Every trade has its dialect. Estate agency's just happens to be spoken at you while you make six-figure decisions. Here's the phrasebook.
If a sentence needs translating, ask what it's protecting.
THE MYTH"It's all standard terminology — it means what it sounds like it means."
Some of it, yes. Some of it, very much not. The ones worth knowing cold:
The contract clauses (these cost real money)
Sole agency — only this agent can sell it, but if you find your own buyer, you pay no fee. Fine.
Sole selling rights — the agent gets paid even if you find the buyer yourself. Read twice before signing.
Ready, willing and able purchaser — you can owe the fee even if the sale never completes. Treat with great caution.
Tie-in period — how long you're locked in before switching agents. Ask the number, in weeks, in writing.
The status labels
SSTC (Sold Subject To Contract) — an offer's accepted; nothing is legally binding yet on either side.
Under offer / exchanged / completed — flirtation, engagement, wedding. Only exchange is binding.
Chain-free — no dependent sale on the other side. Genuinely valuable, not just talk.
The listing poetry
"Deceptively spacious" — smaller than it photographs.
"Scope for modernisation" — bring a skip and a budget.
"Rarely available" — sometimes true; check how long it's actually been listed.
THE TRUTHJargon isn't harmless colour — a single misunderstood clause (sole selling rights, say) can cost thousands. Any agent worth instructing will happily put every term in plain English, in writing.
Our agreement is one page and reads like this article. If there's ever a phrase you don't recognise, ask us — the answer is free.
Sell the modern way.
Photography, floor plan and every major portal — all-inclusive from £200. Switching from another agent? First 200 switchers: £99 fixed.