An estate agent fee is money you pay to an estate agent for help selling your home. You don’t have to pay estate agents at all when selling your home if you decide to sell privately and do your own advertising, but you could find it difficult to find buyers.
How Do Estate Agent Fees Work?
If you are buying a property, you do not pay estate agent fees. If you are selling a property through an estate agent, then you will have to pay a fee when the property sells.
How Much Are Estate Agent Fees?
As in any industry, the prices that different companies charge can differ substantially. Most estate agents in the UK charge between 0.75% and 3.5% of the selling price of the property. So, for instance, if the estate agent fee is 2.00% and you sell your home for £450,000, then you’ll pay the estate agent £9,000 in costs.
Sometimes, estate agents will quote fees without including VAT, which they are legally obliged to collect. If the estate agents fees are not inclusive of VAT, then you’ll have to pay an additional 20 per cent in sales tax. In the above example, the total paid will be £10,800.
What Do You Get For Your Money?
Why pay an estate agent? What do you get for your money?
- Have them deal with the paperwork
- Advertise your home for sale at their offices and via the internet
- Negotiate with buyers
- Work together with your solicitor to ensure legal protection
