I just received a message from a private seller using our site Immogo hoping for contacts with private buyers. In spite of our strong request to steer clear of our site, another Leggett agent has tried to get in contact. Using the form on the presentation page of our seller, she sent the following message:
Hi, sorry I am an agent working for Leggett, and live near La souterraine. I would love to help you market your lovely property, we are completely free, and without exclusivity,and are internet based, with over 10,000 hits every month on our site. if you would like my help, please contact me. Kind regards Lynn
A free property agent?
So my client is asking why he has to pay 1% for selling to foreigners through Immogo when he can get the same service with Leggett, a free property agent? So I had to explain once again that when a property agent like Lynn says her service is ‘free’, she means that the buyer will pay her fees. The Leggett service is NOT free, but 4%, 5% or 6% (or more) just like the rest of them. The agency just add their commission to your asking price, but since the money has to come out of the budget of the buyer, it finally costs the seller. Saying ‘Our service is free’ is a clever way of twisting the truth, but even completely incorrect in a legal sense, because it is NOT the buyer who pays the agency, it is the SELLER. He is the one hiring the agent and signing the contract. He is the one who is taken to court if he refuses to pay. So a ‘free property agent’ does not exist. If it would, Immogo would be useless.