An auctioneer is seeking a full 1.5 per cent fee for work on selling a house which its owners withdrew from the market after contracts had been signed by the prospective purchaser, a court heard yesterday.
Ms Anne Kelly, of Anne Kelly & Associates, Main Street, Shankill, Co Dublin, is suing Dennis and Angela Nolan for what she claims is the fee due for the aborted sale of their home at Corbawn Lawns, Shankill.
Ms Kelly claims she is owed £2,400 for her work in organising a buyer, but the Nolans say she is only entitled to a £250 service charge.
Ms Kelly told Dublin District Court that Mr Nolan approached her in June 1999 to sell his house. He was anxious for a quick sale as he wanted to buy another in Blackrock.
She said Mr Nolan rang her on a Sunday and the following day, she sent him a letter outlining the terms and conditions, including fees, for her services.
In the meantime, she had a cash buyer offering £160,000 and she arranged for a viewing of his house. Mr Nolan asked her to negotiate the purchase of the house in Blackrock for him and left a deposit with her for it. The buyer of Mr Nolan's house also provided a £5,000 deposit cheque.
A few days later, however, Mr Nolan said a surveyor's report had shown there were problems with the Blackrock house. Contracts were exchanged between solicitors and the purchaser signed the contracts but the Nolans did not and shortly afterwards they took their house off the market.
The case was adjourned until March 1st.