking I’ll just leave it then until the agreement period runs out.
I just decided to take it off as I sort of felt it being on the market for too long might put buyers off.

I’d speak with th tomorrow & see what they say.

Thanks again, everyone.