My house has been on the market for over six months and I’m getting desperate to sell. Recently someone who came round several months ago via the agent has returned and shown an interest. A couple of weeks ago he agreed to buy if I knocked £5,000 off the price, to which I agreed. Then he came back a week later and said he could only afford it if I knocked a further £5,000 off. Very reluctantly I agreed to that too. But now he’s come up with the suggestion that I cancel my agreement with the agent, wait a month, and then split the saving I’ll make on the agent’s fee with him. Is this OK?

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear me say it’s most definitely not OK. Look at your agreement with your agent and read it carefully. Yes, it will say that after a certain length of time you can cancel the contract and you will have nothing to pay. But it will also go on to say that if you sell your house after the contract has ended to someone introduced via the agent, then you are liable for the full fee.

In the past the courts have interpreted “introduced” very widely – so for example it is sufficient if a purchaser has simply walked into the agent’s office, shown an interest and taken a copy of the sales particulars. That’s why an agent will always make a note of an enquirer’s details. And of course that’s completely reasonable since their offices cost a lot of money to run and are the means by which seller and buyer meet.

So your buyer will already be logged with your agent. And since an agent’s business is to know the market, you can be sure that they will find out if you sell to this purchaser. All it will take to prove is a quick check at the Land Registry.

But much more important than the risk of being found out is the dishonesty in what is being proposed. In effect you are both conspiring to swindle the agent out of their fee – and as well as being morally wrong, that could be a criminal offence. And finally, it strikes me that you’re having some trouble negotiating. I’d get back to your agents, tell them what’s going on, and let them do any future negotiations on your behalf. That’s their job, and that’s what you’re paying them for.