Agent (hsr) Refused Termination Of Exclusive Right To Sale Contract?

[lalala 0]

Hi all

I would like to check if anyone has similar experience, esp from HSR. It seemed that the exclusive right to sale contract expires after 3 mths(Jun).. however, advanced 2 wk written notice for termination is required. We have done that and the reply we gotten from the agent is that he doesnt accept the termination and is now claiming small claims against us in subordinate courts for his commission, claiming that he has gotten an offer that met our selling price but we refused to accept it.

Our reason for rejecting the offer was that we have already told them we got a ready buyer at that moment already and is not keen to deal with their buyer.

Right now, it seemed like we are still bind to that agent and cant proceed on .. is it reasonable? How can agents get the upper hand now and said that we cant terminate their contract?

[forgotten 1]

Is the other sale transaction (from your ready buyer) closed within that 3-month period while that agent was your exclusive agent?

Edited July 2, 2010 by forgotten

[Warrior88 0]

These are all contract agreement under contract law.

So, not really big deal, because the amount is small.

Even OTP, rental agreement all these are contract agreement.

Not worth for agent to go to Small Claim Tribunal Court.

Normally these are resolve through 3rd party mediation.

Again, all these cost money.

HSR got many lau chiao, old cock.

Simple as that contract expires, contract agreement is null.

The most they can claim is advertisement fees and some labour cost.

To lay claim, there are expenses involved.

[bepgof 20]

Hi all

I would like to check if anyone has similar experience, esp from HSR. It seemed that the exclusive right to sale contract expires after 3 mths(Jun).. however, advanced 2 wk written notice for termination is required. We have done that and the reply we gotten from the agent is that he doesnt accept the termination and is now claiming small claims against us in subordinate courts for his commission, claiming that he has gotten an offer that met our selling price but we refused to accept it.

Our reason for rejecting the offer was that we have already told them we got a ready buyer at that moment already and is not keen to deal with their buyer.

Right now, it seemed like we are still bind to that agent and cant proceed on .. is it reasonable? How can agents get the upper hand now and said that we cant terminate their contract?

This is Grandfather vs Grandmother case. Both says they are right, however, timing tells:

-He does not accept the termination?? Look like the sale ($1k otp fee date) transacted within this "2 weeks" period. If so, yr agent is right.

-Offer alone does not constitute to a binding contract, need also "acceptance" & "consideration" to form a legal contract. As owner you have ABSOLUTE and FINAL right to reject any offer.

- Simply ask that "keen" buyer to hold till exclusive contract expires then put the 1K with you, then everything swee swee.

Sound simple ? Seem simple & straight forward to forumers, but what exactly is holding you back? Can elaborate more in details? Especially with respect to timings.

Edited July 2, 2010 by bepgof

[forgotten 1]

Morale of the story: Do not sign exclusive contract with agents?

Edited July 2, 2010 by forgotten

[Spikey 0]

Surely u are not trying to escape paying commission to the agent?

[lalala 0]

hi guys

we have not sold our place yet

first of all- we signed the contract with guy called R but all these while , his guy called S is the one who handles everything. We met R only twice- first to sign the contract and 2nd time to bring us to view once. that's all. He is the one who is claiming against us .

ok.. the timings go like this:

14 march- signed contract

4 jun- told me that he has secured an offer which is higher than our expected selling price and that he has accepted the cheque and paper from the buyer thru sms. I replied immediately saying that i do not want to accept the offer. he did nto reply anymore.

i did not receive the cheque or sign any OTP

8 jun- asked me if i wan to buy back the valuation; i replied asking why should i since it is going to expire soon

14 jun - wrote in to request for termination of contract ( date of expiry is 14 jun)

then receive company's letter stating that Mr R does not want to accept the termination and that he has even secured a higher offer than expected and yet we rejected saying we wanted another 20K more ( which is totally false! When i called Mr S to verify, he said he did not say such a thing. )

I wrote to the company , stating the false claims. And when I called the management , he said that Mr R still insist on his story and in that case, the company decides to still leave it to the courts to decide and go ahead with the small claims. However, we cant proceed any sale on our side as the contract is still effective.

Right now, i receive many advice saying that the contract is deem expired already, despite their claim that they do not agree to the termination . However, is there a higher authority to verify this? I do not want to risk going ahead with my sale of flat and then ended up breaching their contract.

Edited July 2, 2010 by lalala

[lalala 0]

These are all contract agreement under contract law.

So, not really big deal, because the amount is small.

Even OTP, rental agreement all these are contract agreement.

Not worth for agent to go to Small Claim Tribunal Court.

Normally these are resolve through 3rd party mediation.

Again, all these cost money.

HSR got many lau chiao, old cock.

Simple as that contract expires, contract agreement is null.

The most they can claim is advertisement fees and some labour cost.

To lay claim, there are expenses involved.

hi warrior, he is claiming his broker commission

[wcseow 0]

Hi

I have seen a couple of exclusive agreements IMHO, read the agreement carefully. There would.might be a clause where it state the expected sales amount and also possible claim of expenses(and whatever stated) if the owner reject an offer that either meet or exceeded the that amount. If that clause is there, I believe they have the "contractual right" to claim expenses but still, they cannot reject the termination of the contract when it expired.

Edited July 2, 2010 by wcseow

[bepgof 20]

14 march- signed contract

4 jun- told me that he has secured an offer which is higher than our expected selling price and that he has accepted the cheque and paper from the buyer thru sms. I replied immediately saying that i do not want to accept the offer. he did nto reply anymore.

i did not receive the cheque or sign any OTP

8 jun- asked me if i wan to buy back the valuation; i replied asking why should i since it is going to expire soon

14 jun - wrote in to request for termination of contract ( date of expiry is 14 jun)

then receive company's letter stating that Mr R does not want to accept the termination and that he has even secured a higher offer than expected and yet we rejected saying we wanted another 20K more ( which is totally false! When i called Mr S to verify, he said he did not say such a thing. )

I wrote to the company , stating the false claims. And when I called the management , he said that Mr R still insist on his story and in that case, the company decides to still leave it to the courts to decide and go ahead with the small claims. However, we cant proceed any sale on our side as the contract is still effective.

Right now, i receive many advice saying that the contract is deem expired already, despite their claim that they do not agree to the termination . However, is there a higher authority to verify this? I do not want to risk going ahead with my sale of flat and then ended up breaching their contract.

You are safe! See pt 3.

1. Your serving of "letter for termination" was too late. You should have served the letter, 2 weeks before 14 June (this is called "in advance"). Exclusive agreement "automatically" renews every 3 months, so your letter is actually to terminate the agreement as on end of 14 Sept 2010. Be careful the phrase "in advance" in many doc, especially bankloan, once missed, need to wait....

2. R is the "mentor", S is the disciple/learner.

3. R/S "accepted" the offer on your behave, but without giving the offerer OTP! - 2 things done wrong by agent:

- Agent has not final discretion to accept any offer.

- How can he accepted the cheque without giving OTP to buyer? - Against the rule !

4. You just need to wait till 14 Sept, then start selling again. Any transaction before this date, whether by his efforts or not at all, the commission still need to go to him, legally.

I have 2 experiences in selling houses via exclusive agreement, all swee swee. The first case I did not meet the buyer until 2nd appointment. Second case, I even invited the agents(buyer & seller) and buyer to my new place(not house warming).

Edited July 2, 2010 by bepgof

[lalala 0]

Thanks bepgof. You made it much clearer.

I think the mistake I made was that the written notice for termination was done thru the company's website's feedback contact form. As such, I do not have a written copy as evidence and also, not very sure when I had submitted the notice. However, i realise that I received the company's reply for the rejection of termination on 10 Jun. So I supposed I have submitted before that. I thought that the termination will take effect 2 wks after the terrmination letter. That's how I interpret. So I was wrong? It auto renew for a whole block of 3 mths and termination has to be after that??

p/s: I just checked my history and realised i accessed the website on 2nd and 14th jun. I guess i should have submitted the notice on 2nd to be able to receive the letter on the 10th.

The clause in the contract is like this:

"By this agreement and under the following terms, the undersigned owner hereby irrevocably grants _______ the sole and exclusive right to sell the property ______ for a period of 3 months commencing from this date hereof and upon expiration of the said period the exclusive authorisation and right shall continue until and revoked by the owner giving two weeks written notice to the broker in advance. "

Anyway, there is a clause like this:

"If the owner(s) has cause to believe that the broker is not fulfilling its commitment then the owner(s) shall write to the broker immediately to give notice of intention to terminate this agreement stating the alleged breach. In such event, the broker shall investigate and if it is found true, then the broker shall write to the owner to agree to the termination of this agreement and thereafter neither party shall have any claims or demand against the other party whatsoever. .... "

anyway, I believe the broker has given the OTP form to the buyer and they have signed and given him the cheque. However, he did not present me with these but only an sms to inform me , which thereafter I replied to reject the offer.

Edited July 3, 2010 by lalala

[chronograph 0]

The agreement only protects agent and company, where the interest of consumer?

Isn't seller has every right to decide how much to sell? Price can up within a month and not to mention it has been 3 months.

No signing of OTP that means no deal, claim what commission?

[Warrior88 0]

"sole and exclusive right to sell the property ______ for a period of 3 months commencing from this date hereof and upon expiration of the said period the exclusive authorisation and right shall continue until and revoked by the owner giving two weeks written notice to the broker in advance. "

shall continue until and revoked by the owner giving two weeks written notice to the broker in advance means can give 2 weeks written notice only. Not another 3 months.

Never say, if lapse will continue for another period of 3 months.

14 june, even if auto renew, by now you would have complete the 2 weeks notice

Any agent care to verify this ?

[bepgof 20]

Thanks bepgof. You made it much clearer.

I think the mistake I made was that the written notice for termination was done thru the company's website's feedback contact form. As such, I do not have a written copy as evidence and also, not very sure when I had submitted the notice. However, i realise that I received the company's reply for the rejection of termination on 10 Jun. So I supposed I have submitted before that. I thought that the termination will take effect 2 wks after the terrmination letter. That's how I interpret. So I was wrong? It auto renew for a whole block of 3 mths and termination has to be after that??

p/s: I just checked my history and realised i accessed the website on 2nd and 14th jun. I guess i should have submitted the notice on 2nd to be able to receive the letter on the 10th.

The clause in the contract is like this:

"By this agreement and under the following terms, the undersigned owner hereby irrevocably grants _______ the sole and exclusive right to sell the property ______ for a period of 3 months commencing from this date hereof and upon expiration of the said period the exclusive authorisation and right shall continue until and revoked by the owner giving two weeks written notice to the broker in advance. "

Anyway, there is a clause like this:

"If the owner(s) has cause to believe that the broker is not fulfilling its commitment then the owner(s) shall write to the broker immediately to give notice of intention to terminate this agreement stating the alleged breach. In such event, the broker shall investigate and if it is found true, then the broker shall write to the owner to agree to the termination of this agreement and thereafter neither party shall have any claims or demand against the other party whatsoever. .... "

anyway, I believe the broker has given the OTP form to the buyer and they have signed and given him the cheque. However, he did not present me with these but only an sms to inform me , which thereafter I replied to reject the offer.

Wow piang, suggest u to write another termination letter, make clear the reference numbers, dates, etc and sent via register post or by Hand. Sure, owner has right to "one-way" terminate agreement(anyway, 3 month only)"temporary" even possesed evidences that agent acts aginst owner's interest & break any common law...., take time for "investigation"....then verdict..too much resources waste lah.

- So long as you did not sign on the OTP, then safe. OTP is to be signed "on the spot" by seller, to buyer when buyer gives $1k for seller's granting of OTP......

Edited July 3, 2010 by bepgof

[wcseow 0]

Hi,

When an exclusivity agreement is signed, there typically would be a clause that allow an agent to claim compensation or expenses if an owner has rejected an offer that meet or exceed the expected sales amount in the event that the exclusivity is terminated.

e.g.

1. The agreement was signed with an expected sale of $140,000.

2. During the period, an offer was made for $160,000 and the owner rejected.

3. Owner then terminate the agreement after the 3 months, agent may then have the right to claim compensation/expenses because he has met the required target. What kind of compensation/expense will be stated in the agreement. (thus it could be % of offer that was rejected)

I believe the agent is using this rational to claim.

FYI, i was explain very clearly on this clause and thus was one of the reason I did not sign the exclusivity.