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This is how much it costs a landlord to sell a property

A property website has calculated how much it costs a landlord or general home owner to sell a home - and the figures can b eye watering.

It’s likely to be over £5,400 once costs such as estate agent and conveyancing fees are included - but that’s only a UK-wide average.

For those landlords in the capital, the cost skyrockets to an average of £11,500.

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Property website GetAgent used one of its tools to assess the costs of selling by capturing variables including current property values, agent fees, conveyancing costs, additional legal charges, and the cost of an updated Energy Performance Certificate.

The average of £5,413 is dominated by agent fees - which can be some 80 per cent.

For those in London, where the current average house price sits at £527,979, sellers need to prepare for an outlay of roughly £11,479. 

Agents in the capital typically command the highest fees averaging 1.95 per cent or £10,308; most other costs are likely to suffer from London weighting too. 

GetAgent chief executive Colby Short says: “Despite wider economic instability the housing market has stood strong in recent months, with only a marginal decline in house prices to date. This means that as a seller you’ll hopefully end up with a healthy profit when you do come to sell, but you still need to budget for the cost required to transact which is currently over £5,000 on average.

“Typically the higher the house price the higher the costs will be, as most costs incurred are based on a percentage of your selling price and so you’ll need to come up with over £10,000 in London.

“While the biggest outlay is the fee paid to your estate agent, it’s money well spent, particularly in the current market where finding a legitimate buyer and making it through to completion has become all the harder.

“When dealing with such an expensive asset, it makes perfect sense to get the best professional help possible and we’ve seen how opting for a low, fixed-fee agent can backfire when it comes to price achieved and the quality of service provided.

“Similarly when exchanging contracts if you use a quality conveyancer it can be the difference between securing a pain-free sale and being stressed out for months, so it’s not something to skimp out on.”

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  • icon

    These costs are deductable from the sale price for the purpose of capital gains tax payments.

    However, personally I find that dealing with everything myself ensures pain-free and trouble-free transactions and resolution of problems in every situation. You do need to have a basic knowledge though of what you are doing - or to acquire it.

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    Why does it cost so much when there are agencies like Strike that are completely free?

    Sold two of mine through them!

  • John  Adams

    Shop around is the age old mantra. Shop around.
    Look at the reviews of local agents and who has the most Sale Boards, spend half an hour just doing that instead of listening to the slick dick who promises you a sale 30% higher than the old guy in the dusty looking one man band agent at the back of town who told you it was worth a little less than you dreamt it was but who has sold virtually every house in town first time.

  • icon

    I don't think the cost of selling is as high as the article suggests even with paying early redemption fees. But in the scheme of things five grand isn't much. Our remaining houses have increased on average by £64k each and when (not if) we sell we will have £144k per house to play with before CGT.

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