What are the Fees When Selling a House? 

If you’re planning to sell your home, you may be confident that the property will go for a very good price. However, in the meantime, you’ll need to take into account the various expenses that your sale will incur.  

Homeowners who are thinking about putting their property on the market should always consider their budget carefully before taking any major steps. After all, you need to be sure that your existing funds will cover all costs prior to receiving any funds from your sale.  

So, what costs do sellers pay when selling a home?  

Read on to find out about the various expenses and fees involved in a property sale, including which you will be required to pay, which the buyer pays, when you will be charged and what else you may need to spend to ensure your sale is a success. 

What Fees Should I Expect to Pay When Selling a House? 

What are the typical fees when selling a house? To an extent, this depends on the type of sale you choose.  

As part of a traditional open market sale, you should expect to be charged: 

• Estate agent fees 
• Legal/solicitor fees
• Mortgage fees 
• Property preparation and home removal costs 

 Below, we’ll explore a little more about these expenses before going on to examine the costs involved in other methods of sale. 

How Much are Agents’ Fees When Selling a House? 

The fees charged by your estate agent will vary from specialist to specialist. They tend to cover the following:  

• The administration involved in your sale
• Creating your property listing 
• Marketing your property 
• Managing viewings 
• Liaising with your solicitor 

 It’s important to check with the estate agent of your choice before you factor their fees into your budget. You should take extra care to check for any hidden costs that aren’t immediately obvious from the start. These costs may include: 

•  VAT. Charges may have been displayed without this amount during initial exchanges 
• Fees for the use of optional in-house services like mortgage brokers and conveyancers 
• Withdrawal fees. You should not be charged by an estate agent for cancelling your sale 

Typically, a “High Street” estate agent will charge you a percentage of your property’s value as their fee. This tends to fall between 0.75% and 3%.  

Alternatively, you may be charged a fixed fee upon completion. The agent should make this amount known to you before the process begins. 

No Sale, No Fee 

Many agencies promote themselves as “no sale, no fee” property specialists. This has been standard practice for many years. 

If you come across this term, it means you will not be charged if the agent fails to sell your home. Most high street estate agencies still operate in this way, but it is worth checking whether this is the case when it comes to your chosen service provider. 

Who Pays Agent Fees When Selling a House? 

While estate agents technically “work for” the buyer as well as the seller, their fees are invariably paid by the seller alone. This remains the case whether the agent is based on the high street or online. 

Are There any Upfront Fees When Selling a House? 

If you are selling privately, you may be charged an upfront fee to list your property on certain websites. This costs an average of £500. 

Alternatively, if you opt to sell via an online agent, you will usually be charged an amount in advance that ranges from just under £100 to around £1,700 – and potentially more. 

It is worth noting that online agencies tend to be less “hands on” than their high street equivalents, which means you’ll probably need to handle matters such as marketing, admin and the management of viewings yourself. 

How Much are Solicitor Fees When Selling a House? 

As a seller, you should expect to pay your conveyancer or solicitor for the following on top of their basic fixed fee or hourly rate (as agreed at an initial consultation):  

• Liaising ith the buyer’s solicitor at each stage of the transaction 
• The drafting and exchange of contracts 
• Managing the transfer of funds using Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS) 
• Disbursement (including handling the property’s title deeds and approving the deed of transfer) 
• Receiving the deposit paid by the buyer 
• Exploring and resolving any issues throughout the sale 
• Responding to all enquiries during the process 

 The amount paid to your solicitor may vary depending on the complexity of the sale and the tasks involved. However, generally speaking, the overall cost of hiring a solicitor to sell your property sits between £500 and £1500. 

Who Pays Legal Fees When Selling a House? 

During a property transaction, both the buyer and the seller are required to instruct their own solicitors and pay the relevant fees.  

While the seller will engage and pay a solicitor for the tasks underlined above, the buyer’s conveyancing specialist will usually be paid to: 

• Review and explore any issues relating to the property title 
• Arrange and inspect the relevant searches and surveys 
• Undertake identity checks on the buyer and investigate their source of funds – including any mortgage arrangements 
• Request certain actions of the seller via their solicitor (i.e. removal of furniture or waste from the property) 
• Ensure the correct insurances are in place 
• Draft the transfer deed 
• Assist in the Stamp Duty payment process 

How Much are Title Fees When Selling a House? 

As part of the conveyancing process, you are likely to be charged by your solicitor for the acquisition and/or exchange of title deeds. On average, this will cost around £25 and will be included in your solicitor’s bill. 

How Much Are Mortgage Fees When Selling a House? 

If you are still making mortgage repayments when the time comes to sell your home, you may face additional charges. These will depend on your chosen course of action and on the type of mortgage you have.  

For example, you may choose to use money from the sale of your property to “pay off” the amount outstanding on your mortgage. Alternatively, you might decide to “port” your mortgage to a new property that you are purchasing. 

Typically, the mortgage fees you will have to pay when selling your property include: 

• Mortgage exit fees, usually between £50 and £300 
• Early repayment charges, usually charged at a percentage of your full loan amount (typically between 1% and 5%) 

However, if you decide to “port” your mortgage – that is, to transfer it to your future home – you may be charged: 

• Loan To Value (LTV) ratio fees – sometimes applicable when porting your mortgage from a higher value property to one that is worth less 
• Valuation fees 
• Additional porting administration fees 

Whatever your course of action, additional mortgage brokerage or administration fees may apply. They will vary depending on your chosen service providers, so be sure to investigate this thoroughly before you legally commit to the processes involved. 

It is worth noting that if you attempt to sell your property while in negative equity, it is highly likely that your mortgage lender will bill you for any shortfall.  

Find out more about being in negative equity by reading this helpful article – complete with negative equity calculator. 

Costs When Selling Property at Auction 

If you decide to sell your home at a traditional or modern auction instead of using an estate agent, you will be required to pay a different set of costs. Typically, these will include:  

• Auction entry fees, which cost around £300 plus VAT on average 
• Sales commission – usually around 2.5% of the final sale value of your property 
• Solicitor fees for putting together your legal pack, which may cost anything over £200 
• Administration or advertising costs, which vary between auction houses 

Additional Costs When Moving Out of Your Home 

Of course, every house move is different, and will incur different fees depending on the actions taken by the homeowner.  

There are a few further expenses that you may accrue when putting your home on the market. Some – including staging and redecorating – are entirely optional, but may represent a sound investment when it comes to adding value to your property. 

Others, such as the cost involved in obtaining your EPC, are legal requirements when selling. See below for a range of additional expenses that you may face when putting your property on the market: 

• Professional survey 
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Cleaning and redecorating costs 
• Storage 
• Accommodation (for example, if you need to vacate your sold property before to home your are buying becomes free)
• Estate agency and legal fees for buying new house 
• Staging 
• Removals 

 While renovating, decorating and staging are all great ways to add value to your property, you need to budget carefully when planning activities of this nature. You need to make sure that you will receive a good-sized return for anything you invest. 

Here are some great tips to help you add value to your property without overspending. 

How to Calculate Fees When Selling a House 

We strongly advise that you do not make plans to sell your home until you have taken steps to calculate what the sale will cost you. 

Your first step should be to carefully choose a method of sale. This may be via an estate agent or auction house, or you may choose a fast home buying company. 

The latter may pay the legal expenses involved in the sale on your behalf – and, depending on the service provider you choose, there may not be any agency fees to pay either. This means that the overall sale process will likely be cheaper and less drawn out. 

After you have decided upon your approach, it is a very good idea to create a shortlist of service providers within your selected field. You should contact each of these specialists in order to investigate the charges involved in their process – including any hidden costs. 

Once you have these figures, you can compare them against one another. This will help you select the agent, auction house or home buying specialist that best suits your requirements and budget.  

It’s also a good idea to check online reviews and ask acquaintances for their advice, as these sources may warn you about the hidden costs charged by certain service providers. This could help you to work out who to avoid, or what to discuss in initial consultations. 

You should follow a similar approach when choosing a conveyancer or solicitor. The most important thing is to glean as much information as you can about the precise amounts you are likely to be charged at each stage of the process. 

Your estate agent and solicitor fees are likely to be the largest expenses involved in your sale. Once you have determined what these are likely to be, you can then factor them into your budget.  

From there, you will be able to work out the amounts you will be able to spend on additional tasks, such as redecorating, staging, removal company hire and accommodation. 

We also highly recommend working out the amount of equity you have in your home before selling – purely because being in negative equity can affect whether or not your mortgage lender will permit you to sell.  

It may also mean that you need to pay any shortfall amount to the provider if they do grant permission. This represents an additional cost that should be factored into your budget. 

Any Questions? 

We trust that the above guide will help you to develop an in-depth understanding of the costs and expenses involved in selling property. 

If you have any further questions about putting your house on the market, or if you wish to sell your house fast – typically within 7 to 14 days – and receive a cash offer worth approximately 85% of its market value, all you need to do is to get in touch with us today. 

We will be more than happy to provide you with the help and guidance you require, along with an absolutely free valuation.