Jump to content
Complete France Forum

buying without agent


Briank

Recommended Posts

We have some friends who have seen a house they wish to buy. The vendor has agreed verbally to sell it to them at the asking price. They have just found out that two days before they saw the house the vendor put it on with an agent and that the agent is still showing people round the property. They don't know if it is an exclusive contract. The vendor's notaire knows that they want to buy it and is drawing up the compromis. If the contract is exclusive can they still buy it privately?

Thank you

Brian Knights (Dept 86)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It depends on how your friends found the house. If the agent showed it to them, then the agent would be entitled to claim commission from them. To make the agent's claim stck, they would probably (but not necessarily) need to have signed a bon de visite. If they went direct to the seller, and the agent was not involved, they should have no extra to pay.

If the vendor has an exclusive contract and then sells privately, the agent will try to claim his commission from the vendor, not the buyer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hello - just to clarify. If the vendor has signed an EXCLUSIVE contract (mandat) with the agency and has not yet cancelled that mandate, then the vendor  (not your friend, the buyer) will have to pay the agency a commission EVEN IF they sell it directly to your friend without the intervention of the agency. 

If however the vendor signed a mandat simple (a non exclusive contract meaning that he or she can sell the property via several agencies should he so choose, OR sell it directly himself) then the vendor can sell the property to your friend without having to pay the agency a commission.

If your friend had indeed visited via the agency and signed a bon de visite, then a commission would be due in both cases.

Hope this helps

Claire Healy (Attika International) www.attikainternational.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...