Sellers: The Checks To Make Before Signing Anything
What Every Seller Should Verify About Their Agent
Most people choose an estate agent on a feeling.
Three agents come round, one of them seems the most confident, or the most likeable, or quotes the highest figure. A contract gets signed at the kitchen table that evening, often without being read properly.
We are an estate agent telling you to slow that down. There are a handful of checks that take about twenty minutes, and they apply to us as much as to anybody else. If an agent minds you doing them, that is information too.
Is the agent a member of a redress scheme?
Start here, because this one is not a nice-to-have. It is the law.
Under the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, every estate agent doing residential work must belong to an approved redress scheme. There are two: The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme. An agent who belongs to neither is trading unlawfully.
A certificate confirming membership should be displayed at the agent's premises and published on their website. So the check is genuinely quick. Look on the website, and if you cannot find it, ask which scheme they belong to and expect an immediate answer.
What it gives you is a route if something goes wrong that the agent will not put right. Without it, your only option is the courts.
Is your money protected?
This matters most in lettings, and it is worth understanding if you are a landlord as well as a seller.
Letting and property management agents in the private rented sector who hold client money have been required to belong to a Client Money Protection scheme since 1 April 2019. That is what stands between your rent, or a tenant's deposit, and an agent's business going under.
Ask which scheme, and ask to see it. Any agent holding other people's money should be able to answer that without hesitating.
What should you actually read in the contract?
This is where sellers lose money, and it is almost always because of something they did not notice rather than something they were told.
- What type of agreement is it? Sole agency, sole selling rights and multi-agency are different things, and sole selling rights can mean a fee is due even if you find the buyer yourself.
- How long is the tie-in? A long minimum period is not automatically wrong, but you should know it and agree to it deliberately rather than discover it later.
- What is the notice period, and when can you give it? Some agreements only let notice run from the end of the tie-in, which is a longer commitment than it first appears.
- What exactly triggers the fee? "Ready, willing and able purchaser" wording can mean a fee becomes payable even if the sale does not complete. Ask for it in plain English.
- Are there withdrawal fees, marketing charges or costs if you take the property off the market? Get the total, in writing.
- Could you end up owing two agents? If you switch, ask how an introduction by the previous agent is treated. This catches people out regularly.
None of these questions is rude. A good agent answers them clearly and puts the answers in writing without being asked twice.
What should you expect as standard?
- A valuation explained with evidence. Comparable properties, what they actually sold for, and how long they took. Not just a number.
- The fee stated plainly, including VAT, with no vagueness about what is and is not included.
- Time to read the agreement. Taking it away overnight is entirely reasonable.
- Straight answers about who will actually handle your sale, and who you call when something goes wrong.
- Honest feedback after viewings, including the feedback you would rather not hear.
What should you never accept?
A few things should end the conversation, or at least pause it.
Pressure to sign on the day. A price that is quoted higher than everybody else's with no evidence behind it. Reluctance to name the redress scheme. A fee structure that changes when you ask about it. Being told that reading the agreement properly is unnecessary.
And any suggestion that you must use a particular solicitor, broker or conveyancer to get the deal. You are entitled to choose, and you are entitled to know whether the agent is being paid for the referral.
Why did we join the Ethical Agent Network?
Because everything above is a test the customer has to administer, and that has always struck us as the wrong way round.
You should not have to interrogate three agents to work out which one will treat you properly. But there is no single qualification that tells you, and the legal minimum, a redress scheme, is only a floor. It tells you an agent has somewhere for complaints to go. It does not tell you they are good.
So we chose to be assessed against something higher, by somebody independent, and to be accountable for it. That is what EAN membership is. It cannot be bought; it has to be earned, and it can be taken away.
We would still rather you did the twenty minutes of checks. Do them on us as well.
There is another way.
We are proud members of the Ethical Agent Network (EAN). A national group of independent agents who have been independently assessed to ensure we meet strict standards of honesty, service, professionalism and community care.
To find out more about what we do and why we passed the EAN, and why we are the only local agency in the network, contact us today.
Frequently asked questions
Do estate agents have to belong to a redress scheme?
Yes. Under the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, every estate agent carrying out residential work must belong to an approved redress scheme. The two approved schemes are The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme, and membership should be displayed at the premises and on the website.
What is Client Money Protection?
A scheme protecting money an agent holds on your behalf, such as rent or deposits. Letting and property management agents in the private rented sector holding client money have been required to belong to one since 1 April 2019. Ask which scheme and ask to see the evidence.
What is the difference between sole agency and sole selling rights?
They are not the same. With sole selling rights, a fee can be due even if you find the buyer yourself, so check carefully which one you are being asked to sign.
Can I be charged by two estate agents?
It can happen if you switch and a buyer introduced by the first agent goes on to purchase. Ask both agents how introductions are treated before you sign anything new.
What are the warning signs when choosing an estate agent?
Pressure to sign on the day, a valuation well above the others with no evidence behind it, vagueness about fees, reluctance to name their redress scheme, and any insistence that you use a particular solicitor or broker to get the deal.
If you know someone about to choose an estate agent, please share this with them.
About the Ethical Agent Network
We are members of the Ethical Agent Network (EAN). Membership cannot be bought. Every agent has to pass an independent assessment on honesty, service and the way they treat people. So when you see the EAN logo on an agent's window or website, it is a signal you can trust before you have even walked through the door. To find out more, please get in touch or visit www.ethicalagentnetwork.co.uk.
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