Which questions should I ask an estate agent when I’m selling my home?

The most important questions to ask an estate agent when selling your home fall into six areas: how they valued it (and what sold prices back that up), their exact fee and what’s included, the type of contract and tie-in period, how they’ll market it, their real track record (time to sell and percentage of asking price achieved), and how they’ll progress the sale and qualify your buyer. Ask all of it, in writing, and interview at least three agents before you sign.

How should an estate agent value your home?

The valuation is where agents win business — sometimes by telling you what you want to hear. A price set too high means weeks of silence, then reductions that make the home look stale. Pin the figure down with evidence:

1. How did you arrive at this valuation, and what sold prices support it? Ask for recent sold comparables nearby (not optimistic asking prices) — you can cross-check them yourself on the Land Registry price-paid tool.
2. What would you list it at, versus what do you realistically expect it to achieve? A good agent will separate the two honestly.
3. Are you valuing high just to win my instruction? Ask every agent the same, and treat the outlier high figure with caution.
4. What should I fix, declutter or stage to add value? Small jobs and good presentation often pay for themselves.
5. If it doesn’t sell, at what point and by how much would you recommend reducing? Agree the strategy before you list, not in a panic later.

What should you ask about fees and the contract?

Fees and contract terms are where sellers lose the most money — and where the small print bites. Average sole-agency commission is around 1.4% including VAT, but the market runs from under 1% to over 3%, so the exact wording matters.

1. Exactly what is your commission — the percentage plus VAT, or a fixed fee — and what does it include? Get it in writing; “plus VAT” adds 20%.
2. Are there any other costs — premium portal listings, photography, floorplans, a For Sale board, or withdrawal/marketing fees if I take it off the market?
3. When is the fee payable — on exchange or completion — and is any of it upfront? Avoid paying before the sale completes.
4. Will you agree a sliding scale or match another agent’s quote? Three quotes give you leverage to negotiate.

Then get the type of agreement straight — this is the single most misunderstood part of selling:

9. Is this sole agency or sole selling rights? The difference can cost you a whole commission.
10. Does the contract include a “ready, willing and able purchaser” clause? If so, you could owe a fee even if the sale never completes — don’t accept it.
11. What’s the tie-in period, and can I shorten it? Aim for 12 weeks or less, including the notice period.
12. What’s the notice period to cancel, and does it start when I send it or when you receive it?
13. If I switch agents later, could I be liable for two commissions? Ask for a written list of the buyers each agent introduced.

How will the agent market your home?

Most buyers start on the big portals, so where and how your home appears is critical.

14. Will you list on all three major portals — Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket?
15. Do you include professional photography, a floorplan and a video or virtual tour? Poor photos are the fastest way to lose a buyer.
16. What do you do beyond the portals — your registered-buyer database, social media, window display, an open house?
17. Do I have a valid EPC, or will you arrange one? An Energy Performance Certificate lasts 10 years and you must at least have applied for one before marketing.
18. How quickly can you get it live, and do I need a For Sale board? (You don’t have to have a board.)

What is the agent’s real track record?

Marketing claims are easy; numbers are harder to fake. Ask for theirs.

19. How many properties like mine have you sold nearby recently, and for how much?
20. What’s your average time to sell homes like mine? A full sale in England and Wales typically takes around five to six months start to finish.
21. What percentage of the asking price do you usually achieve? The asking-to-sold ratio tells you whether their valuations are realistic.
22. What share of your listings actually sell, rather than being withdrawn?
23. Do you already have registered buyers looking for a property like mine?

How will they handle offers and progress the sale?

Getting an offer is only half the job — around one in four agreed sales falls through before completion, and a good agent earns their fee here.

24. Who handles the sale after an offer is accepted — do you offer sales progression?
25. How do you qualify buyers — proof of funds, a mortgage agreement in principle, and their position in any chain?
26. Will you put every offer to me in writing, and how do you handle multiple offers?
27. Who conducts viewings — the same person, accompanied, and in the evenings or at weekends?
28. How, and how often, will you update me? Weekly feedback by phone is a reasonable benchmark.

Is the agent properly regulated and trustworthy?

Anyone in England and Wales can set up as an estate agent — there’s no licence or qualification required — so the checks below matter.

29. Which redress scheme do you belong to — The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme? Membership is a legal requirement; verify it on the scheme’s own member checker rather than trusting a logo.
30. Are you registered with HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision? It’s a legal requirement to trade, and estate agency is the most-penalised sector for AML breaches.
31. Do you have Client Money Protection, and are you a member of NAEA Propertymark or RICS? These signal a higher standard than the legal minimum.
32. Do you push your own in-house mortgage, survey or conveyancing services, and do you receive a referral fee? Disclosure is required under the Estate Agents Act 1979, and you’re under no obligation to use them — a BBC Panorama investigation found agent-referred conveyancers charged up to three times the cheapest quote.

Red flags to watch for

• An agent whose valuation is markedly higher than everyone else’s — they may just be buying your instruction.
• A “ready, willing and able purchaser” clause anywhere in the contract.
• A tie-in longer than 12 weeks, or a notice period that starts only when the agent receives your letter.
• Upfront fees, or withdrawal/marketing fees you can’t get back if it doesn’t sell.
• Pressure to use their mortgage broker or conveyancer without disclosing the referral fee.
• No verifiable redress-scheme membership or HMRC registration.

Is an estate agent even the right route for you?

A traditional agent is the right choice for most sellers who want the highest price and have time to wait. But it isn’t the only option, and it’s worth asking yourself which route fits your circumstances — especially if you’re dealing with divorce, probate, repossession, a broken chain, or you simply need certainty on a date.

We’ll be straight about the trade-off: a genuine cash sale completes below open-market value, so if price is your priority and you have time, an estate agent will usually get you more. But if speed, certainty or avoiding fees and viewings matters most, a chain-free cash purchase can complete in as little as seven days with no fees. The right question isn’t just “which agent?” — it’s “which method suits my situation?”

Are the rules different in Scotland and Wales?

Yes, in part. In Scotland the whole system differs: you’ll usually need a Home Report (a survey, energy report and property questionnaire) before marketing rather than just an EPC, homes are often listed “offers over”, and a sale becomes binding much earlier, at the conclusion of missives — so gazumping is rarer, and solicitors or solicitor-estate-agents commonly handle the sale. In Wales, estate-agency law is the same as England (the Estate Agents Act 1979, redress schemes and the EPC requirement all apply); the main difference is that buyers pay Land Transaction Tax rather than Stamp Duty. In all parts of the UK, the agent must belong to a redress scheme and be HMRC-registered.

Questions to ask an estate agent: FAQs

General guidance for the UK, current for 2026 — not legal or financial advice; the process differs in Scotland and Wales as noted. Fees, timescales and fall-through rates vary by source and area. For further help see GOV.UK: buying and selling a home, The Property Ombudsman and NAEA Propertymark. Springbok Properties Ltd, company no. 09045757, Manchester M32 0RS. Freephone 0800 068 4015.