Selling through an estate agent

Estate agents market and sell property. They also deal with paperwork, monitor the chain (of buyers selling their old home and sellers buying their new home), liaise with your solicitor and negotiate with buyers and sellers. Estate agents do not deal with surveys – you will need a surveyor for that, but they might have partnerships in place to recommend a surveyor to you.

If you are buying a property there should be no estate agent fees involved. If you are selling, you will usually pay between 0.75% and 3.5% of the selling price to your estate agent. Again, shop around, and negotiate once you’ve found an estate agent that you would like to work with. Check that the fee includes VAT or you’ll need to add another 20% to the price of the fee. 

Making an offer with a sealed bid, where the price offered is secret, is normal practice in Scotland but not so common elsewhere. Sealed bids are not legally binding. Outside Scotland sealed bids are usually only asked for when there is competition for a property. Potential buyers will be given a guide price, and it’s expected that their sealed bid will be higher than this.

Once you’ve decided to sell using an estate agent, choose one by asking questions about their track record in selling properties like yours. Find out how they intend to market your property online, as that’s where many people start their search. And remember, there will be a fee involved. You need to be sure to look at their small print and how they work and the added costs you could be faced with in hiring / choosing to hire in their services and the great service offering of their agency.