UK property explainers
FAQ-style explainers on UK property: fees, contracts, tax, timelines, jargon, and the things sellers wish someone had told them earlier.
How long is an estate agent's valuation valid for?
An estate agent's valuation has no legal expiry date, because it is an opinion and not a contract. As a rule of thumb it is a sound guide for a few weeks, a guide to the range for up to three months, and worth refreshing after that.
Does overpricing my house make the sale more likely to fall through?
It appears to: figures published on 11 November 2026 show that UK sales agreed within 25 days of listing reached completion 94% of the time, against 56% for sales that took 100 days or more to agree, and homes that needed a price cut took an average of 103 days to find a buyer. Pricing right from the first week is the simplest way to stay in the faster, safer group.
Why does an estate agent need my ID before I can sell?
An estate agent needs your ID because the law requires it: under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, an agent must confirm who you are before it acts for you in a sale. The duty starts when you agree to instruct the agent, so the law does not ask for a passport just to find out what your home is worth.
I'm a landlord. Should I sell my rental now or keep it?
Sell if the rent you keep after tax and costs no longer justifies the money tied up in the property, and keep it if it does. The sums changed this autumn: tax on rental profits rises to 24%, 44% and 49% from April 2027, and flat prices in London and much of the south are below their peak.
What do estate agents look at when they value a house?
An estate agent values your house mainly on what similar homes nearby have actually sold for, then adjusts for size, condition, layout, outside space, parking and how buyers are behaving right now. Because every agent weighs those things a little differently, comparing several valuations side by side is the surest way to see your home's real price range.
Should I use the estate agent who sold me my house?
You can, and if they did a good job they deserve a place on your list, but they should not be the one agent you ask. When you bought, they were working for the seller, the market has moved since, and comparing their valuation, fee and plan with competing local agents is how you find out whether they are still the right choice.
Does an extension or loft conversion add value before I sell?
Usually yes: Nationwide's research found a loft conversion or extension that adds a double bedroom and a bathroom can lift a typical three-bedroom house's value by up to 24%. Whether it pays you back before you sell depends on what it costs, how long you will stay, and the ceiling price buyers will pay on your street.
Should I challenge my council tax band before I sell?
Only if you have solid evidence that your home is in the wrong band, and only after checking whether it has been extended, because the Valuation Office says a challenge can move your band up as well as down. A band review can take up to 12 months, so if you plan to sell in spring, start now or leave the question for your buyer.
Should I start with a high asking price and reduce it later?
Usually not: Rightmove's figures show homes priced right from the start found a buyer in about 39 days on average, while homes that later needed a reduction took about 119 days. Research published on 3 November 2026 also found that more than a third of agreed sales in 21 British cities had already been cut at least once, so starting high mostly adds weeks to the wait for a buyer.
Will getting my house valued change my council tax band?
No. Getting an estate agent's valuation does not change your council tax band, because bands are based on what your home was worth on 1 April 1991 in England or 1 April 2003 in Wales, not on today's price.
Can I sell my house without an estate agent?
Yes. GOV.UK says it is possible to sell your home without employing an estate agent, for example through an auction or a private sale. The saving is only real if you do the pricing, marketing, viewings and negotiating as well as an agent would, so it is worth knowing exactly what you would be taking on.
Do solar panels add value when I sell my house?
Buyers say they want them, but Rightmove's 2026 data does not show a fixed price uplift for panels, and Rightmove itself notes these features sit mostly in higher-priced homes. What the evidence supports is more modest and more useful: solar is a growing selling point that lowers running costs, and owned panels with tidy paperwork help a sale.
Independent agent or chain branch: who should value my home?
Neither wins on size. The right agent is the one whose price advice is backed by recent local sales, whose fee and contract are clear, and who will personally handle your sale. Ask the same questions of an independent agency and a chain branch, and judge them on the answers.
Does getting an estate agent valuation commit me to selling?
No. A valuation is an opinion on price, and asking for one does not commit you to selling or to using that agent. You are only committed when you sign the agent's terms of business, which GOV.UK describes as a legally binding contract.
Can buyers see what I paid for my house and every price cut?
Mostly, yes. In England and Wales anyone can look up what you paid on HM Land Registry's free price paid records, and property portals mark a home whose asking price has been cut, while free browser add-ons and some listings show every change.
An agent valued my house lower than I expected. Who is right?
A valuation below what you hoped for can still be the most accurate one, because it may be the closest to what buyers are actually paying in your area this autumn. Ask the agent for the sold prices behind it, then compare it with other local agents' figures side by side before you choose anyone.
How much value does a garden add to my house?
A garden adds value in most of the UK, but far less than the headline figures suggest once you compare like with like. A larger, sunnier or more private garden than similar homes nearby can support a higher price, and the honest amount for your home is best judged by local agents using sales on your street.
Does a good school nearby add value to my house?
Usually, yes: Savills found that homes in the 10% of English constituencies with the strongest secondary school results averaged £645,601 in the year to June 2026, 29% above their regional averages. The premium is real but narrowing, from 33% ten years ago, so a good school supports your price rather than guaranteeing that it grows.
What happened to house prices after the last nine Budgets?
In the six months after six of the last nine autumn Budgets and Autumn Statements, UK house prices stayed close to their usual seasonal path. The clear falls came after the two fiscal events of autumn 2022, when mortgage rates jumped, which tells a seller weighing up the 28 October 2026 Budget to watch mortgage rates rather than the speech itself.
Which homes are selling fastest right now, and is mine one?
In September 2026 smaller, practical homes sold fastest: two-bedroom bungalows turned 61.4% of new listings into agreed sales, while large detached homes with five or more bedrooms managed 31.9%, according to Sprift. Where you live matters as much as what you own, with Scotland at 69.5% and London at 27%.
Online estate agent or high street agent: which should I use?
Use an online estate agent if you are happy to show buyers round yourself, your home is the kind that sells without much persuading, and you can accept a fixed fee that is usually paid whether or not it sells. Use a high street agent if you want someone local to price, show and negotiate for you, and you would rather pay a percentage only when the sale completes.
What does my council tax band say my house is worth?
In England your council tax band is based on what your home was judged to be worth on 1 April 1991, so it only gives a very rough guide today. Scaled by England's house price growth since then, a Band C home works out at roughly £292k to £382k and a Band D home at roughly £382k to £495k, but local prices have moved so differently that the band cannot replace a real valuation.
Should I sell now or wait until spring? 8.5m sales checked
If you can wait, history favours agreeing your sale in spring: across 8.5 million sales in England and Wales, homes completing in July to September sold about 2.1% above the market trend, while those completing in March to May sold about 1.7% below it. If your move is ready now, a well-priced autumn listing still sells, and the seasonal gap is smaller than the cost of a wrong asking price.
Should I pick the estate agent with the lowest fee?
Not on fee alone: the fee is a small slice of the sale, and the price the agent achieves matters far more. On a £300,000 home, a sale price just 1% higher is worth £3,000, more than the £1,800 gap between the cheapest and dearest usual sole agency fees.
Can the average buyer afford my house? The £301,000 line
An average-income household can now afford a home up to about £301,000, and ValuQ's analysis of HM Land Registry data finds half of all houses in England and Wales, 50.7%, sell below that line. Which side your home sits on decides how many buyers can reach your price.
Should I tell an estate agent I'm getting other valuations?
Yes. Tell every estate agent you are getting other valuations, because agents expect it, it costs you nothing, and it pushes each of them to back their figure with evidence rather than flattery. Keep two things to yourself: the figures the other agents gave you, and the lowest price you would accept.
How do I know if an estate agent's valuation is too high?
A valuation is probably too high if the agent cannot show you recent sales of similar homes nearby that support it, or if it sits well above every other agent's figure without a specific reason. It matters more than ever this autumn: figures published on 11 November 2026 show homes that needed a price cut took 103 days to find a buyer against 24 days for homes priced right, and slow sales were far less likely to complete.
My house is dated. How much less will it sell for?
A home that needs modernising typically sells for less than a similar updated home on the same street, and one agency study put the gap at about 4.5% on average. The work itself usually costs far more than that gap, which is why most sellers do better selling as it stands than modernising first.
Market appraisal or Red Book valuation: which do I need to sell?
A market appraisal is a free estimate from an estate agent of what your home could sell for. A Red Book valuation is a paid, formal report from an RICS Registered Valuer, and you only need one if a lender, a tax rule or a legal process asks for it.
Should I sell my house or keep it and rent it out?
Sell if you want the money, a clean break and no landlord duties. Keep and let only if you want long-term income and can live with open-ended tenancies and a possible Capital Gains Tax bill when you sell later.
Mortgage rates just hit 6%. Should I still sell this autumn?
Yes, if you have a real reason to move, because a 6% mortgage market does not stop homes selling; it changes what buyers can pay and how carefully you need to price. Moneyfacts put the average five-year fix at 5.95% in October 2026, and Rightmove found on 19 October that homes needing a price cut took 119 days to find a buyer against 39 days for homes priced right at launch.
How far ahead should I get my house valued before selling?
Get your first valuations six to nine months before the date you want to move, then a fresh view in the month you list. Rightmove's September 2026 figures show an average of 64 days to find a buyer and a further 150 days to complete, about seven months in all, so a valuation taken late leaves you no time to plan around the number.
How is a house valued for inheritance tax?
A house is valued for inheritance tax at its open market value on the date of death: the price it could reasonably have sold for that day, not what was paid for it and not what you hope to get later. Estate agent valuations are accepted as evidence, but when the estate sits close to a tax threshold a RICS surveyor's valuation is the safer choice, because HMRC can challenge a figure it thinks is too low.
My buyer wants me to pay towards their costs. Should I?
You are under no obligation to pay towards a buyer's costs, and a request like this is a negotiation, not a demand. Treat it as a price discussion: work out what it is worth to you, compare it with the alternative of reducing the price, and agree nothing until your solicitor has seen it in writing.
How many viewings does it take to sell a house?
Most UK homes take about seven viewings to sell. Alto's analysis of 307,582 sales agreed between September 2025 and August 2026 found a median of seven completed viewings before an offer was accepted, usually about seven weeks after the first one.
Can my estate agent use AI to edit photos of my house?
Yes, your estate agent can edit photos of your house, including with AI, but the photos must not mislead buyers about the home. Tidying, brightening and labelled virtual staging are generally fine; removing walls, changing room sizes or hiding power lines is not.
What is a digital property logbook, and will I need one?
A digital property logbook is a secure online record of a home's key information that stays with the property and passes from owner to owner. You do not need one to sell today, but the government plans to legislate for logbooks alongside compulsory sales packs before the end of this Parliament.
Should I get a second opinion on my asking price?
Yes, if your home has been on the market for a few weeks with little interest, a second opinion on the price is a sensible, normal step. It costs nothing to ask, it does not change your current contract, and it tells you whether the price or something else is holding the sale back.
My buyer is still viewing other houses. Should I worry?
Not on its own. In England and Wales nobody is bound until contracts are exchanged, so some buyers keep a back-up in view, and the real test of your buyer is what they have spent and instructed since the offer, not where they spend their Saturdays.
What is the TA6 form, and what changed in 2026?
The TA6 is the Law Society's Property Information Form: the questionnaire a seller in England and Wales fills in so the buyer's solicitor knows about boundaries, disputes, alterations, flood risk, services and anything else that affects the home. Since 30 March 2026 every sale uses the new 6th edition, which is shorter than the 2024 version and allows more 'Not known' answers.
What are swap rates, and why do they push mortgage rates up?
Swap rates are the wholesale cost lenders pay to fix the interest they owe for two or five years, and they are the main number behind the price of a fixed-rate mortgage. That is why the average five-year fix reached 6.00% on 5 October 2026, more than a full percentage point above March, while the Bank of England's Bank Rate has stayed at 3.75% since July.
Offers over or guide price: what should I list my house at?
An offers over price tells buyers the figure is your floor, while a guide price tells them it is roughly what you expect, with room to talk. Either way, the label matters far less than whether the number underneath it matches what your home will actually sell for.
What is a completion statement when selling a house?
A completion statement is the document your solicitor sends before completion showing exactly where the sale money goes: the sale price, less your mortgage redemption figure, the estate agent's fee, legal costs and any other deductions, with the balance that will be paid to you. Check every line against your paperwork before you approve it, because it is the last chance to catch a mistake before the money moves.
My deeds don't match my fence. Will that stop my sale?
Almost certainly not, because the plan on your title was never designed to show the exact line of your boundary. Nearly every registered boundary in England and Wales is what the law calls a general boundary, which fixes the rough position on purpose and leaves the precise line undecided.
I'm on a cheap fixed rate. Do I lose it if I sell?
Usually not, because most UK residential mortgages can be ported, which means moving your existing rate and lender onto your new home rather than paying it off and starting again. Porting is not automatic though: your lender reassesses your income and the new property, and anything you borrow on top sits on a second rate at today's prices.
We're waiting for probate. How long before we can sell?
Most grants of probate arrive faster than families expect. In the most recent published court figures the median wait from application to grant was about two weeks and the average about five, and the long waits people warn you about are nearly always applications that were stopped for missing information.
My agent hasn't sent any viewing feedback. What now?
No law sets a deadline for viewing feedback, but if your agent belongs to The Property Ombudsman, its code says they must record feedback and pass it to you within a timescale you have agreed. So the fix is rarely a row: it is agreeing that timescale in writing and then holding them to it.
My agent wants best and final offers. Should I?
Best and final offers is a deadline your agent sets for every interested buyer to put forward one last offer by a fixed time. It is worth running when you have two or more buyers who have each shown real commitment, and worth avoiding when you have one keen buyer and a handful of maybes.
My buyer's lender is holding money back. What happens now?
A mortgage retention is when your buyer's lender approves the loan but holds back part of it until named repairs have been carried out and signed off. The mortgage has not been refused and the sale is not over, but a cost has landed on the table and you and your buyer now have to decide between you who carries it.
My empty house will not sell. Will I pay double council tax?
In England you can be charged an empty homes premium once a property has been empty and substantially unfurnished for a year, which doubles the council tax bill. A property that is genuinely being marketed for sale is protected by a 12 month exception, so the question is not whether you are safe, it is when your 12 months runs out.
Should I get a survey on my own house before I sell?
A pre-sale survey is a condition report you commission on your own home before it goes on the market, and it is worth paying for when your property is older, altered, or has something a buyer will question. It costs between about £400 and £1,500 and its real value is removing surprises from the one stage where more than a quarter of UK sales collapse.
Should I part-exchange my house with a developer?
Part exchange trades your current home to a housebuilder as part of the payment for one of their new homes, which removes the chain and the risk of a fall-through. You pay for that certainty in the price, because developers typically offer below what your home would fetch on the open market.
Can I sell the house if my ex won't agree?
Not on your own, because every registered owner has to sign the transfer, so neither of you can sell the other out of the picture. You are not stuck though: most of these end in a negotiated sale or a buy-out, and where they genuinely cannot be settled a court has the power to order the sale.
Modern method of auction: should I sell my house that way?
You can sell through the modern method of auction, and more sellers are doing it: purchases by this route rose 14.5% in the year to August 2026. It is usually free for you as the seller because the buyer pays a reservation fee instead, and that fee is the thing to understand before you agree to anything.
My house won't sell. Should I rent it out instead?
Letting is a reasonable plan B, but it is a different job with different rules, and you cannot simply hand the keys over and wait for the market to improve. You need your lender's permission first, and the tax position changes in ways that quietly cost money later, so work through both before you take the board down.
Do I have to tell buyers about a neighbour dispute?
Yes. The standard property information form your solicitor sends you asks directly about disputes and complaints involving your property or one nearby, past as well as present, and answering it inaccurately can unravel the sale even after completion.
I have leased solar panels. Will they stop my sale?
Leased solar panels rarely stop a sale, but they are one of the most reliable ways to slow one down, and almost always because the paperwork is missing rather than because the panels are a problem. Get the lease and the certificates together before you list, and this becomes an administrative step rather than the thing that costs you your buyer.
Will flood risk stop me from selling my house?
Flood risk rarely stops a sale on its own, but it changes who can buy your home and how the middle of the sale feels. The homes that sell smoothly are the ones where the seller had the flood history and the insurance position ready before the buyer's searches came back.
Can my agent make my buyer see their mortgage adviser?
No, and it matters to you as much as to your buyer. An agent can ask a buyer to prove they can afford your home, but tying a viewing, an offer or its progress to the agency's own mortgage adviser is conditional selling, it is prohibited, and it can mean the strongest offer never reaches you.
My buyer is a first-time buyer. Is that risky?
A first-time buyer is usually one of the safer buyers you can accept, because they have no property to sell and nothing behind them in a chain to collapse. The risk sits in a different place: their deposit and their lender, which is where your questions should go.