January 2011: Sellers Beware
What should you do, as seller of a property, if the buyer assures you that he/she was not introduced to the property by any estate agent, and that you are accordingly not liable for any commission?
The saving in commission will no doubt in practice be shared between you and the buyer when you come to negotiate a final sale price, but beware! If it subsequently emerges that the buyer has misled you, and that an agent was actually the "effective cause" of the sale in circumstances entitling the agent to commission, you will have to pay up.
That's exactly what happened in a recent High Court case where a seller was sued for commission, and ended up paying the agent R131.056 plus legal costs.
The saving in commission will no doubt in practice be shared between you and the buyer when you come to negotiate a final sale price, but beware! If it subsequently emerges that the buyer has misled you, and that an agent was actually the "effective cause" of the sale in circumstances entitling the agent to commission, you will have to pay up.
That's exactly what happened in a recent High Court case where a seller was sued for commission, and ended up paying the agent R131.056 plus legal costs.