Most sellers hear one number before they instruct an agent: the fee. It’s rarely the whole bill. Conveyancing, the EPC, getting the home ready to photograph, the move itself, and a handful of costs nobody mentions until they land — all of it belongs in the same conversation. Here it is, honestly, line by line.
The agent’s fee
Agents charge in one of two ways: a percentage of the sale price, or a fixed fee agreed up front. Neither is automatically better — what matters is what the fee actually buys. We work on no sale, no feeterms, so nothing is owed unless your home completes, and we set out our rate plainly at valuation rather than making you ask for it. Whichever agent you choose, read the instruction contract properly before signing: it will state the sole-agency period, what’s included in the marketing, and the point at which the fee is triggered. The cheapest fee on the table rarely produces the best result — but the highest one doesn’t guarantee it either. Our seller’s guide walks through what to check before you sign.
Legal costs — the conveyancing bill
Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer handles the legal transfer of ownership, and their fee is one of the easiest costs to control — because you can compare it before you commit to anyone. Get two or three fixed quotes, not estimates, and make sure each one covers the disbursements as well as the headline fee: identity checks, a telegraphic transfer fee to move the completion funds, and — if you have a mortgage to repay — your lender’s redemption administration charge. Instructing a conveyancer early, before you’ve even accepted an offer, costs nothing extra and is one of the cheapest ways to shave weeks off the transaction later.
The EPC, and why timing matters
An Energy Performance Certificate is a legal requirement before any home can be marketed, and it’s a modest, fixed cost — but the timing catches people out more than the price does. Certificates are valid for ten years, so the first move is checking whether an existing one is still current before paying for a new assessment. If it has lapsed, book the assessment as soon as you decide to sell: it’s a short appointment, but the certificate itself can take a few days to be issued, and marketing can’t legally begin without it.
Getting it ready to sell
This is the cost with the most control attached to it, because it scales entirely with how much a home needs. For some, it’s nothing more than a weekend of decluttering and a garden tidy. For others, it’s a coat of paint on tired woodwork, a repaired fence panel, or moving furniture out of a room to let the space breathe for photography. None of it needs to be expensive to be effective — the modest jobs tend to matter more than the grand ones. We’ve written a fuller guide on preparing a home for sale if you want the specifics.
- Minor repairs — a sticking door, a cracked tile, a dripping tap — that a buyer's surveyor will otherwise flag.
- A tidy, depersonalised space for photography, which may mean a morning of decluttering rather than any spend at all.
- Fresh paint on scuffed or dated woodwork, usually the highest-impact low-cost job available.
- Garden and exterior tidiness, since it's the first thing every viewer and every photograph sees.
Removals, and moving day
What a move costs depends on how much you’re moving, how far, and how much of the packing you do yourself versus paying a firm to handle. Get quotes from two or three removal companies once you have a realistic sense of your completion date, rather than the week before — good local firms book up, and a rushed booking rarely gets you the better price. If your sale and purchase don’t complete on the same day, factor in storage as a real, separate line, not an afterthought.
The costs nobody mentions upfront
These are the ones that catch people out — not because they’re large, but because nobody warns you they exist until the bill arrives:
- A mortgage early repayment charge, if you’re still inside a fixed or discounted deal when you complete. Check your mortgage terms, or ask your broker, before you set a completion date.
- A leasehold management pack, if your home is leasehold. The freeholder or managing agent sets the fee and it can take a couple of weeks to produce — order it the day you go to market, not when a buyer's solicitor asks for it.
- Overlap costs— running two households, or a short-term rental, if your onward purchase completes before your sale, or your sale completes before you're ready to move into the next home.
- A second marketing round, if a home is priced or presented wrong the first time and needs relaunching. This one is entirely avoidable, and it's the most expensive item on this list by far.
The real saving: getting it right once
Almost every cost on this page is fixed and predictable. The one that isn’t is what happens if a home is launched at the wrong price or presented poorly — because that’s the cost that compounds. A stuck listing doesn’t just cost time; it often means a second round of photography, a price correction that reads as retreat, and months of a fee structure working against you rather than for you. We’ve written more on what actually keeps a home on the market — the short version is that getting the launch right the first time is the single biggest saving available to any seller.
None of this needs deciding today. Start with an honest valuation, use it to map the real cost of your move, and read our full seller’s guidewhen you’re ready to plan the rest of the process in order.
Frequently asked
Quick answers.
Do I pay estate agent fees if my house doesn't sell?
Under a standard no sale, no fee arrangement — the basis we work on — you owe nothing if a sale doesn't complete. Read the instruction contract carefully regardless: it will set out the sole-agency period, what happens if you switch agent mid-sale, and precisely when the fee becomes payable. Ask about anything that isn't clear before you sign, not after.
How much does conveyancing cost when selling?
It varies by firm, by how straightforward the title is, and by whether there's a mortgage to redeem. Ask for a fixed quote covering the legal fee plus the disbursements — ID checks, a telegraphic transfer fee, and your mortgage lender's redemption administration charge if you have a mortgage to repay. A fixed quote in writing, compared across two or three firms, is worth ten minutes of your time.
Do I need an EPC to sell my house?
Yes — a valid Energy Performance Certificate is a legal requirement before a home can be marketed. Certificates last ten years, so check whether yours is still current before commissioning a new one; if it's expired or you've never had one, book it early, since a straightforward domestic assessment usually takes a few days to arrange and issue, not hours.
What's a leasehold management pack, and why does it cost money?
If you're selling a leasehold home, your buyer's solicitor will need a management pack from the freeholder or managing agent — service charge accounts, ground rent details, building insurance, any planned works. The freeholder sets the fee, and it can take a couple of weeks to produce, so order it the moment you go to market rather than waiting for a buyer to ask.
What catches sellers out most often?
Rarely the costs on the list — it's the ones created by time. A mortgage early repayment charge if you complete before a fixed deal ends. A month of running two households if your onward purchase completes early. A second round of photography and marketing if a relaunch is needed. Almost every one of these is avoidable with the right preparation and the right price from day one.
Where to go next
