Signed agreement with estate agent.

[Khandro]

I put a U.K. property (small apartment) on the market 2 months ago, and signed an agreement with an estate agent that he would be the sole agent and the fee would be £2,000 after sale. I now begin to think I made a mistake in my choice. How binding is such an agreement, can it run on indefinitely? I do not have a copy as the transaction was carried out online.

[bednobs]

well if you signed it, it's binding.
However, most estate agents will give you a notice period, or tie you in for a certain amount of time. How much is the place worth? £2000 for a small apratment seems over the top

[rowanwitch]

If he sells it...wait until its about to go through and tell him you have some unexpected expenses relating to the property... urgent repairs of some kind...say you will have to withdraw from the sale until you can get the money together... many agents will offer a drop in their fees to 'help' and ensure the sale goes through

[tonywiltshire]

To my mind it is critical that you have a copy of the agreement to see the conditions you agreed to and what your options are, a copy should have been provided at the time of signing, online or in person
To be legally binding there has to be offer & acceptance together with other requirements though valid it may still be set aside by one of the parties on such grounds as misrepresentation or the exercise of undue influence.
You could check online to see a “specimen agreement” if there were no special conditions, if not get a copy of your agreement from the agent.

[Khandro]

Thanks all, and tony your post prompted me to search and I have found a copy of the agreement which has a 'Termination of agency' clause, allowing either party to withdraw from the agreement after giving 28 days notice in writing, which I guess is reasonable, and something I missed; the whole thing was done in a rush (never a good idea) as I was leaving the next day. I'm not in any hurry to sell, so I shall leave it for now, and see how things develop. The asking price is £80,000, so a £2,000 fee, if it sells at that, represents 2.5%.

[bednobs]

2.5% IS HUGE!
I recently had my house on the market for 1%

[Khandro]

^^ Perhaps I should have shopped around more. There is also an £85 + vat, 'Energy performance certificate' on top.

[bednobs]

you needed the epc no matter what, however, you can get them for around 35 if you shop around. Atleast you get to keep it i suppose!

[cathfromsaron]

you can cancel your contract in writing and then put it with someone else, but any leads they have generated will need to be paid for, and they will dog you til you pay it!

cath x

[bushbaby_de]

The percentage rate is always higher the lower the value of the property, so a large family house might go for 1% but a small flat will usually go for 2-3%. I'm selling a one bed flat for £170K and paying 1.5%, which is about £3K once you put VAT on it, so what Khandro is paying isn't unreasonable.