“Ready, Willing & Able” clauses in Marketing Agreements - what fresh hell !!

[Bluebackedsheep]

Am prepped to go to market and have chosen the Agent I would most like to work with, but have hit a massive brick wall in terms of the “Ready, Willing & Able Purchaser” clause in their Marketing Agreement.

Essentially this clause says that if they introduce a Buyer who is ready, willing and able to proceed to Exchange of Contract then the Estate Agents fee is payable even if you have to pull out for reasons beyond your control.

i understand why an EA may want this clause, but experiences I had while trying to sell two years ago make me nervous about it.

i experienced Vendors lying about their circumstances, wobbling and eventually withdrawing, buyers pulling out, pressure to accept new buyers with a long chain behind them, etc. etc. I also experienced a large legal bill due to flakey buyers who pulled out for ‘personal reasons’, Estate Agency “Withdrawal Fees” and a level of stress like no other !!

it is taken me two years to be prepared to dip my toe in the water again and now this fresh hell.

Am hoping someone here might be able to help me feel more rational about accepting this “Ready, Willing and Able” clause.

Is it the new normal? Is it part of the Marketing Agreement you have signed up too?

Has anyone fallen foul of it? If so can I ask what happened and how you dealt with it?

i should emphasise that I am hoping to go to market because I actually want to move house. I long for a quick, clean sale and purchase with no games. I have ensured that my house is sale ready, my finances in order, Solicitor lined up etc. etc, but I can’t account for other people in the process. I am also happy to pay upfront for photographs, adverts etc to try and reduce EA exposure.

What I am less happy about is potentially ending up with paying full agency fees as well as abortive legal costs, if someone, somewhere else in the chain causes it to fall apart.

Please talk me down, before I mentally unpack and decide to just stay here forever !!

Fuck that.

There are other agents.

I think you may encounter clauses like that with the type of agent who asks you to pay up front for photographs and marketing. I would NEVER agree to this. You want an agent who’s committed to selling your house because they’ve invested in the transaction completing as well, and who are confident enough of it happening that they don’t need clauses like that.

Just tell them you won’t accept that clause, and go with another agent. It’s an unfair clause, there have been campaigns to ban it.

I’ve not come across that. Find another agent.

I've not come across this, and wouldn't accept it, nor would I expect to pay for the photographs up front. Normally if, say, you change your mind and decide to stay put, you would be expected to pay for the photographs and marketing expenses, but that's all.

If I withdrew because I changed my mind I would be happy to pay for photographs, but I would never just withdraw for no reason.

i abhor game playing, especially in relation to something as serious as house buying.

The reason I have waited to come back to market, is because I think the heat in the market in 2022 was causing a great deal of chaos. People here were buying on the back of 20 minute viewings, making inflated offers, making multiple offers etc . etc. and then withdrawing.

I was hoping that without the heat in the market things would become more stable.

I know exactly what I am looking for and would offer on it immediately I find it. Unfortunately though, I need to find a buyer first in order to be taken seriously with any offer and that won’t be happening through any agent imposing a “Ready, Willing and Able” clause.

Just another brick wall to climb in our crazy sale / conveyancing process.

Dear god no. We’re selling at the moment and we owe the EA £0 until the sale goes through.

Edited to add: you shouldn’t be paying for photos up front either.

This clause seems a bit strange to me. One of the agents round here said that if i accepted an offer then i pulled out i would be liable. I queried it and they said they had done their job so should get commission.

I ended the conversation there and he was shocked i didn't want to discuss anything further. They also wanted £50 for floor plans to be made .

My EA that sold my house only wanted commission upon completion, no other charges and if i remember rightly no other EA had this clause. Are they a national chain by any chance?

@fromtheshires No, not a national chain. Local with a good reputation for getting the job done.

Interestingly though, I have spoken to a friend this morning who says she decided not to use them because of that clause. She also said that she read the Agreement several times before actually focusing on the clause and realising the implications of it.

I wonder how many people have signed Agreements without realising there is a similar clause buried deep in the small print. It is so easy to focus on commission rates, notice periods etc, but that small print can be the real killer.