14 Feb 2008 9:31 AM:
Hello Justin,
Thanks for the acknowledgement and understanding.
As I said agents are always the subject of abuse and insults but it is a fact that we are an integral part of the property industry and most agents do a pretty good job and help people to realise their dreams and that is not meant to sound soppy.
The commission system with new properties is fair across the board and purchasers will always pay the same price no matter what the circumstanses of the purchase. On many occasons builders expect clients to sign contracts which safeguard the builders money and pay little respect to the rights of the clients. This is no longer acceptable. The builders then expect the agents to sign collaboration contracts which, again, safeguard themselves but have no provisions should the builders breach any of the two contracts.
This can directly affect the clients in the following circumstanses:
The clients have made a substantial payment towards the property and the agents have been paid their commission. The builders then seriously breach the contract which usually take the the form of delayed completion. The client has the right in their contract to cancel the contract and have, by law, all money returned ususally with interest. The builders then start the silly games. They either want to give the client their money back less any commission they have paid or they will put in the agent collaboration contract a clause which states that should the client withdraw for any reason the agent is duty bound to return any commission received. If the client is the sole cause of the cancellation of the contract and the builder is totally blameless then I can see an argument for commissions to be returned. However if the builder is the villain of the peace and let's face it they usually are then the client can be caught in the middle of war.
Spain is a wonderful place to live and hundreds of thousands of ex-pats will readily agree although their voice will never be heard on the Trevor Macdonald show. It is a small minority of unscrupulous agents builders and officials who habe blighted what is a fantastic place to start a new life. Times are changing rapidly in Spain and for the better and when all the dead wood has been eradicated and the television programmes have found new victims then perhaps we can continue to live and work in a country which actually welcomes us.
Dave1
Thread:
El Trampolin don't want to pay
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