A plain look at net proceeds when you list the home yourself, versus paying a percentage of the sale price to a high-street firm.
A conventional estate-agency instruction is usually a percentage of the eventual sale price, plus VAT, sometimes with extra for photography, a premium portal upgrade, or a contract that still bites if you later sell privately. Agency Free does not take a selling commission. Standard adverts here are free. That is the whole commercial point of the site.
The money you do not pay a branch is not extra profit until the home actually completes. You still have solicitor fees, any mortgage early-repayment charge, removals, and — if you are also buying — stamp duty on the next place. Going direct removes one invoice. It does not remove the move.
Suppose a home completes at £280,000. A 1.25% plus VAT selling fee is £4,200 before VAT and £5,040 once VAT is added. List the same home on Agency Free and that particular line is zero. The example is arithmetic, not a promise about your street, and not a valuation.
Fees in the market vary. Some firms offer a fixed fee; some reduce the percentage if you also instruct a related service. Read the terms you were given. The comparison that matters is your net after every contracted cost, not a headline percentage on a shop window.
You write the advert, take or commission photographs, answer enquiries, arrange viewings, and negotiate. Buyers on a direct listing expect a reply from the person who owns the keys. If you cannot do that in the first week, the listing will sit still — the same way it would on any portal with no one picking up the phone.
You also still need a conveyancer. Direct does not mean DIY law. Title, boundaries, and the memorandum of sale still have to be handled properly.
Start with completions in our sold-price file, then walk comparable homes for sale nearby, then decide an asking figure you can defend. A round number pulled from a national index will not help you on viewing day. Neighbours’ recent transfers will.
If you want more eyes on the advert after it is live, featured placement on Agency Free is optional advertising — not a commission on the sale. The listing itself stays free.
Sources and limits
This note is Agency Free original writing. Completions are HM Land Registry Price Paid records we store. They are not the ONS House Price Index and not a valuation. Legal process described here is general information, not advice for your transaction.