Buying a house from a private individual after having already seen it with an agency is a possibility that both the seller and the buyer can find very convenient. In fact, both parties avoid the burden of having to carry out a whole series of checks on the documentation of the apartment and on the buyer’s creditworthiness. They also save the real estate brokerage fee .
If you have already visited the house with an agency, you will surely have noticed how the real estate agent made you sign a document stating that you have visited the house. If you let the agency’s mandate expire, or perhaps revoke it to buy the house privately, you will still have to pay the agency’s commission https://www.atticushomebuyers.com/
In fact, real estate agencies have a right to commission, and this right expires not when you withdraw the mandate from the agency, nor when the brokerage mandate expires, but 12 months after the real estate agent becomes aware of the agreement of private purchase.
Let’s take an example, to better explain the risks to which you are exposed:
On January 1, 2021 you visit an apartment with an agency. You decide not to make any offers , and withdraw the brokerage mandate from the agency
on September 1, 2021 you reach a private agreement for the purchase of the house, and everything seems to go smoothly for some time
talking to acquaintances, on 1 January 2021 the real estate agent discovers that you and the owner have concluded the negotiation privately.
The agency has until January 1, 2022 to sue you and the old owner, demanding payment of the commission from both. The real estate agency will have no problem proving that a private agreement has been reached for the sale, as they will have:
the real estate brokerage mandate granted by you and the owner of the apartment
the sheet you signed , declaring that you visited the house
proof that the house was bought privately
If the agency’s commission claim lapses 12 months after the real estate agent discovers that you privately bought a home, the only way to avoid getting caught up in a legal proceeding is to hide the purchase and sale of the property. immovable for life. This is obviously not possible.
