JANE HANSEN The Sunday Telegraph January 13, 201312:00AM
HOMEOWNERS are being caught out by exclusive agency agreements, leaving some liable to pay double commission on the sale of their properties.
Head of the Real Estate Institute of NSW Tim McKibbin said the "effective cause of sale" in real estate was an issue for the industry.
"This is an area that causes us endless grief, and it happens more often in a tight market," he said.
In one case, the owner of a recently sold property in Leichhardt might have to stump up two lots of commission after a previous agent, who failed to sell the property prior, claimed to have introduced the eventual buyer.
Joanne Ryan, 52, offered her Carlisle St terrace for sale on two occasions through Belle Property Annandale. When both campaigns last year failed to garner any firm offer, Ms Ryan withdrew the property from sale. Several months later, she re-listed with rival real estate agent McGrath in late October and the property sold on November 17.
She then received a letter of demand from Belle's lawyers acting on behalf of agent Robert Clarke demanding a commission of $31,383, even though the McGrath agent had the listing. The demand was accompanied by a threat of a caveat being put on the property.
In a letter from Belle's solicitor, A.E. Clarke, the agent reminded the vendor of her original agreement with Belle in 2011.
"This is an exclusive agency agreement. This means you have to pay the Agent commission even if another agent (or you) sell the property to introduce a buyer (sic) who later buys the property," the letter states.
The eventual buyer had viewed the property under Belle but had not made any previous offers until the McGrath auction.
"It becomes a problem for the industry when an agent has been working with a purchaser for months then a second agent is enlisted and the first agent takes the view that they have been the effective cause of sale," Mr McKibbin said.
"There are instances where there is an overlap and vendors need to make sure they terminate the contract with the agency before they move on to the next."
Calls to Belle Property and Mr Clarke were not returned.
