who pays the auctioneers fees

CCOVICH said:

If someone called to your door, and offered to clean your windows, even though you weren't actively seeking to have your windows cleaned, would you be shocked when they asked you to pay when finished?

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If someone called to your door and told you a local businessman would like all the windows in the area to be clean and would you mind if he cleaned your windows, you be shocked when they asked you to pay when finished?

I would.

I would ask who was paying. Beware Greeks bearing gifts etc.

The fact of the matter is that both the vendors and purchasers interests cannot be served by the same auctioneer. I would tell the auctioneer to get his fees paid by his client who hired him and whos interests he served by acquiring the land. Its easy see why your local businessman is expanding and acquiring more land if he is able to get others to pay professional fees for him! He is chancing his arm by telling the auctioneer to bill you!!

CCOVICH said:

I would ask who was paying. Beware Greeks bearing gifts etc.

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I'm a self-employed consultant and in some cases the service I provide is on a results-oriented basis with a percentage based fee. In no case would I proceed to provide service without having explained in detail the fee structure face-to-face with the client and then having a signed service agreement in place detailing the agreed fee. If I didn't do so, I would have no great expectation of getting paid for my work.

Assuming the EA is not just plain stupid, he was chancing his arm in presenting an invoice without making clear in advance for whom he was acting and what the scale of fees would be. He is trying to present the OP with a fait accompli and hoping the invoice will stick. I also agree with the other posters that there is a glaring conflict of interests.

Some very good advice here so far......Chancer.

Has the business owner the opportunity to expand on 'the other side' or can they only expand on your side. If its the latter you are in a strong position to stall the sale, engage your own EA and place the land on the open market and let the market dictate the price you may have more than one potential purchaser, healthy competition = healthy price

play hard ball, with the EA, open a communuication channel with the business owner highlight your concerns and that this is not the way you do business. Then wait. I imagine that soon after this interaction the EA will come back apologetic ........... tell him/her the deal is off, put it on the market

60watt could you let us know how you get on...you have got some pretty good advice here. Dont forget to come back and let us know how it finished up. If you tell him to do a runner you will hear no more about it.

Any update?

gonk said:

The EA had no agreement with the OP, written or oral, to pay any fee. In the absence of such agreement, it would have been perfectly reasonable to assume the prospective buyer was paying. As Murt10 has pointed out, this would not be at all unusual. The EA is obvously trying to have it both ways. How could the EA sue to enforce a non-existent contract?

The analogy with a window cleaner is weak. If someone called asking if I wanted my windows cleaned, it would be obvious they weren't acting for some third party who thought my windows looked a bit dirty. The first thing I would ask (assuming I might want them cleaned) is "How much?"

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Gonk, this is a top class demolition of a poor analogy...priceless ! ;-)