Go direct when appointing a solicitor estate agent

When you’re looking to sell a property, we know that every penny counts. In a tough financial climate, that’s even more true, with affordability the highest priority for many.

But affordability doesn’t just apply to property prices or LBTT – it also factors in the fees of your chosen solicitor estate agent. Whatever you prioritise, whether that’s the lowest fee available or the level of service provided, we know that pricing is a key component in the selection process. That’s why we encourage you to come direct to espc.com when you’re looking to appoint a solicitor estate agent. We offer a comprehensive directory of our 126 member firms, which is completely impartial and crucially, completely free.

Isn’t it always free, you might ask? Well, that depends.

Many customers choose to use a solicitor estate agency firm close to home, or go on word-of-mouth recommendations, especially if you’re selling a property for the first time. However, some customers choose to use ‘find an agent’ online directories, which may be marketed as free to use, but are often not actually free at all.

These sites act as a middleman, but they come with hidden costs, often around 0.25% of the property’s selling price, that usually gets added to your final bill once your sale is complete.

0.25% doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider that this could mean a figure stretching anywhere from the hundreds into the thousands, things don’t quite add up. For example, for a property costing £250,000, using one of these ‘find an agent’ services would add an extra £625 to your costs - £625 that you could spend better on furnishing your new home.

Whatever you want to spend on your solicitor estate agency services, going directly to your preferred agent, or using ESPC’s directory to find one, means that whatever the cost of your chosen firm, you can feel safe in the knowledge that there is no middleman adding unnecessary costs to the selling process. We understand that many may want to appoint an agent based on their decisions on price, but however much you spend, you’ll save money by going direct.

Andrew Diamond, Chairman of ESPC, explains: “When appointing a solicitor estate agency firm, it’s about more than price – but we know that price is an important part of a client’s decision. However much you can afford to spend, the take-home message is that if you choose to use ESPC or go directly to an agent, it will be hundreds, perhaps thousands of pounds cheaper than going through an agent-finding service. We are in close communication with all of our member firms, and they are universally in agreement that these websites are unnecessarily expensive and add nothing to the consumer experience. Our member firms are all in healthy competition in a busy, thriving market, and they all offer excellent value for money when you consider their breadth of knowledge, experience and expertise. I would therefore urge anyone thinking of selling their home to make the most of the excellent value on offer, and to not unnecessarily add an additional expense to the process.”

Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, added: “ESPC prides itself on being a free, impartial service that offers buyers and sellers the opportunity to access a wealth of expertise and advice, alongside the opportunity to engage any one of our excellent member firms. We offer a free-to-use directory of our member firms, which no agent pays to be a part of, so you can be reassured that everything is fair and balanced. We also offer free valuations with our member firms, which gives a prospective seller the tools to make the decision on who they prefer to use. ESPC takes no fee for this service, so you won’t find yourself paying more due to firms having to pay a middleman for leads. For first-time sellers especially, we know that every penny counts, and we want you to enjoy the incredible service and unrivalled local expertise our member firms can offer, without paying for a wholly unnecessary middleman to take you to them.”

Independent market research conducted in March/April 2024 has also confirmed that local, ESPC-affiliated solicitor estate agents achieve an average of 2% more above Home Report valuation for property sales than non-ESPC agents, meaning a lot of extra cash for you as a home seller if you choose to use an ESPC firm, and use espc.com to find them.