{"id":456,"date":"2026-10-06T04:40:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yopa.co.uk\/homeowners-hub\/?p=456"},"modified":"2026-10-06T18:34:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:34:31","slug":"changing-your-estate-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dy36.stage.yopa-dev.co.uk\/homeowners-hub\/changing-your-estate-agent\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Change Your Estate Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When selling your\nhome, there are times when you may be dissatisfied by the service you receive\nfrom your estate agent, and there might come a point where you wish to\nterminate the contract altogether. However, depending on the contract that you\nhave signed with said agent and the point at which you pull out of the sales agreement\nyou have with them, you may still have to pay the agent a fee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should\nI look out for in my contract with an estate agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most estate\nagents have an exclusivity agreement. This means that you must stick with the\nsame estate agent for a certain amount of time. This can vary from four to 16\nweeks, and some estate agents will allow you to pull out with a certain amount\nof notice. Look for these clauses in your contract, and check what they\nactually stipulate. Pay attention to when commission is due and check what\nrights you have in the event that your estate agent isn\u2019t able to sell your\nproperty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have\nengaged an agent with a fixed fee service, you may still have to pay the fixed\nfee regardless of whether the property sells. You should also be aware of the\ndifference between a sole agency agreement and a sole selling rights agreement.\nThe former means that the agent is entitled to a fee only if they introduce the\nbuyer. The latter means that should a buyer come forward \u2013 regardless of who\nintroduced that person to the property \u2013 they will still get their fee,\nprovided that you are still within the contractual period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to your\nestate agent<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Realistically, when\nthings aren\u2019t going to plan, the first thing you need to do is to talk to your\nestate agent. If the house isn\u2019t selling<\/a>, for example, you need to ask why. In\nmany cases, the price is too high, and that can be down to the estate agent\nvaluation. Estate agents sometimes overvalue houses on the basis that a higher\nvaluation is more likely to win your custom when you are choosing an agent to\nlist with. Your property might also be slow to sell because the agent hasn\u2019t\nmarketed your property appropriately or because the property just isn\u2019t popular\nwith the buyer demographic in that particular area (such as a 1-bed apartment\nin an area with lots of young families, for example).<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \"\" <\/div>\n
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\n Instant online valuation<\/span> <\/div>\n
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Get a rough estimate of your home's value now.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n Face-to-face valuation<\/span> <\/div>\n
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Book an appointment with your local Yopa agent.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Raising a\ncomplaint about an estate agent<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to\nmake a complaint about an estate agent\u2019s conduct as vendor or<\/em> buyer, you\nneed to go through the estate agent\u2019s complaints process first. The complaint\ncan then be escalated to the Property\nOmbudsman<\/a> \u2013 the\nindependent dispute resolution service for consumers and property agents \u2013 if\nthe agent fails to resolve the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the agent\nhas breached the terms of your contract, you\u2019ll need to talk to them about it.\nExamples of potential breaches include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n