Terms of Business

TERMS OF BUSINESS

(Terms in accordance with the Estate Agents Act 1979)

“You” is the Vendor when mentioned in these Terms.

Agency Appointment Agreement 

Please read these terms carefully as we rely on them, whether or not a signed copy of our Agency Agreement is returned to us and where you allow us to introduce a buyer.

We are Chalmers Agency Ltd, our registered office is 38 High Street, Stock, Essex CM4 9BW, and company registration number 14338672.

We are hereby authorised to act as Selling Agents from the date of this Agreement and shall enter into all negotiations on a ‘Subject to Contract’ basis. The Agency Agreement may be terminated by either party giving to the other fourteen days notice in writing (by email).  We would ask you to consider allowing us at least 6-8 weeks to find a suitable buyer for your property. If this Agreement is terminated within 4 weeks of the date of signature then reasonable costs will be charged for work carried out. Please also note 8. Right to Cancel below.

If this Agreement is cancelled by either side for whatever reason, our fee will still be due if within six months of the date of Termination Notice, a sale is agreed for the Property with a buyer introduced by us during our Agency Term, or with whom we have had negotiations about the Property during that period, or with a buyer introduced by another agent, or with a buyer who became aware of the property through our marketing.

Fees

By signing a Sole Agency Agreement with us you are confirming that you have no other written agreement with another agent or person to sell your property and will not enter into any other Agreement without written confirmation to us and 14 days notice.

Commitment Fee (Upfront but refunded on Completion) £500 plus VAT, payable before any work on marketing the property starts.

Also:

Commission Fee (payable on Completion) - exclusive rights to market the Property, commission fee is 1.25% of the final sale price plus VAT, for example, if the Property is sold for £1,000,000 our fee would be (£12,500 plus £2,500 vat) total of £15,000.

You will be liable to pay remuneration to us in addition to any costs or charges agreed if at any time contracts for the sale of the Property are exchanged with a buyer introduced by us or another agent during the Sole Agency period; or with a buyer who became aware of the property through our marketing during that period.

If a sale is agreed privately or through another estate agent, the identity of the buyer must be disclosed to us prior to exchange of contracts if requested, and if that buyer wasn’t disclosed to us at the time of signing this Agreement, our fee will be payable.

Our Agency Fee will only be charged if you, the Vendor enters into a binding contract to sell the Property. All the fees are subject to VAT at the current rate. Our Commitment Fee is payable upfront at the signing of this Agreement and only refundable if a successful sale is agreed and completed.

Our Agency Fees must be paid on or before completion of the sale of your Property unless we agree otherwise in writing. In signing this Agreement you irrevocably authorise your solicitor or licensed conveyancer to pay our fees on completion out of the sale proceeds.

If at any time the Agency Agreement is changed and another Agent is instructed or an undisclosed party offers to purchase the property, our Agreement will terminate and a list of Interested parties will be provided and our commission fee will still be payable if any offer to purchase is received within six months.  

Disclosure Requirements

(a) The Estate Agents Act 1979

Under this Act, the Vendor must disclose to Chalmers Agency Ltd or any prospective buyer, if you, or any relatives have any connections with Chalmers Agency Ltd.  Please confirm this in writing (by email) at the time of signing this Agreement.

(b) Interested parties 

Under this Agreement, Chalmers Agency Ltd requires to know whether any party or parties have shown any interest in purchasing the Property prior to this instruction.

Does any interest exist? If the answer is YES please give appropriate details.

Consumer protection law means that neither you nor we must mislead prospective buyers either by providing incorrect or ambiguous information or by omitting to provide material information. A buyer may have rights of redress which could be costly. Please inform us as soon as possible in writing (by email) of any such information that may be relevant. If you are in any doubt please discuss this with us.

Discrimination

In accordance with Section 3(1)(b) of the Estate Agents Act 1979 we will not discriminate against any person under any section of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, or of the Race Relations Act, 1976.

Offers Received

All offers to purchase the Property will be confirmed in writing (by email) by Chalmers Agency Ltd.

Recommend Referrals

We receive a small referral fee from some of our recommended suppliers (but not all of them) please enquire for more details if required.

Right to Cancel

You have the right to cancel this Agreement up to 14 days from the date of this Agreement (cooling off period) in line with Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. To exercise the right to cancel you must inform us of your decision in writing (by email) within that period. By signing this Agreement you are instructing us to start marketing your Property immediately, so If you then decide to cancel the Agreement within the 14 days, you will need to reimburse our reasonable costs incurred during that period.

Vacant Properties

If the Property is, or becomes vacant, we recommend that the water supply is turned off and heating and plumbing systems drained down. We cannot accept any liability or responsibility whatsoever for any damage or for any repair or maintenance of the Property whilst it is unoccupied.

Keys

Should keys be made available to us during the sale, they will be kept secure and given a code number so third parties will not be able to identify which property they belong to. Therefore in the event the key becomes unaccounted for, our liability is strictly limited to the cost of cutting new keys.

The Property Ombudsman

We are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme and subscribe to their Code of Practice; as such we have an established complaints procedure, a copy of is available upon request. More information is also available at www.tpos.co.uk

If at anytime you are unhappy with our service please email [email protected] so that the matter can be resolved as quickly as possible.

Permission To Sell

You confirm that you have all necessary consents to instruct us to sell the Property because you are either the owner(s) of the property as recorded at Land Registry; or you have authority to sign this Agreement and will provide evidence to us (e.g. as executor or under a Power of Attorney).

TERMS OF BUSINESS - PRIVACY NOTICE

Data Protection Privacy Notice

We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of property services to you and for related purposes including:

• updating and enhancing client records

• analysis to help us manage our business

• statutory returns

• legal and regulatory compliance

Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, data protection law and our duty of confidentiality. Please note that our work for you may require us to pass on such information to third parties such as contractors, legal providers, insurers, utility companies, local authorities, debt collection agencies. Our company may be audited or checked by our accountants or our regulator, or by other organisations. We do not normally copy such information to anyone outside the European Economic Area, however we may do so however when the particular circumstances of your matter so require. All such third parties are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files. You have a right of access under data protection law to the personal data that we hold about you. We seek to keep that personal data correct and up to date. You should let us know if you believe the information we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.

Data Protection in Respect of Money Laundering Checks

We may receive personal data from you for the purposes of our money laundering checks, such as a copy of your passport. These will be processed only for the purposes of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, or as otherwise permitted by law or with your express consent. You consent to us retaining such data for longer than the five year statutory period, unless you tell us otherwise.

Data Protection – Your Obligations

If you send us personal data about anyone other than yourself you will ensure you have any appropriate consents and notices in place to enable you to transfer that personal data to us, and so that we may use it for the purposes for which you provide it to us.