united-kingdom real-estate
Striking a &quot;ready willing and able&quot; clause from an Estate Agent&#39;s contract
<p>I'm about to instruct an Estate Agent for the sale of my house.</p>
<p>I asked for a draft of the contract and found that it included a <a href="https://propertyindustryeye.com/ombudsman-expresses-surprise-that-ready-willing-able-is-part-of-any-agents-contract/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Ready, willing and able&quot;</a> clause.</p>
<p>Full text:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol start="5">
<li>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 purchaser introduced by us or another agent during the
sole agency period; or with a purchaser who became aware of
the property through our marketing during that period; or where
we have introduced a ready, willing and able buyer (see 6).</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ol start="6">
<li>READY WILLING AND ABLE: A buyer is ready willing and able
if they are prepared and are able to exchange unconditional
contracts for the purchase of your property. If such a buyer is
introduced by us in accordance with your instructions our fee will
become due even if you subsequently withdraw from the sale
and unconditional contracts for sale are not exchanged.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>I find this an unreasonable clause, and various online sources agree with me.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.tpos.co.uk/news-media-and-press-releases/press-releases/item/ready-willing-and-able" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.tpos.co.uk/news-media-and-press-releases/press-releases/item/ready-willing-and-able</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hoa.org.uk/campaigns/ban-unfair-contracts-with-estate-agents/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://hoa.org.uk/campaigns/ban-unfair-contracts-with-estate-agents/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://propertyindustryeye.com/avoid-ready-willing-able-purchaser-clauses-sellers-told/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://propertyindustryeye.com/avoid-ready-willing-able-purchaser-clauses-sellers-told/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I'm expecting to simply tell the estate agent that I'm not willing to sign such a contract and that they need to strike that particular clause from the contract.</p>
<p>A variety of questions around this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Are such clauses still normal, or is this a relic from the past (as implied by the resources I've see online)</li>
<li>Should I expect them to put up a fight, or is this something that they're trying on and will probably cave as soon as I push.</li>
<li>Is there anything more concrete I can say about the clause. The linked resources seem to conclude that such clauses <em>ARE</em> legal ... just distasteful.</li>
</ol>

<p>Since this seems to have been viewed a lot, an update/answer.</p>
<p>I can't comment on the normalcy of such clauses since this has been my only experience.</p>
<p>But the Estate Agent immediately struck the clause without any fight, so it seems like it was just there &quot;in case I let it slide&quot;.</p>
<p>It turned out to be a great decision, since I ended up finding my own buyer in the same week that the agent acquired a suitable offer, which I would then have been liable to pay the fees for.</p>
