Daniël Els is an Attorney and Conveyancer practicing at the firm’s Helderberg branch. He specialises in Property Law and Conveyancing. Daniël studied BA International Studies and LLB at Stellenbosch University. During the course of his studies, he also attended the University of Cape Town, Humboldt University of Berlin, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed his law degree in the Netherlands at the University of Amsterdam. Daniël joined STBB in 2014 as an article clerk and was admitted by the High Court as an Attorney and Conveyancer in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Daniël is passionate about his work, continuously striving to provide his clients with excellent service delivery.

Thought of the Week | When has an Estate Agent Earned His/Her Commission?

In general, an estate agent has earned his/her commission when:

  • the agent was mandated and held a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate;
  • the purchaser was, when the contract was signed, willing and able to purchase the property;
  • the seller and purchaser entered into a binding agreement;
  • the agent was the effective cause of the sale; and
  • all suspensive conditions in the agreement have been met.

This may appear straight forward enough, but snags arise in practice. A purchaser could have been introduced to a property by one agent, but only decided to buy and sign an agreement when he subsequently visited the home when another agency held an open house. Or the purchaser decides to buy after the expiry of the period mentioned in the agent’s mandate.

Contact a conveyancer at STBB with any questions and to avoid being held liable for double commission.

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