Terms and Conditions of Business, Fees and Expenses
The Estate Agents Act 1979 requires agents, fees and terms of business to be confirmed in writing. PERFECT LIVING SALES standard terms of business are set out below.
The accompanying contract may vary these terms and conditions and will explain how our sale fee is calculated and detail other costs and charges and the Letter and these terms will form an entire agreement between us.
TYPE OF AGENCY
Sole Agency
Where Perfect Living Sales acts on your behalf as your sole agents, you will be liable to pay remuneration to us, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, if at any time during the sole agency period or during the 6 (six) months following the expiry or earlier termination of the appointment, unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged:-
With a purchaser introduced by us during the period of our sole agency or with whom we had negotiations about the property during that period; or with a purchaser introduced by you or as a result of an offering via another agent during that period.
A sole agency instruction can be terminated by either party giving 14 days’ notice in writing. Notice by either side does not detract from our right to charge fees under this or any other clause.
Joint Sole Agency
Where Perfect Living Sales is instructed to act as a joint sole agent to sell the property, you will be liable to pay remuneration to us, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged either:
(i) with a purchaser introduced by Perfect Living Sales or its joint sole agent(s) during the period of Perfect Living Sales joint sole agency or during the 6 (six) months following the expiry or earlier termination of the appointment; or
(ii) with a purchaser with whom Perfect Living Sales has had negotiations concerning the property during the period of its joint sole agency or during the 6 (six) months following the expiry or earlier termination of the appointment; or
(iii) with a purchaser introduced by another agent during that period.
A Joint Sole Agency acts in the same respect as a SOLE AGENCY instruction and as such can be terminated at any time by either party giving 14’ days notice in writing. Notice by either side does not detract from our right to charge fees under this or any other clause.
Double Commission Warning
If any other agent introduces a Buyer to you during the period of the sole or joint sole agency agreement, this will be regarded as an introduction by Perfect Living Sales or the (agreed) joint agent in the case of a joint sole agency appointment and you will be required to pay the agreed fees to Perfect Living Sales and / or the joint agent, as the case may be, as well as that other agent.
Multiple Agency
Where Perfect Living Sales is instructed along with other agents, you will be liable to pay remuneration to us, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, if at any time during the period of the Multiple Agency, or during the 6 (six) months following the expiry or earlier termination of the appointment, unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged:-
With a purchaser introduced by us; or with a purchaser to whose attention we brought the availability of the property.
A multiple agency instruction can be terminated by either party giving 14 days’ notice in writing. Notice by either side does not detract from our right to charge fees under this or any other clause.
Private Buyers
No fee will be payable if you find your own buyer, even during the sole agency or joint sole agency period. However, please note that a buyer will be deemed to have been introduced by Perfect Living Sales if they have found out that the property is for sale by seeing the Perfect Living Sales “For Sale Board? or any other form of advertising such as internet marketing or email notification that the property is for sale.
Sub Instruction
Perfect Living Sales reserves the right to sub-instruct other agencies at any time during our agency if we consider that this would be in your best interests. In so doing, we will ensure that any such agent instructed by us to assist will agree to comply with the provisions of this agreement. Any such sub-instruction will not involve any extra costs unless previously agreed with you and all viewings and negotiations will be coordinated by Perfect Living Sales.
Fees
Perfect Living Sales fees are normally calculated as a percentage (%) of the sale price achieved plus VAT at the prevailing rate. Except as may be varied by the Contract attached, for all sole agency instructions, this percentage is at a rate of 2% plus VAT and for joint sole agency instructions 2.5% plus VAT and for all multiple agency instructions, this percentage is at a rate of 3.0% plus VAT. The sale price will be deemed to include any extra prices for fixtures, fittings, goods, chattels, carpets, curtains and other such related items.
Responsibility for Fees
The responsibility for the payment of fees remains with the parties identified in the contract. If more than one party is to be responsible, the contract should be signed by all relevant parties and their liability will be joint and several. Where the property is owned by a company, the client is the company and in addition to accepting liability on behalf of the company, each person signing the Letter personally guarantees payment by the company of our fees, costs and charges.
Indirect Introduction - For the purpose of these conditions, an introduction by Perfect Living Sales may be indirect: for example, where the party who actually exchanges contracts for the purchase of the property is an associate, relative or representative of the person has introduced by Perfect Living Sales. An introduction by Perfect Living Sales will also be deemed to have occurred where a purchaser is found as the result of any marketing activity generated by Perfect Living Sales including publication of details of the property on Perfect Living Sales website or any other sites where Perfect Living Sales properties are listed.
Time and Payment of Fees
All fees to Perfect Living Sales become due and payable upon exchange of contracts. However, and at the sole discretion of Perfect Living Sales fees may be paid out of completion monies. On your signing the enclosed copy letter, you are hereby authorising your lawyers to pay our fees out of the sales proceeds.
Delayed Completion - If completion of the sale is delayed for more than 3 months after exchange of contracts, Perfect Living Sales reserves the right to invoice you for any properly payable sale fee 3 months after exchange of contracts. Any such fee will become payable on the date stated on the invoice.
Failed Completion - If following exchange of contracts, completion of the sale fails, any fee becomes due and payable on the date on which completion was due to take place or, if earlier, the date of notification of failed completion. You agree to instruct your solicitors to pay any properly payable invoices out of any deposit monies which are or become available in respect of the sale.
Withdrawal of the property with a sale in progress - In the event that the Client withdraws the property from the market after a prospective purchaser has been introduced and draft contracts submitted to the purchasers’ solicitors then a fee will be due to Perfect Living Sales This fee, in mitigation of marketing cost, will be 25% of the Commission otherwise due if the transaction had completed on the terms agreed. This fee will be in addition to Costs and Expenses referred to below. In the event that the property is subsequently offered and sold by the same Vendor through Perfect Living Sales, this charge will be credited against the sale fee then due.
Marketing Charges and Other Costs
In addition to the sale fees, you are responsible for all agreed charges for marketing and other costs as set out in the contract. Until we receive written authority from you to proceed and payment of the agreed charges and costs, we reserve the right not to proceed with the marketing of the property. Unless otherwise agreed, all marketing charges are payable immediately upon receipt of the invoice.
In providing such marketing services we will act as principal not as agent for you. We may make a charge for the preparation of brochures, plans, photography and placing of advertisements etc and this will be included in the price quoted to you and by mutual agreement at the time of instruction.
VAT
All Perfect Living Sales fees, costs and charges are subject to Value Added Tax at the appropriate rate, regardless of your domicile.
Interest
We reserve the right to charge interest on any amounts still outstanding fourteen (14) days after Perfect Living Sales fees are first demanded.
The prescribed rate of interest shall be 2% above the Santander base rate as at the date they are first demanded and payable from that date.
If we find it necessary to use solicitors or other parties to successfully recover agreed fees, costs or charges, you agree to pay any reasonable costs incurred by us.
Verification of Information
Under the property Mis-Descriptions Act 1991, it is a criminal offence for an agent to make inaccurate or misleading statements about property whether in sales particulars, advertisements, photographs, or verbal statement. This includes making statements that might give the wrong impression about a property and includes omitting facts. You will be asked to verify certain information and must please assist to the best of your knowledge. Sales particulars will be submitted to you in draft form for your approval. You must please check them carefully and return them, signed to us signifying your approval and confirming their accuracy to the best of your knowledge and belief, having made reasonable enquiries where necessary. It is very important to ensure accuracy with regard to such matters as length of lease, service charge, boundaries, unusual covenants, room sizes, condition, planning consents, tenancies etc. You also agree to notify us immediately of any relevant changes which occur during the course of the sale process; in particular any changes which occur after approval of the sales particulars which may affect their accuracy.
Compliance
Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 we are required to obtain evidence of your identity and proof of address. We will require to see and take a copy of your passport and of a recent utility bill addressed to you at your current address (or other suitable documents) which we are required to hold on file for 5 years.
For Sale Boards
For Sale boards are an important marketing tool. However, legally only one board for the property is normally permitted. If it is agreed that Perfect Living Sales should erect a board, you agree to notify us immediately, if another board is displayed or erected.
Perfect Living Sales undertakes that any such boards will comply with the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations1987 and Perfect Living Sales accepts liability for any claim arising under these Regulations in connection with the board, unless the action arises as a result of a further board being put up by another agent.
Newspaper / Magazine Publications
Most properties marketed by us will be advertised in the local press, however, we reserve the right not to produce details of or include any property in our magazine or any other publication.
Marketing and Viewing a Property For Sale
While Perfect Living Sales will exercise all reasonable care in the marketing and viewing of the property, this involves providing information to a significant number of people. Perfect Living Sales will, unless specifically instructed otherwise, include all properties for sale on its Web site. It must be understood that Perfect Living Sales cannot accept responsibility for any misuse of this and other published information relating to the property.
While Perfect Living Sales will exercise all reasonable care when arranging or conducting a viewing (individual or “Open House”) property owners are advised to confirm their insurance arrangements for such visits to the property.
Disclosable Interests
In pursuance of section 21 of the Estate Agency Acts 1979, unless specifically stated in the contract, we are not aware of any personal interest existing between ourselves or anyone in our employ or any connected person(s) and yourself(ves). If you are or become aware of such an interest, you should notify Perfect Living Sales as soon as it becomes known to you. Should we become aware of any such interests; we will advise you promptly in writing.
Connected persons
We have told you that, while Perfect Living Sales will always represent your interests and your interests alone in the matter of achieving the highest possible sale price for your property, like other estate agents, we find it often assists a potential purchaser towards making an acceptable offer if we can ensure that services they may require are made available to them via us, in the event that they do not have an established contact. For example, we may wish to effect an introduction for a prospective purchaser to a solicitor to ensure that the conveyancing matters are handled efficiently; or an introduction to a mortgage broker to ensure that sufficient finance is available to allow completion of a contemplated transaction; or to a provider of other financial or investment services for that purchaser.
Some of the parties to whom we effect such an introduction may be businesses with whom we have a financial arrangement for payment of commissions or fees whether or not the transaction proceeds on your property. We are happy to disclose to you the nature and basis of such commission arrangements should you so wish. Wherever a prospective purchaser decides to use our services, we will, as soon as practically possible thereafter, inform you of that fact.
Keys
Perfect Living Sales secure key tag system ensures that third parties cannot identify to which property a set of keys belongs, therefore in the event that keys are lost or unaccounted for, Perfect Living Sales liability will be strictly limited to the cost of cutting a new set of keys.
We undertake that, unless otherwise agreed with you in writing, if we hold keys for your property, we will accompany all viewings around your house. In addition, also unless otherwise agreed with you, we will use reasonable endeavours to agree any arrangements for a viewing with you beforehand and we will, of course, only provide keys to those persons who have provided us with proper identification.
Offers
Perfect Living Sales will, promptly and accurately, forward all offers received from potential buyers at any time up until contracts have been exchanged unless the offer is of an amount or type which you have instructed us specifically and in writing not to pass on. Perfect Living Sales will maintain a written or computerised record of all such offers, including the date and time such offers were received and your response, which will be made available to you upon request.
Unoccupied Property
Perfect Living Sales is not responsible for the management, maintenance or repair of any property unless we have specifically so agreed.
That agreement must be recorded in writing and an additional fee charged. It is your responsibility to ensure that, where property is unoccupied, the property is adequately secured, mains services are turned off, water and heating systems professional drained and the insurers of the property notified.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT AND VARIATIONS
Each party confirms that these conditions and the contract constitute the entire agreement between the parties. Each party confirms that it has not relied upon any representation not recorded in this agreement inducing it to enter into this agreement. No variation of this agreement or the contract will be valid unless confirmed by a director of Perfect Living Sales.
Perfect Living Sales is required to notify you in writing of any offers made for your property and for any services to be offered by Perfect Living Sales to any prospective purchasers. During the appointment, we may also request you to confirm certain matters in writing. Perfect Living Sales is happy to accept communication via your email address below as written authority from you.
By signing the attached contract, you thereby confirm reciprocally that you are happy to receive such communication from Perfect Living Sales by email (if appropriate) to the address noted in the contract and that, in order to satisfy the requirement for such communication to be / have been “in writing”, notification by such means is acceptable to you.
Signed :. ............................................................................
(by or on behalf of the Vendor)
Print :. ............................................................................
Signed :. ............................................................................
(on behalf of Perfect Living Sales)
Print :. ............................................................................
Date :. ............................................................................