What does each intermediary take out of a British purchase?

Why this guide exists

A foreign buyer is given a price and a list of costs. What they are almost never given is the map of who is paid by whom, which is what makes it possible to understand why each party recommends what they recommend. We publish the whole map, our own part included.

1. The estate agent

Paid by the seller, not the buyer. On a second-hand sale with a sole agency, the commission usually sits between 1.0% and 1.8% plus VAT of the sale price; the market average in 2026 is around 1.42% including VAT.

The consequence matters more than the figure: the agent works for whoever pays them. Their fee rises with the sale price, so their interest and the buyer's are opposed by construction. This is not a criticism of the trade: it is how the incentive is designed, and it is worth bearing in mind when an agent describes an asset.

2. The developer, on new-build

Here is the part almost nobody explains. When a British developer sells units to international buyers, it rarely does so directly: it does so through international sales agents, and those agents' commission is built into the list price. The buyer does not see it as a separate line because it does not exist as a separate line.

On new-build sold to a foreign buyer, the useful question is not what the flat costs, but how much commission the price carries inside it and who takes it.

That has two practical implications. The first is that there is room to negotiate where the buyer believes there is none: part of that commission is reassignable, and a buyer with an adviser who knows the structure can capture it. The second is that the same asset can be offered at different prices depending on how many intermediaries are in the chain.

3. The solicitor

Paid by the buyer, and the only party whose fiduciary duty runs to them alone.

For a non-resident buyer the work is greater and so is the budget. Enhanced anti-money laundering diligence, identity certification abroad and, where a company is buying, the corporate review and registration on the register of overseas entities are all charged separately. Asking for an itemised quote before instructing the firm avoids the awkward conversation later.

4. The mortgage broker

Paid two ways, and it is worth asking which applies. The first is the lender's procuration fee, a percentage of the loan the bank pays the broker for introducing the deal. The second is a client fee, which in the non-resident segment is normal because the work is considerably greater.

The question to ask is not how much they charge, but whether they are paid by both sides and whether the lender panel they present is the whole market or only those who pay them. A serious broker answers both without discomfort.

5. The letting agent

It is the recurring cost that weighs most on the net return, and therefore the one most worth budgeting from the start.

And VAT has to be added, which a residential landlord normally cannot recover. An advertised fee of 12% actually costs 14.4% of the rent. On a rent of 1,200 pounds a month that is around 2,074 pounds a year, not 1,728.

On top of that come the charges that sit outside the percentage —inventory, tenant check-out, tenancy renewal, coordinating the gas certificate, and the mark-up the agent applies to contractors' invoices— which take the real annual cost well above the headline. We go into it in the management agreement guide.

6. Acacias

We work in three ways and in each one someone different pays us. We state which on every deal sheet, before the form.

• Where the deal comes through a developer or seller with whom we have an introducer agreement, they pay us and the client pays Acacias no advisory fee.
• On a mandated purchase, the buyer pays us and we accept no payment from the counterparty.
• On a deal we originate ourselves, and on asset management, the client pays us on terms agreed in writing before we start.

We never take a fee from both sides of the same deal. And where the developer pays us we say so on the asset sheet, alongside the other considerations, so you can weigh it.

How to read all this together

Adding up what the buyer pays directly —solicitor, disbursements, and where applicable the broker— a standard purchase runs between 1,400 and 2,500 pounds in professional costs, to which Stamp Duty must be added, by far the largest item and the subject of the tax guide.

What the buyer does not pay directly but bears all the same is the commission built into the price on new-build. That is where it is decided whether a deal is good or mediocre, and it is why it pays to have someone on the buyer's side before reserving, not after.

Related questions

Sources

Indicative market ranges, subject to variation by region, amount and complexity of the deal. This is not legal or financial advice. Acacias Capital Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the FCA.