How the numbers actually work.
A direct sale nearly always means a lower headline price than the open market. Whether it’s the right choice depends on what the open market would really cost you, in time, fees, risk and stress. These examples show the arithmetic honestly.
These are illustrative examples, not real clients
Thames House Buyers is a newly launched trading name, and we don’t yet have client stories or reviews of our own. Rather than invent them, we’ve built these examples from typical figures, and every one is labelled. Once genuine reviews exist, we’ll publish them exactly as written, with a link to the source so you can check them yourself.
Three illustrative examples
Sale fell through twice
Three-bed semi. Realistic open-market value £260,000. Two buyers have already pulled out before exchange.
- Open market, if it completes
- £260,000
- Agent fee (1.5% + VAT)
- −£4,680
- 6 more months of costs
- −£6,600
- Open market, net
- £248,720
- Direct sale at 80%
- £208,000
What it shows: the open market is worth about £40,000 more — if the third sale completes. The seller chose the direct sale to stop paying two mortgages and fix a date for an onward move. Someone without that pressure might sensibly wait.
Flat with a 68-year lease
Two-bed leasehold flat. With a long lease, it might fetch £240,000. Most buyers need a mortgage, and most lenders won’t lend on a lease this short.
- Estimated lease extension cost
- ~£25,000+
- Time to extend (statutory route)
- Often 6–12 months
- Buyer pool without extension
- Mostly cash buyers
- Direct sale, lease as-is
- £168,000
What it shows: selling a short-lease flat to a cash buyer is priced for the lease as it stands. The seller could extend first and sell for more, but only by paying the premium and legal costs up front and waiting months. Neither option is wrong; it depends on cash and time. Lease extension figures vary widely — get a specialist valuation.
When we’d recommend an estate agent
Well-kept three-bed terrace, long-standing owner, no mortgage, no deadline. Realistic open-market value £320,000.
- Open market, net of agent fee
- ~£314,000
- Direct sale at 80%
- £256,000
- Difference
- ~£58,000
What it shows: with no time pressure and a property that will appeal to mortgage buyers, a direct sale would cost this seller far more than it saves. We’d tell them so, and could introduce a partner agent if they wanted.
How to use these numbers
The question isn’t “which price is higher?” — the open market almost always is. The real question is what you’d have left, and when, once you account for:
- agent fees, and the months of mortgage, council tax, insurance and bills while you wait;
- the chance the sale falls through before exchange, and what starting again would cost;
- repairs or clearance a mortgage buyer’s surveyor might insist on;
- what certainty and a fixed date are worth to you personally.
Figures above are rounded, exclude conveyancing fees (which you’d pay on either route), and use our typical direct-offer range of 75–85%. Your own figures will differ. A free valuation will give you the real numbers for your property.
Want the real numbers for your property?
Let’s have a straightforward conversation about your options. Free valuation, no obligation, and no pressure to accept. If a different route would suit you better, we’ll say so.
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