Any estate agent open to negotiating sale clauses (not the fee)?

[DulwichLondoner]

I am amazed that, even in this slow real estate market, most agencies don't want a client who, shock and horror, actually reads the contract and dares negotiate clarity on some clauses.

Do you have experience of any local agency that is actually open to negotiating their clauses? Note I am not trying to negotiate on the fee, but simply want clarity on some clauses. Private messages will be most appreciated, in case you'd rather not mention names publicly.

I have put my property on the market with one agency but am considering replacing it.

I am not negotiating the sale fee; I want clarity on, in order of importance:

1) buyers introduced by agent 1. Agent 2 should receive a (short) list of names, and refuse to show the property to those people. I was willing to pay agent 2 a termination fee.

2) no sole-selling rights. If my brother wants to buy the property, I don't want to pay a fee to an agent who hasn't done anything for the sale.

3) Similar to point 1, should I terminate the contract with agent 2, agent 2 should give me a list of people it has introduced to the property, and it will be entitled to a fee only if one of those people buy it after I have fired agent 2. Most wordings are so broad (introduced means introduced through whatever means, directly or indirectly, etc etc.) that I genuinely wonder if they'd ever hold up in court in case of a dispute, but I don't want to risk finding out.

4) This is very rare, but, should the sale fall through after exchange not for my fault (e.g. a buyer in the chain walks away after having exchanged and paid a deposit), then I want the agent to get a fee on the deposit, not on a sale price I won't have received.

One agency told me their terms are take it or leave it, so I told them to get lost.

Another agency told me that they cannot grant (4); they agreed to (1) verbally, but then sent me a contract which says the opposite! I will now need to contact more agencies.

I don't understand if they see me as a troublemaker and a potential pain so don't want to deal with me regardless, or what. Point (4) is so rare that it shouldn't really matter to them. Point (1) is more likely to happen in theory, but not so much in practice because agent 1 has introduced very few people.

Thoughts? Comments? Thanks!

[dbboy]

Have pm's you