A Scottish sale has four real costs: the agency, the Home Report, the legal work and whatever your mortgage lender charges on the way out, plus a tax most sellers wrongly budget for and never owe. Timing matters as much as size: for every cost on this page, know when it falls due and which parts are still payable if the home never sells.
The estate agency fee
Agency fee structures vary more than the headline percentage suggests: some of the market charges at settlement, some takes a substantial payment in advance whatever happens, and many quotes mix the two. Whoever you talk to, ask for the total on a realistic sale price, in writing, and ask which parts of it are still payable if the home never sells.
Ours, for the record, is published in full and comes three ways, and what separates them is how much of the fee you settle at launch. Paid Up Front: 0.75% of the Home Report valuation, settled once at launch, so the figure is known in pounds from the first day and the sale itself costs nothing further. Part Up Front: £595 at launch, which buys the marketing outright, then 1% of the sale price at settlement. No Sale, No Fee: nothing until the sale settles, then 1.5% of the sale price straight out of the proceeds. A minimum of £2,000 on any route. All three include VAT, and the only other thing we charge is £70 for each person named on the title, for the identity check the law requires before marketing can begin. Nothing surfaces at signing that was not on the page before you signed.
The Home Report
The report is the seller's cost, at the surveyor's own price, typically £350 to £600 depending on size and value. We arrange it, with nothing added. Budget for a possible refresh if the home comes off the market for more than four weeks, or if a long marketing period leaves the valuation too old for a buyer's lender.
The legal work
Selling needs a solicitor as much as buying does: examining and delivering title, answering the buyer's solicitor, discharging your standard security and lodging the advance notice. Firms set their own fees, so get itemised written quotes, fee and outlays separately. If you are selling and buying, one firm handling both usually costs less than two firms handling one each, and keeps the settlements aligned on the day.
The mortgage small print
Check your mortgage offer before you check anything else. An early repayment charge inside a fixed period, commonly a percentage of the balance, can dwarf every other cost on this page, and it is a fact about your timing, not your agent. Lenders also charge a modest exit or discharge administration fee. If you are moving rather than cashing out, ask whether the product ports to the new home; the answer changes the arithmetic entirely.
Moving out
Removals price by volume, distance and date. Book once missives are concluded, not before, because until conclusion neither the sale nor the date is certain. Keep the buildings insurance and the utilities in your name until settlement: under the Scottish Standard Clauses the property stays at your risk until the money moves, however long the buyer's van has been outside.
The tax you do not pay, and the one you might
Sellers pay no Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. None, at any price. LBTT is the buyer's tax (Revenue Scotland, checked 9 August 2026), so a seller's costs stop at the agency, the report and the law. Capital Gains Tax is the one to check: if the home was your only or main residence throughout, private residence relief normally means no CGT either, but a home that was let, inherited or kept as a second home can generate a real bill, and the time to speak to an accountant is before you agree a sale, not at your first tax return afterwards.
Frequently asked
- How do I find out what selling with Lintel would cost?
- Our fees are published in full, the same for everyone, and they include VAT. You choose one of three ways to pay: Paid Up Front, at 0.75% of the Home Report valuation settled once at launch, with nothing owed at settlement; Part Up Front, at £595 at launch and 1% of the sale price at settlement; or No Sale, No Fee, at 1.5% taken from the proceeds when the sale settles. A minimum of £2,000 applies on any route, and on top of whichever you choose there is £70 for each person named on the title, for the identity check the law requires. The free appraisal puts your figure on all three in writing, alongside the Home Report at the surveyor's own price (typically £350 to £600) and where your solicitor's quote fits.
- What do I pay if my home never sells?
- That is what choosing a route decides, and it is worth deciding on purpose. On No Sale, No Fee the whole fee waits for the proceeds, so no sale means no fee at all. On Part Up Front the £595 you paid at launch is the whole of it, and nothing further falls due. On Paid Up Front the fee was settled at launch and nothing further falls due either. Money paid at launch buys the marketing outright on both of those routes: it is paid once and stays paid, and in return we keep marketing the home until it sells or you ask us to stop, with no time limit and no charge to re-launch. There is no withdrawal charge and no tie-in on any of the three, so you are free to leave whenever you like.
- Do I pay LBTT when I sell and buy in the same move?
- Only on the purchase. The sale itself carries no LBTT however much it fetches. If you complete the purchase before the sale settles you may pay the Additional Dwelling Supplement on the new home, reclaimable if the old one sells within 36 months.
- Can I use one solicitor for the sale and the purchase?
- Usually, and it is normally cheaper and easier to keep the two settlements aligned. The exception is a conflict of interest, selling to or buying from the same party, where separate firms are required.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Law and practice change, and individual circumstances vary. Check current guidance at mygov.scot and take professional advice on anything affecting your specific position.
