What to look for when picking an agent to sell your home, from fees and contracts to local expertise.
The agent you instruct has more influence over your sale price and timescale than almost any other decision you make. Yet most sellers choose on the basis of one figure — the valuation — which is the least reliable signal available. Here is what to weigh instead.
Ignore the highest valuation
Some agents win instructions by quoting a price they know the market will not support, then push for reductions once you are tied into a contract. An overpriced listing goes stale: viewings dry up, portal listings drop down the sort order, and buyers who see repeated reductions assume something is wrong.
Get three valuations, then ask each agent to justify theirs with comparable evidence — actual sold prices for similar properties on similar streets in the last six months, not asking prices. The agent who shows their working is usually the one to trust.
Check they actually know your area
Local knowledge is not marketing fluff. It determines whether an agent can tell a buyer which primary school catchment you sit in, why your street is quieter than the one behind it, and which of their registered buyers has been waiting for exactly this house. Ask how many properties they have sold within half a mile in the past year, and what proportion of asking price they achieved.
Understand the fee — all of it
High-street agents typically charge a percentage of the sale price, usually somewhere between one and two per cent plus VAT for sole agency, with multi-agency arrangements costing more. Online and fixed-fee agents charge a flat amount, sometimes payable upfront whether or not you sell.
Get the fee in writing and confirm what it includes. Photography, floor plans, an EPC, premium portal listings and accompanied viewings may be bundled or charged separately. Ask directly whether the fee is payable if you withdraw, and whether VAT is included in the quoted figure.
Read the contract before you sign
The terms matter more than the headline rate. Look specifically at:
- Tie-in period. How many weeks are you committed for? Anything beyond twelve weeks is worth challenging.
- Notice period. How long after the tie-in ends before you can instruct someone else?
- Type of agency. Sole agency, sole selling rights and multi-agency mean different things. Sole selling rights can oblige you to pay commission even if you find the buyer yourself.
- Ready, willing and able purchaser clauses. These can make commission payable even if the sale falls through. Ask for them to be removed.
- Referral fees. Agents must disclose commission earned from recommending conveyancers, brokers or surveyors. Ask for the figures.
Look at the marketing they actually produce
Pull up the agent’s current listings on the major property portals and judge them as a buyer would. Are the photographs professionally lit and shot in daylight? Is there a floor plan with dimensions? Is the description specific, or a string of estate-agent adjectives? Do they use video or virtual tours where the property warrants it?
Check where they advertise, too. Coverage across the main portals plus their own site and mailing list is now the baseline rather than a selling point.
Verify their credentials
Every estate agent in the UK must belong to a government-approved redress scheme — The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme — and must hold client money protection if they handle client funds. Membership of a professional body such as Propertymark or RICS is a further signal. Ask for the scheme name and check the register yourself; it takes two minutes.
Judge them on communication
Note how quickly they responded to your first enquiry, whether they turned up on time, and whether they followed up. That behaviour is a preview of how they will treat your buyers. Ask who will actually handle your sale day to day, how often you will get feedback after viewings, and whether they conduct accompanied viewings or leave it to you.
Read reviews with a critical eye
Look for recent reviews, look at how the agent responds to negative ones, and weight seller reviews above buyer reviews. A pattern of complaints about communication during the conveyancing stage is a meaningful warning; a single angry review about a failed chain usually is not.
Ready to compare agents in your area? Use our find an agent tool, or start with a free valuation.
