Estate Agents Fees

[lilly]

We are in the process of selling our French house with an Independant Estate Agent.  Her fees were included in the asking price, but she is now saying that the buyers would like us to contribute to some of her fees (about one third). The Estate Agent says this is quite 'normal' for an Independant Agent.  It is obviously a way of reducing the asking price.   I would like to know if anyone else has come across this practise and would be grateful for any advise.

[Judie]

[quote user="lilly"]

We are in the process of selling our French house with an Independant Estate Agent.

[/quote]

Not sure what an independant estate agent is - perhaps an agent commercial. Anyway, I'm a salaried agent and I've never heard of this - sounds like she's trying it on. Did you sign a mandat with her when you put the house on the market? Aren't her fees shown there as payable by the buyer? It really depends how desperate you are for the sale. If you are past compromis stage and outside the buyers' 7 day cooling off period then they are legally bound to proceed with the purchase and you can stand your ground as the buyers are liable.

[Pickles]

[quote user="lilly"]We are in the process of selling our French house with an Independant Estate Agent.  Her fees were included in the asking price, but she is now saying that the buyers would like us to contribute to some of her fees (about one third). The Estate Agent says this is quite 'normal' for an Independant Agent.  It is obviously a way of reducing the asking price.   I would like to know if anyone else has come across this practise and would be grateful for any advise.[/quote]

Well, yes, it is just another way of reducing the asking price. "Normal" does not necessarily mean that it happens all the time, merely that there's nothing intrinsically wrong with the proposition. It gives you three alternatives:

1. Reject the kind offer to contribute.

2. Use this as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the agent to reduce her fees in order to meet them part way, with or without a contribution from you.

3. Offer to make a contribution.

In the case of 2 and 3, make sure that the price that is recorded for the acte de vente is correct - ie if you have contributed, then the effective price has come down.

Regards

Pickles

[lilly]

I mean an Agent who works alone, for themselves, and is not tied to a particular company.   We did sign a madate saying the fees are payable by the buyer (who happens to be a friend of hers).   We realize we are very lucky to sell the property at a price that suits us at the present time.    We are not past the compromis stage yet.  I think the agent is trying to keep everyone happy, but we were not expecting this!

[lilly]

Thank you for your comments  Pickles,   they have given us food for thought.

[Benjamin]

The ideal outcome of any successful negotiation is that all parties come out of it feeling that they've achieved the best result that was possible.

You've already seen the wisdom in Pickles' reply so if you're happy to make some gesture to agreeing to the agent's suggestion, first ask the agent if the purchaser will proceed to contract if you agree. This is  a conditional close of the selling process. If the answer is yes then you should all feel that you've achieved something.

If the answer is no, then you have to ask yourself why the question was asked in the first place and maybe be prepared for a long list of requests merely designed to see just how much they can drive down the price until you say no more!

[Iceni]

[quote user="lilly"]

The Estate Agent says this is quite 'normal' for an Independant Agent. 

[/quote]

In the (nearly) words of the fragrant Mandy Rice-Davies "Well, she would, wouldn't she?"

I have no idea of your asking price but 1/3rd of the agents fee is a modest amount in % terms. This is the first volley in the haggling process but only you can decide how much you need the sale versus how much you need the asking price.

John

 

[PaulT]

If the agent valued the house have they valued it at a realistic price - or are they doing a friend a favour and seeing how much they can reduce it by.

I was also under the impression that an agent will sometimes reduce their fee to get a sale so you could suggest that you and the agent meet the reduction on a 50/50 basis.

Paul

[Corinne Fournier]

This is a highly regulated profession in France and the Agent Immobilier (or French Estate Agent) must be formally registered and bonded as such with French authorities.

When dealing with a client, the French Estate Agent must either have a written “mandat de vente” (empowering him or her to sell a property on behalf of the vendor) or a written “mandate de recherche” (empowering him or her to seek out property to buy on behalf of a purchaser) and a potential client should not hesitate to ask to see the French Estate Agent’s written authority.

Under a “Mandat de vente” the Estate Agent is usually paid his or her commission by the vendor and under the “Mandat de recherche” the Estate Agent’s commission is generally paid by the purchaser.

Throughout France, commission rates of 4 and 5% for property purchase are the norm and even higher figures have been regularly encountered in the South.

The French Estate Agent is usually paid upon completion of the property sale and generally receives his or her commission at the completion meeting (and thus is usually present).

NB – Anyone, of whatever nationality, who is not formally registered as an Estate Agent in France, and who attempts to take a commission on brokering real properties, could in certain circumstances be held to be committing a criminal offence

[Corinne Fournier]

If there is no "mandat" then, as a matter of French Law, there is usually no basis for payment of fees.

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