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Buyer & Seller FAQ’s

A stronger chain / sale with both Buyer and Seller more committed to one another and to seeing the sale successfully complete. AND in the event of the sale not successfully concluding – there are mitigated losses due to the compensation received.

You must make sure your acting estate agent is affiliated with the HonestyBox.

Commitment tokens come in the form of either £500 or £1000 and clients can decide themselves which level to opt for depending on what level of protection they feel is warranted. Both seller and buyer must purchase at least one token. If the property transaction successfully completes – the value of each token is returned to each customer minus the HonestyBox fee.

If the selected token value is £500 then the fee is just £75.00 inclusive of VAT. If the token value was £1,000 then the HonestyBox fee is £150.00 inclusive of VAT.

If one party has breached the terms of the HonestyBox agreement and this has resulted in the sale/purchase collapsing – then the full token values will both be awarded to the wronged party. Minus an HonestyBox ‘aborted transaction fee’ of just £50.

Absolute Lock and Qualified Lock.

The Absolute Lock means once the transaction is protected in this manner, there is no circumstance in which a party can withdraw from the agreement without the penalty of forfeiting their token. It is advised that the ‘Absolute Lock’ is used in situations where the sale/ purchase is not part of a larger chain and where the agreed purchase price is not ‘further negotiable’ regardless of future surveys or investigation. This is ideal where a buyer is 100% that this is the property for them and they appreciate the price they are getting the property for is a fair one.

With the Qualified Lock a seller and buyer can outline their own terms and conditions and identify certain ‘Qualifying reasons’ that would allow someone to exit the agreement without penalty. An example of a ‘qualified lock’ stipulation might be that the the property must value up on survey to at least the agreed purchase price for the buyer to be obligated to proceed without losing their token. Or that the seller must carry out certain stipulated remedial works prior to exchange of contracts. The Affiliated Agent will add these ‘Qualifying Terms’ to the agreement when creating the HonestyBox account and both Seller and Buyer will sign off with their agreement prior to purchasing their tokens and committing them to the platform. If the transaction was then to fail due to a factor stipulated as a permitted qualifying condition – then a party can exit the HonestyBox without penalty and the tokens are returned to each party minus an ‘aborted transaction fee’ of just £50.00. This payment is split between the two.

Mangopay is a fully regulated E-Money payment processing institute who handle payments made through the HonestyBox.

Escrow is the term for when funds / bonds are held securely by a regulated third party. In this instance, Mangopay.

Upon exchange of contracts and once the Affiliated HonestyBox Agent has updated the portal.

Once notified to release funds – the HonestyBox allows a 24 hour ‘dispute’ window before sending the clients funds back to customers. Clients should therefore allow for a period of 48 hours in between exchange of contracts and completion if their token value is required for completion purposes.

In instances of dispute, in the unlikely event a party disagrees with the decision of the affiliated agent: The HonestyBox reserve the right to make their own impartial investigations as per our terms and conditions and act as an arbitrator.

No, the HonestyBox does not have this power. What we can do is deter those who are not completely sincere and committed from entering an agreement to begin with and wasting your time and money. Not to mention – they will forfeit their token value were they to breach an HonestyBox agreement, which you will instead receive in compensation to help mitigate the loss.

Absolutely not. The only benefits the agents receive are ‘greater security’ for their sales and the better protection of their customers.

As the minimum age required to hold an interest in land or property within the UK is 18 years, the HonestyBox also requires its customers to be at least 18 years of age.

Yes. If both parties mutually agree to exit the HonestyBox then the transaction can be closed without tokens being forfeited. This must be communicated to the affiliated estate agent who will notify the HonestyBox. In this scenario the HonestyBox would still charge each party the standard transaction fee based on the token value.

No but should the transaction remain open after a period of 90 days – the HonestyBox will initiate contact with the Affiliated Agent just for an independent status update.

Estate Agent FAQ’s

Not only can it help you win more business as you’ll be able to offer clients greater protection. You can also use the platform to agree more sales as you’ll be able to offer the comfort of securer chains. It can also help identify those buyers who truly are committed as if they agree to use the HonestyBox – this will give your sellers greater confidence in them from the very beginning. Finally – it can help you secure and forecast your sales pipeline with greater confidence.

Through the website using the ‘Affiliate Now’ buttons or by emailing us at hello@honestybox.co.uk

Once you’ve spoken to an Account Manager and gone through the terms and conditions you must follow when offering the HonestyBox then the affiliation process can be as quick as 24 hours! It all starts with a phone call. Get to it!

Agents must affiliate for 12 months as a minimum. On the anniversary date of their subscription this will roll over for a further annual subscription.

Yes, once you’ve affiliated you will receive your marketing materials which include buyer and seller benefits flyers and window stickers for your estate agency shop windows to identify you to the public as an affiliated agent!

Yes, however the seller of the property in question must be happy and agree for you to contact us and for us in turn to contact them. In this scenario we would require the information of the ‘selling’ estate agent also.