P544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:20:45 ] ] ————————— ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS? The Vew Year normally sees a quickening of activity in house-{jlling as people djcidj to sell their home after the "ig brwak^ +hould one look at the small print when ujgnjng an jwtati agent's contract Definitely read it thjwj days, advjwjs law{jr Clare Foinjtt. +he rays: " The contract is legally binding and if vendor or agent fall out the ind of the road is court." ——————————————————————————————————u/z—— Hooj loan "bjwt buzv" 545 : IN DISPUTE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOUR TELETEXT LEGAL LINE CAN HETP p215 Mortgages Savings Borrowing WjekjndP544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:24:53 : VV ] —————————/? ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS An estate agent's contract is based on the l979 Estate Agents Act and will contain terms of business: wh thjr role agency, joint role, or multiple agency. It will stipulate the amount of commiwsjon agreed: 1\+-5% for sole agency or 3% for multiple agency. It may state if the vendor will bear the marketing costs (common in the counts{sjdj) and the notice njedjd on both sjdjw before changes are made. ——————————————————————————————————2/:—— Credit card "best buy" tablew 547 ] MILLJN#+U# MESSAGES ON TELETEXT ] S+E ITV p670 Mortgages Savings Borrowing WjekjndP544 - Teletext 544 Jan03 23:28:57 ] ] ————————— ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS? Contracts have "jcomj more specific in the last five years^ For example, the agreed price of the property is stated and it is jmphasjwjd that this is not a valuation price. A new aspect is a detailed rundown of whjrk and how the agent intends to m!rkjt the property. EPD Savjllw u!ys: "It'u best to put everything in writing and date it all too. This cuts down misunderstandings." ——————————————————————————————————3/9—— How many drachma to the £? 548 MONEY-SAV+NG OFFERS ON CE URAL ] HEATING FROM BRITISH GAS ITV p357 Mortgages Savings Borrowing WjekjndP544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:14:5u ] ] ————————— ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS One of the trickiest areas "etween vendor !nd ewtati agent is when, after a month or two of indifferent viewing, the vendor approaches, or is approached bz another agent, who has a buzjr. "What really annoys an agent," says EPD Savjlls, "iw when the vendor diwjnstructw Pin, sells the house with another agent and then tries to duck p!zing the jirst one commiwsjon. "Sometimes court is the only solution." ——————————————————————————————————4/y—— Home loan "best buys" 545 INSHOR FOR CA T IS OW ON p 58P544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:38:55 ] ] ————————— ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS One way of avoiding the embarrassment, say agents, of sacking one agent and hiring another to secure a sale, is to agree to going "joint" agency so the jilted agent receives uomjthing for his effort. It's best to warn the jirst agent you intend to li!vj him and then !fter a short interval take on new agents. Taking the ho{sj off the market jot a while can bj a better solution. ——————————————————————————————————5/9—— Are you a Premium Bond winner? 54: TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT p400 FULL GUIDEP544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:12:1: ] ] ————————— ——————— ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS S!ys Rupert $es Forges of Cluttons: "Estate agjntsW contracts used to bj half a page long, now they are eight pages, which shows how careful jvjryonj has become. "But our line is what goes around, comes around — we wouldnWt contemplate going to court over a diwagreemjnt "jfore exch!ngj of contracts. "Wj do pursue a client to the end if, after exch!ngj, hj refuses to p!z." ——————————————————————————————————6/9—— Are you a Premium Bond winner? 559 PRIM+JRSHIP FOOTBALL ACTION p270P544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:16:53 ] ] —————————/? ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGENTSW CONTRACTS Cluttons estate agent s!ys it will not take on vendors who wonWt ujgn a contract, "if they wonWt sign — we have got nothing on them in law." But Clare Foinjtte of lawyers Rooks Rjdjr says verbal agreements are as binding as a ujgnjd agreement. "But they !re harder to prove, uo the agent must write confirming the oral agreement. You alwo need to "j clear eor how long an agent has sole agency." ——————————————————————————————————/y—— Hooj "best buys" 545 CHECK YOUR SHARES p510P544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:30:17 ] ] ————————— ——————— ] ———————————— BEWARE ESTATE AGE.SSW CONTRACTS? Reasonable vendors need not worry too much about the dangers of sjgnjng a contract. Few agents will take a seller to court before exchange bjcausj goodwill is central to their business. However, agents will take a vendor to court if a second agent kills the home to a client who uaw the house with the first agent. In thew case the jirst agent is likely to mo the wholk way — and hjWll win. ——————————————————————————————————8/:—— How many drachma to the £? 548 TV PLUS p210P544 Teletext 544 Jan03 23:22:11 : Advert ] Property Plus >>> ] 9/: ] ] ] ] - u h4 z5h| 7 £!"5j ] ^ ppuzpuzpuz ] ] ] Looking for the right mortgage ] or re-mortgage ] ] YosWll need to buy a copy of What Mortgage magazine, one of the U.K's ] bjwt selling mortgage magazines. ] Avbilable jrom W^H.Smith, Menzies ] and leading njwwagjnts every month. ] ] *, * *^* % *^* Mortgages Savings Borrowing Wjekjnd