TYPE OF AGENCY: You appoint the Agent on the agency basis, as set out above for the duration of this agreement.

If this is a Sole Agency agreement you agree that you will not instruct any other agent to sell the property before termination of this Agreement without first obtaining our express prior written consent. The arrangement between you and us under this Agreement will from that point onwards become a Multiple Agency. You will be notified of our agreement to such an arrangement in writing.

If this is a Sole Agency agreement and you instruct one or more other agents to sell the property without first obtaining our consent as required by the condition above, then without affecting any other rights we may have in those circumstances, the commission arrangement between you and us under this Agreement will be treated as having become a Multiple Agency agreement with effect from the date on which you instructed the other agent(s).

STATEMENT TO THE CLIENT(S):
SOLE AGENCY: ‘The Agent’ is your Sole Agent and you will be liable to pay the Commission Fee at the agreed rate (in addition to any other costs or charges agreed) if unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged during the period of this agreement;
• With a purchaser introduced by us during the agency period or
• With whom we had negotiations about the property during that period or
• With a purchaser introduced by another agent during that period or

If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged within 2 years of the expiry of the period during which we had sole agency but to a purchaser who was introduced to the property during that period or to a person with whom we had negotiations about the property during that period.

MULTIPLE AGENCY: If this Agency is a Multiple Agency or on termination of a Sole Agency you instruct another agent on a Multiple Agency basis then you will be liable to pay the Commission Fee to us at the Multiple Agency rate if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged with a purchaser introduced by us during the period of our agency.

A purchaser will be introduced to the property by ‘The Agent’ if their purchase is a reaction to any of our advertisements, displays, sales particulars, For Sale boards or sales stickers and/or has spoken to us about any aspect of the property and its marketing.

You will not be liable to pay the Commission Fee in any of these circumstances explained under Sole Agency and Multiple Agency if the unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged more than six months after the expiry of the period during which the agreement is in force and where the Seller has appointed another estate agent whose activities have resulted in the sale of the property, or more than 2 years after the expiry of the agreement in all other circumstances.

DUAL LIABILITY WARNING: If the Client has instructed another agent the Client must check, whether by instructing us as well, it will place the Client in a position of liability to pay both agents’ Commission Fee.

FOR SALE BOARD: A for sale board will be erected unless otherwise advised to assist in the sale of the property. Any such board will comply with the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 as amended.

CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM UNFAIR TRADING REGULATIONS 2008: It is a criminal offence for Estate Agents to give false or misleading information in relation to the description of the property. The Client agrees to provide ‘The Agent’ with accurate information about the property to enable them to comply with this provision. If the Client becomes aware of any matters that may affect the accuracy of the sales particulars, the Client agrees to advise in writing.

FIXTURES AND FITTINGS: All Fixtures and Fittings that are mentioned in the sales particulars will be deemed to be included in the sale unless otherwise specified in writing.

SETTLEMENT OF COMMISSION FEES: The Commission Fee is payable as a result of the circumstances outlined in this agreement. The invoice for the Commission Fee will be issued on unconditional exchange of the contracts and is payable on the completion of the sale or 4 weeks after exchange of contracts (whichever is the sooner).

The responsibility for the payment remains with the Client who (if appropriate) agrees to instruct and authorise its legal representative to pay the account as above. In the event of any account remaining unpaid for more than 10 days from the date on which settlement becomes due ‘The Agent’ reserves the right to charge daily interest on the outstanding balance at an annual interest rate of 5% above the base rate. in force during the period of non-payment plus the reasonable cost of recovery of the debt outstanding.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES: By law ‘The Agent’ must tell the client if ‘The Agent’ or any connected person intends to earn any commission from offering the Client or a buyer other services. If ‘The Agent’ or any connected person earns money from any of these services ‘The Agent’ or connected person will keep the commission. The following services may be offered by ‘The Agent’ or connected persons; estate agency, lettings, financial services, survey services and conveyancing.

ESTATE AGENTS ACT 1979 (Your personal interest): The Estate Agents Act 1979 provides (amongst other matters) that anyone engaged in estate agency work or their relatives and associates must disclose their interest in any property with which they are dealing.

DATA PROTECTION ACT 2018: We ‘The Agent’ will keep your personal details on file confidential and will do all we possibly can to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and any successor legislation thereto.

ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS: We are required by law to check your identity through sight and copy of recognised photographic identification e.g. passport or photographic driving license and documentary proof of address.

ACCESS TO PREMISES/UNOCCUPIED PREMISES: If the agent holds the keys to the property, ‘The Agent’ must accompany any viewings to the property, unless ‘The Agent’ and Client agree otherwise in writing. However it is ‘The Agents’ usual practice to release the keys to certain professionals such as surveyors acting on behalf of the purchasers. In order to avoid delays once ‘The Agent’ has established their identity, they are permitted to inspect the property unaccompanied. Please advise if this is not acceptable to you.

If the premises are unoccupied ‘The Agent’ is not responsible for the security, maintenance or repair of the property save where ‘The Agent’ fails to secure the property after an accompanied viewing. It is the Client’s responsibility to ensure that mains services are turned off, water and heating systems professionally drained and the insurers notified.

THE PROPERTY OMBUDSMAN (TPO) (www.tpos.co.uk)
The Agent, as a member of the Property Ombudsman (membership number T04762) abides by the TPO Code of practice. You agree in the event of you making a complaint to the TPO, we may be required to disclose information relating to the sale of your property. You also agree that we may have to disclose your contact details (to others who are responsible for running the TPO scheme), to assist them in their monitoring of our compliance with the TPO Code of Practice. We ask that if you do have a complaint, that you make us aware in the first instance and put it in writing and addressing it to the Directors at Signature Homes Ltd or email office@signaturehomes.uk

TERMINATION OF AGENCY: Subject to the conditions of this contract, this agency agreement shall continue for the MINIMUM PERIOD set out above and will continue thereafter until one party gives to the other not less than 28 days’ notice in writing terminating the agency agreement. Unless you elected Multiple or Referral Agency term in point 1 in this agreement in which case you will be required to give us only 14 days.

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION RIGHTS (if applicable): If this Agency agreement is completed in your home, or on your development or at your office, under the Cancellation of Contracts Made in Consumers Home of Place of Work Regulations 2008, you have the right to cancel the Agency Agreement referred to above if you wish. This right can be exercised by delivering or sending (by recorded post or email) a written cancellation notice to the person indicated below at any time within the period of 14 days starting with the date of receipt of this Agreement.

If you wish to cancel the Agency Agreement you should post or deliver your written cancellation addressed to Directors at Signature Homes Ltd or email office@signaturehomes.uk

If you choose to cancel this agreement, your cancellation will be effective from the time your cancellation notice is posted or sent to the address of ‘The Agent’ or in the case of email, on the day it is sent.

PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTRACT PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EXPIRY OF THE CANCELLATION PERIOD: The services set out in this Agency Agreement will not commence until the day following the last day of the cancellation period unless you have asked for them to commence immediately. If you wish to cancel the services to begin within the cancellation period, you must agree to this in writing. Your right to cancel the Agency Agreement within the cancellation period will not be affected. However, if you choose to cancel the Agency Agreement you will be required to pay for goods and services supplied prior to cancellation.