In this guide
Estate agent fees for selling your property
Conveyancing solicitor fees for selling your property
Home Report (Scotland)
Preparing your home for sale
Final bills
Removal costs
Buying your next property
Selling your home in the UK can be a lengthy process, with lots to consider when it comes to cost – especially if you’re a first-time seller, there can be many things that you never thought you would have to factor into your budget or that you simply have forgotten about. That’s why we’ve put together an easy guide covering the total costs of selling a home in the UK:
Below is a table showing rough costs for each element of selling a home, which we will then explore further in this blog.
| Element of selling | Cost |
| Estate agent fees | £995 or usually 1-3% of sale price |
| Conveyancing fees | Average cost £1046 |
| Home report (Scotland) | £350 – £450 |
| Mortgage charges | Mortgage exit £50 – £300 Early repayment 1-5% early repayment cost |
| Capital Gains Tax | Usually 15% of the profit |
| Energy Performance certificate | Average cost £90 |
| Preparation costs | £0 – £2000 |
| Removal costs | £300 – £600 |
| Stamp duty | (See rates below) |
Estate agent fees for selling your property
Estate agent fees typically vary between 1%-3% but it depends on the sale price of your house and the estate agent you choose. As an online estate agent, we are proud to offer a unique 3 fee option, letting you choose the option that works best for you:
Upfront fee
Pay the whole £995 upfront and you don’t have to worry about it later.
Split fee
Spread your costs across the process and pay just £495 upfront, with the remaining £500 due on completion.
No sale, no fee
No risk, no hassle. Don’t pay until we sell. Just pay 1% of the sale price, with a minimum fee of £1,500.
(All fee options include VAT)
Conveyancing solicitor fees for selling your property
The average conveyancing solicitor fees for selling a house are £1,046 – based off the average home in the UK priced at £251,000. This total includes the solicitor’s legal fee as well as conveyancing disbursements – which are essential to the conveyancing process. However, some solicitors offer a fixed fee conveyancing service, so it’s worth finding this our first-hand.
Home Report (Scotland)
Before putting your property on the market in Scotland, it’s a legal requirement to submit a home report. Here’s what the home report includes:
- A single survey and valuation
- A property questionnaire
- Energy report
Mortgage charges
There are two possible mortgage charges that home sellers have to pay – these are:
Mortgage exit fee
A mortgage exit fee is charged for closing your account. If for example, you were switching to another lender or remortgaging to another deal with the same lender. But it can also be charged when you just finish paying off your mortgage and typically varies between £50-£300.
Early repayment charge
An early repayment charge is a penalty required if you repay your mortgage (or overpay more than allowed) during your tie-in period – this is a way of the lender getting some money back from the interest they would be losing by doing so. Typically, these charges range from 1-5% of the value of the early repayment.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
As a seller, you might need to pay Capital Gains Tax if you’re selling a buy-to-let property for example. Capital Gains tax is a tax on the profit when you sell or dispose of an asset that’s increased in value. When this occurs, it’s the value of the gain you make that’s taxed, not the overall amount of money you receive. You will also have to pay CGT on:
- Inherited property
- Business premises
- Land
Energy Performance Certificates
You must have a valid EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent. An EPC contains information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs, as well as giving recommendations about how to reduce energy usage and save money. You may already have one, so it’s worth checking the EPC register to see if yours is up to date – if not, these are to be carried out by accredited domestic energy assessors, and they usually cost around £90.
Preparing your home for sale
Preparing your home for sale doesn’t have to cost thousands, it simply depends on the extent of your preparations usually, costs can vary between £0-£2000 but you may want to consider putting money towards preparations to make it look the best it can.
These preparations can be anything – even the simplest of changes can make a big difference: why not change the walls to white or neutral colour to keep it bright and fresh looking, declutter your space, keep the place tidy and fix any minor repairs where possible.
Final bills
Don’t forget about your final energy and water bills as sometimes they can come as a surprise to you. If you are on estimated bills and they have been underestimated by the provider, you could be hit with a larger than expected bill. It’s important to have money put aside not only ready for the final bills but just in case anything comes as a shock to you.
It’s always worth considering the smaller final costs as well, such as switching over your mail, and so on – these things can often slip through the net, but all needs to be done.
Removal costs
This will vary depending on your situation and preference. You may be in a position where you don’t have lots of furniture and are able to use the help of family and friends for removals, lowering your costs.
However, not everyone will be fortunate enough to have people on hand to help, or you may require storage units, a van, and have to hire a removal company to pack and transport everything so, overall, we recommend having around £300-£600 put aside for removals.
Buying your next property
Although this isn’t directly the cost of selling, you’re most likely selling your current home to downsize, upsize. For whatever reason, it does mean you will be purchasing a new home – and along with the cost of that, also comes the cost of stamp duty.
As you’ll be aware, stamp duty is the fee paid to the government for the ownership of a property or land and is worked out in price bands as a percentage of the cost of your home. The price bands vary depending on where you’re located in the UK. See the tables below for the standard rates:
England and Wales stamp duty rates
Property price Rate
£0 – £125,000 0%
£125,000 – £250,000 2%
£250,000 – £925,000 5%
£925,000 – £1.5m 10%
£1.5m+ 12%
Scotland rates
In Scotland, stamp duty is known as Land & Buildings Transaction Tax and the rates are as follows:
Property price LBTT rate
Up to £145,000 0%
£145,000 to £250,000 2%
£250,000 to £325,000 5%
£325,000 to £750,000 10%
The overall costs of selling a home may have shocked you, but it’s important to know everything involved before you take the big step. And sometimes, spending that bit extra to get a good job done will get you a smoother move.
