Using a ‘No Sale, No Fee‘ online estate agent, also known as ‘Pay on completion‘, sounds like an amazing concept. But the problem is, paying only on completion comes at a cost (which many don’t realise)!
In this blog post I take a look at the top online estate agents that don’t want your money until they’ve done something as remarkable as ..errr.. their job, and discuss whether you should stump up the extra cash for the privilege!
In short, I don’t think they’re worth it – find out why, and what my preferred alternative suggestions are…
Yup, Online Estate Agents are continuing to gather momentum – and to the utter disappointment of most high-street agents – it doesn’t seem like they’ll die a painful death anytime soon.
So, for now, we still have the luxury of choosing between ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’, or ‘cheaper’ and ‘expensive’- depending on how you look at it – when selling our home.
Both methods have their own set of pros of cons, which you’re probably already familiar with. One of the major criticisms of the online model is that we have to pay a fee- usually upfront- regardless of whether we sell our property or not. Meanwhile, traditional high-street agents only charge a fee, a substantially greater fee in comparison, once the property has been sold.
For all intents and purposes, that’s a pretty good reason not to use an online agent, even if they are considerably cheaper.
High-street agents 1, Online estate agents 0!
In the spirit of keeping the fight alive, many of the online agents have started to swing their arms a little more aggressively in an attempt to even up the score. Yup, they’ve started offering ‘No sale, no fee’ packages, which means sellers don’t need to pay upfront fees until a sale is achieved.
High-street agents 1, Online estate agents 1!
List of recommended ‘No Sale, No Fee’ Online Estate Agents
Estate Agent | Rating | Duration | Includes / Notes | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Strike (formerly Housesimple)![]() Top Pick | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration 6 months | Includes / NotesNo fee package
*YES, Strike will give you a 100% free service, no strings attached. However, Strike currently only sells properties in England. | PriceFree*Free | Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation |
99Home![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration Until Sold | Includes / NotesNo Sale, No Fee (Bronze) package
| PriceDiscount available£949 Inc VAT | Visit Website£50 Discount Code: Spring |
Yopa![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration 12 Months | Includes / NotesNo Sale, No Fee package
*£999 is the starting price. Price varies by location. | Price*£999 Inc VAT | Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation |
esale![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration 12 months | Includes / NotesPay On Completion package
*Must pay £95 non-refundable advance admin fee, remaining balance due on completion. ** Add Rightmove premium listing to your cart then apply discount code during checkout. | PricePromo running*£1195 Inc VAT | Visit Website**Free Rightmove Premium Listing with code: PREMIUM2020 |
The Elephant in the room – Strike’s (formerly Housesimple) free service!
Yup, Strike’s (formerly Housesimple), offer sticks out like a sore, and with good reason. They are an almighty exception! They break the “No Fee, No Sale” mould by offering a “No Fee, No Fee” deal instead.
I’ve already covered Strike’s free service in depth, so to cut a long story short, I will say that their offer is legit, there’s no catch!.
Strike will sell your house for free as long as their service covers your area, which is currently limited to the areas I listed above (all north of the country, I’m afraid). If your property is situated in one of those areas, perfect, you can use their free service by booking in a free in-person valuation with one of their local agents.
To check if you qualify for their free service, you can try booking a free valuation to see if your postcode is accepted. If it is, BINGO!
Ultimately, their service is free. You don’t have to pay anything upfront or after your house is sold. If you’re curious to find out how and why it’s all possible, hop over to my in-depth overview of Strike’s free service.
THE CATCH (for everyone that doesn’t qualify for Strike’s free service!)…
If you don’t qualify for Strike’s 100% Free service, or if you simply don’t want to use their free service even if you qualify (for whatever reason), then unfortunately you’ll have to dig deep into your pockets if you want to use a “No Sale, No Fee” online estate agent.
Yes, there is a catch!
With the exception of Strike’s current offer, every other online agent charges a premium for the privilege of paying on completion (i.e. when your property is sold), and that means you can find the exact same packages (with zero extra features and services) for a lot less! The agents really don’t make that entirely clear! Of course, that shouldn’t be surprising at all.
Here’s what the same packages offered by the same agents charge when you pay upfront…
Estate Agent | Rating | Duration | Includes / Notes | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
99Home![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration Until Sold | Includes / NotesCombo package
| PriceDiscount available£570 Inc VAT | Visit Website5% Discount Code: HomeCPIP5 |
esale![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration 12 months | Includes / NotesPay Upfront package
* Add Rightmove premium listing to your cart then apply discount code during checkout. | PricePromo running£595 Inc VAT | Visit Website*Free Rightmove Premium Listing with code: PREMIUM2020 |
Yopa![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration 12 Months | Includes / NotesPay Now Core package
*Selling fee of £1,499 in a few specific London postcodes. | Price*£999 Inc VAT | Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation |
My very initial thoughts? It’s terribly appealing to only pay a fee if a sale is achieved, even if it costs a little extra. I can see why people would, and do, opt for the eye-candy.
But then.
I actually thought about the situation for more than 10 seconds, and I realised… that’s all it is, eye-candy! While I wouldn’t discourage anyone from opting for a “No Sale, No Fee” package, I have to say that it rubs my tits the wrong way that these agents are charging a whole lot more for a package without actually adding a single iota of extra value.
You seem to get the same bang for your buck in terms of service, despite paying a shitload more.
Nope, not even an insulting novelty fun size toy that’s worth pennies to help absorb the blow. Of course, a shitty toy imported from China wouldn’t make me feel any better, but at least they’d be trying. As it stands, you’re literally having to agree to paying nearly DOUBLE if a sale is achieved. Seems like daylight robbery to me.
From the business perspective, I get it. However, from the consumer perspective, it’s bullshit, and I don’t give a crap about the business perspective.
Aren’t they simply saying, “Pay us extra for doing our job, or pay us less in case we don’t do our job”?
Should you opt for a ‘No sale, no fee’ package?
If you only want to pay if you actually sell your property and you don’t mind being temporary locked into a “sole agency contract” (which is something like 99% of high-street agents lock you into), then absolutely. Go for it. You have nothing to lose.
However, my only word of caution is to be wary; do the maths first, because in some cases, depending on the value of the property and which online agent you choose, it can actually be cheaper to use a high-street agent, who provide a ‘No Sale, No Fee’ model by default.
Traditional high street estate agent fees drastically vary, typically between 1% – 3%, some even charge less.
The whole point of using an online agent is to save thousands on fees, so if you’re not doing that, you may want to reconsider your plan of action. Personally, unless I’m literally saving thousands, I can’t see the value in using an online agent. I feel like some of them are getting greedy and losing their way.
The Cheapest Online Estate Agents, are they worth a punt instead?
Estate Agent | Rating | Duration | Includes / Notes | Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
99Home![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration Until Sold | Includes / NotesStandard (with Rightmove) package
| PriceDiscount available£159 Inc VAT | Visit Website20% Discount Code: HomePIP5 |
Door Steps![]() | RatingTrustPilot Reviews | Duration 3 months | Includes / NotesDIY Deal package
Disabled | Price£598.8 Inc VAT | Visit Website |
Yup, you can currently privately sell your property on Rightmove on Zoopla for as little as £159.
With these budget online agents you won’t get personal or impeccable customer service because you’re really not paying for it. But what you will get is a way of getting your property listed on Rightmove & Zoopla in order to generate leads. That’s it.
So I offer you the following food for thought: instead of splashing out on a ‘No Sale, No Fee’ package with an online agent, maybe you’d be wiser to gamble on one of the two cheapest online estate agent packages, which provide Rightmove & Zoopla listings.
Worse case scenario? You pay £159 – £350’ish and don’t get a sale.
Don’t get me wrong, it would be a total suck-fest if a sale wasn’t achieved, but it’s not exactly ‘end of the world’ stuff.
So, what do you think?
On a sidenote, I personally favour 99home, because their service is awesome, even though they charge peanuts.
List of online estate agents
If you’re interested, here’s a more complete list of online estate agents, which allow for better comparisons.
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.