Selling without an estate agent: what you take on
Selling privately saves the commission. It does not save the conveyancing, the disclosure duties or the need to find a buyer.
Selling without an agent is entirely legal and saves the commission, which on a £300,000 property is typically £3,000 to £4,500. What it does not save is the work: finding buyers, conducting viewings, negotiating, and managing the process through to completion.
The saving is real and the work is real, and whether it is worth it depends on the property and on your own time and temperament. A property with strong demand and an obvious buyer pool is a very different proposition from one that needs a wide audience.
What you have to do yourself
The list is longer than most sellers expect, and the items at the end are the ones that determine whether the sale completes.
- Value the property, which means working from sold comparables rather than from what you hope it is worth
- Produce photographs and a floor plan to a standard that competes with agent listings
- Advertise on a portal, which usually means paying a listing fee
- Conduct viewings, including at evenings and weekends when buyers are available
- Qualify buyers, establishing whether they have a mortgage agreed and a property to sell
- Negotiate the price and the terms
- Manage the sale through to exchange and completion
The obligations that do not change
Selling privately removes the agent, not the law. You still need a solicitor to handle the conveyancing, you still have to complete the property information form honestly, and you still have to provide an Energy Performance Certificate before marketing.
You are also subject to the same rules on disclosure and misrepresentation. An agent's experience is partly about knowing what has to be disclosed and what the standard enquiries will ask, and without that experience it is easy to give an answer that creates a problem later.
When it works and when it does not
Private selling works best where the buyer is already known or easily found: a neighbour, a tenant, a relative, or a property in a location where demand is so strong that a portal listing alone generates enquiries.
It works least well for a property needing work, in a weaker market, or where the price is uncertain. Those are exactly the cases where an agent's buyer database and negotiation experience add most, and where a private sale most often results in a lower price that exceeds the commission saved.
Common questions
- How much do I save selling without an estate agent?
- The agency commission, typically 1% to 1.75% of the sale price plus VAT, so around £3,000 to £5,000 on a £300,000 property. You will still pay for a portal listing, photography, a floor plan and the conveyancing. Whether you save overall depends on whether the price achieved matches what an agent would have achieved.
- Do I still need a solicitor to sell privately?
- Yes. A solicitor or licensed conveyancer handles the title, the contract, the searches and the transfer, and the buyer's lender will require it. Selling privately removes the estate agent, not the legal process. Using an unqualified person for the conveyancing is a false economy and can invalidate a mortgage offer.