Estate Agency fees x 2

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09/12/2009 - 05:09

Is there fees like the uk for selling a house with two agents in Italy or is it the first one that sells gets the fee?

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 only sign non exclusive agreements...this means that either you can sell it yourself or either / any of the agents... if you do no fee obviously...and then the first agent that sells gets the fee... if there are any problems between agents it should not effect you ...ie someone sees it with agent no 1 and then with agent no 2 and agent no 2 makes the sale then there could be difficulty between them... visiting clienst generally sign a vistor form staing they were shown the property...however if there is a dispute it should be between them...whatever you do get a written legal invoice with IVA from whoever you pay... and also negotiate on fees...they will try to up the fee on non exclusive...  and make sure the amount is written in blood on the contarct you sign

 if soemthing has occured better say the whole story...before that... if someone viewed your house via an agency who did or did not have a contract and is buying it...and they viewed with that non contracted agent first then you owe them their fee.. not all because no contract...but whatever is stipulated in your provinces regs regarding max/mn fees for estate agents...  however if two agents have given you the same client better to let them fight it out... a written signed contract is not necessary for an agent to be able to claim a fee... we have agencies here that tell everyone which houses are for sale as they drive by... and then if they find out the house was bought by this client they claim to have shown it to them first...technically true.. from their car ...at 100 kmph...  and they have been known to get away with these semi-fraudulent claims....  not your case i know but in reallity unless you have faith in the agency you are dealing with skip having them either in your car or you in theirs... do not talk to them about any house you might see for sale that is not with them or any abandoned palce you think might be...  talking can be costly...  if you have a pretty good idea of the relative honesty or helpfulness of your agent then fine... bu in abruzzo am not sure about elsewhere various agents thought they had the exclusive on foreign buyers and resent any of their clients escaping them... have even had a case where they are followed because they obviously gave away something that they might be interested in something else...  even had stories from some that the hotels they are booked into keep an eye on them to see who they meet of if they go out...   especialley ones on those sort of organised packages offered by some agencies... sorry off your subject... but its a strange game...... 

 If you have no signed contract with agency one they have no claim if you sell via agency 2.  If you have two agencies on non exclusive contracts, the one who brings the eventual buyer will take the commission.  If agency 1 brings the buyer but the buyer buys through agency 2 you could be in trouble - technically the agents should share the commission, but agency 1 could claim to have been instrumental in the final sale and claim their full commission.If you have nothing signed then there is nothing to worry about. 

I had problems with it and according to Italian Law you can choose Agency and it does not matter which Agency brought you to the  property first!!! But another thing is that it is like good manners that you sign with first Agency which brought you to the property.  First Agency has no rights to claim any money from your for your  first viewing!!!  And that is the LAW  :) Andrea

In reply to by AndreaN

The law - Codice Civile - states that an agent has a right to his commission if a sale results from his intervention.  The intervention is open to interpretation, but if I as an agent, show a house to a client, who subsequently buys via another agent, I have legal right to my commission.  And a judge will usually uphold that right.  

But then the second and another Agent did some intervention 2 and you are saying that "Judge will USUALLY uphold that right" so that means that Judge not automatically upholds that right. I guess it is all about circumstances 2. What I said in previous post it is what I was told by very good friend. She runs  Real Estate Agency and I asked her to do all work with my purchase and she refused only on this good manners bases and not creating problems and this a few thousands commission was  not a deal for her at all. But please let me know and I will cancel this previous post so people will not get confused. I just do not want to create problems and mostly I do not want to give any wrong advises.

Thank you RAM for respond. This side is a great source of info and should only provide honest info which could help us. Again I will  cancel this previous post if I am wrong or may be I should do it straight away

Hi Andrea What usually happens is that if I show a house to a client, and they subsequently buy via another agent we both have the right to our commission, but in the end we share it.  However, a greedy agent can go to court and demand that he showed the house first - as you know the problem is usually that Italian law is open to hundreds of interpretations, so it all depends on which judge you get.   Your friend sounds  like a good bet - a good agent will usually not pursue a case like this, but it doesnt mean that they have no case in law.  If the first agent had an exclusive mandate though, they are completely within their rights to take all the commission owed and the second agent would get nothing.

We all heard how many cases (any cases about just anything) in courts in Italy are  :)  And now basing only on TV Shows (!!) like Law and Order I can say that better lawyer and more money you spend on lawyer - more chances to win a case   :)  but that could not be the truth :) and I might be wrong with it  :)