If you saw my post on VAT on estate agency fees, I’m afraid this is a similar post! I can be a bit of a grumpy old man sometimes, especially when I see something that I don’t feel is right. I like to think it’s because of my passion for doing the best for my clients, and sticking to my morals and core values.
Tie-in periods in estate agency contracts aren’t rare. Typically, you’re locked into a contract for 8 – 12 weeks meaning that in most cases the agent has exclusive rights to market and sell your home. I don’t fundamentally disagree with them either, but my personal opinion is that anything over 4 weeks should be questioned.
Over the past six months, I’ve seen some really unnecessary tie-in periods. Talking of six months, one very well established Greenwich agent is tying their clients in on a sole agency agreement for, you guessed it, six months! This isn’t even the worst part! The worst part is that they’re not even advising their clients about this tie-in. The vast majority of people I’ve come across who are looking to move away from this agent aren’t even really aware they’ve signed a contract. When I review their documents it’s usually (scruffily) hand-written that they’re tied-in for six months (or ~180 days). No wonder people hate estate agents!