I have been looking at a vacant block of land for a few weeks my offers have been rejected, I have since discovered that the owner of the land has now put the property on the market privately. I contacted the owner and give him an offer which he accepted. He contacted me the next day and informed me the old real estate agent had contacted him and informed him that if he sold the land to me then they wanted their commission . Does anyone know what the legal situation is regarding this situation . Kind regards Jon
Hi Jon
Depending on the term of the Agency Agreement the Vendor had with his Agent then possible he maybe entitled to claim a commission but as long as your offer has been accepted that is really not your issue and is a dispute between the Seller and the previous agent.
All you have to ensure is that none of the commission charges are being passed onto you and you are all sweet.
Cheers
Yours in Finance
Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
Most listing contracts have a clause in the agreement which covers this exact situation and based on what you have written it would appear as if the agent has a legitimate claim to commission.
But, as Richard as pointed out, this is an issue between the vendor and agent. You make your offer on what you are prepared to pay and then leave the vendor and agent to come to terms – whatever that may look like.
Hi,
Being an ex real estate, I have seen a couple of agents act like this (lazy agents)
As the guys suggested "you should be ok" but I have seen an agent take some one to court in a similar situation , but the agent lost the case…. Lol
Jpcashflow | JP Financial Group
http://www.jpfinancialgroup.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeYour first port of call in finance :)
As per JP above, must be a pretty low agent and will need to be able to prove that you were introduced to the property by the agent ie did you contact the agent or inspect with the agent? If so, how long ago?
It is up to the vendor to sort this out as you have no contract with the agent.
make sure you get legal advice before signing contracts otherwise this commission could be passed on to you
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Hi SNM,
Reading the OP he/she did suggest that his previous offers had been rejected. I assume the offers were submitted through the agent/office now chasing their share of commission.
On this basis there should be a paper trail as proof.
Anywhere when properties are sold, you'd have to pay commission if the seller is still under contract obligation to the agent – whether you approached the agent or the seller direct with your interest to purchase. If they have a valid agreement with the dates still being active you would be obliged to pay the commission. If they had a past agreement but dates have expired, and the seller has not handed his property to a new agent, you should not be under obligation to pay any commission.
It's possible there are other clauses under the agreement that allows the seller to sell privately (which I doubt) and in which case you should not be obliged to pay. However you'd have to get a copy of the sellers contract. Sounds like the agent may be willing to fight a legal fight so you may want to negotiate with the seller to handle the situation between them to clarify what exactly is the legal clause. Why risk being embroiled in a legal battle when you intend to buys someone's property?
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