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I am a landlord with an excellent tenant and an excellent relationship with him. I am trying to sell due to unemployment and age (I’m 72). I found an agent or rather he found me and he said he could sell within two weeks or quicker.That was April 17th. 2023. It looks like my place won’t sell.The problem is that I told him I could not pay anything until the place was sold. Meantime he has got me into debt refusing to try and sell unless I agree to paying his photographer and the solicitor. So, I had to take out two loans.What happens if the place does not get sold and I can’t pay up?
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Do you have a written and signed contract with the agent? If you do, what does it say?
Have you checked that this person has a licence?
I am not sure I understand, if you took out two loans, why wouldn’t you be able to pay. Are there are other costs?
I tried to post a link to the NSW Fair Trading website about agency agreements but the system thinks it’s spam.
I can see you have a cash flow problem.
However it’s standard practice that advertising costs and the drawing up the contract of sale are paid for upfront.
It’s not the fault of the real estate agent. He’s probably need stung too many times with unpaid bills.
I think your only option was to take out the loans.
I have an inherent mistrust of all real estate sales agents. However, you could always take the listing off him, and find another agent if your current one isn’t performing to your satisfaction. It does depend on the contract you have signed with the agent. The professional photography belongs to you once you have paid the fee and you can use these photos in any other sales campaign in the future with another agent, so they aren’t a waste of money if they are reasonable shots. I assume the solicitor the agent obtained drafted the contract for sale. You should have got someone of your own choice if the lawyers fee quoted was too high in the first instance. A conveyancer may have been cheaper. In any case, the contract is also yours if you have paid for it and you only need change the names of the agent and the solicitor to new ones of your choice in future. Surely you were aware of these upfront costs before committing to sell? They weren’t going to do it for free! A photography shoot and contract preparation would cost a few thousand dollars max, so pay up with your loan money or tenant rent money and move forward, hoping to recoup your upfront costs with a sale. You haven’t stated where your property is located, but start doing some proactive footwork and canvass several other agents about what they can do for you, and to show you comparable listings of sales in your area before making a decision. You may be asking for too much for your property which is why it isn’t selling. Ask them what commission the agents charge and try to negotiate a lower one in a competitive environment like real estate sales listings. Be aware that you will also have to pay for internet advertising on realestate.com and domain.com as well as a billboard out the front and glossy brochures for prospective purchasers. You will also have to pay for legal/conveyancing costs on the sale of the property before everything is done and dusted. Don’t be naive. Prepare a schedule of costs involved moving forward and decide if selling is the way to go.
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