Estate agent ID Check charge for House purchase

Slinky

There's a lesson to be learned here. Find out in advance how much the EA checks will be, and adjust your offer, in advance, to the vendor accordingly.

OldScientist

On a very small sample (of two!) there does appear to be significant variation between agents on ID checks. The agent we are selling with explicitly charged nothing (I assume any cost comes out of their fees; the ID check consisted of the agent copying our passports and council tax bill), while the agent acting for the vendors we are buying from charged a £96 'onboarding fee' that included an online ID check for two people (and an in-house proof of funds check). On the other hand, our solicitor included online ID checks with a different provider that cost about £19 each.

As a fraction of the overall moving costs (stamp duty, solicitors, agent fees, and moving costs) it is a tiny pinprick, but, for us, one that came out of contingency since it was unexpected. I hope that the online ID services will become more competitive on price with time (although no doubt the cheaper services will get more expensive rather than the more expensive services getting cheaper!).

Bigphil1474

We bought and sold in 2024 and neither EA's involved required ID checks then. Obviously it's their choice if they charge, so I would definitely be reducing my offer by the exact amount of the charge just to make a point.

Tabieth

I would not be reducing my offer on a property I wanted by the amount the EA is charging for the checks! I wouldn’t want to jeopardise the sale in any way. Yes it’s for an utterly minuscule amount and the seller is highly unlikely to pull out because of it. But as some buyers seem willing to drop their offer over such a trivial issue, I can only assume some sellers would also be willing to pull out for the same trivial issue.

Buying a property is expensive. Ideally identify the charges before picking the EA. If not, pay the money and learn for next time. That’s my advice anyway.

Slinky

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82089898#Comment_82089898

You can't pick the agent the vendor is selling through. If they've picked one who will charge the purchaser, don't be surprised if the purchaser reacts accordingly.

Tabieth

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82090121#Comment_82090121

Yes, of course! I hadn’t quite thought that but through.

(I still wouldn’t reduce my offer to cover the fees though).

Bigphil1474

I'm not sure if I'd be put off if a buyer said they were offering £199,965 instead of £200k because of the ID check charge. They'd be my kind of people.

Tabieth

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82091120#Comment_82091120

It would ring alarm bells for me as I’d assume the buyer was either being very petty or wasn’t serious.

MacMickster

The idea of an estate agent charging a buyer to carry out ID checks seems crazy. Include it in the sellers fees.

I would simply bypass the agent and make my offer directly to the seller via a letter through the door explaining why. I really don't understand the need for an EA to carry out anything other than basic ID checks given that the solicitors will be doing full money laundering checks.

MeteredOut

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82091461#Comment_82091461

Refusing to pay an up-front-undisclosed fee to someone in order to buy something from someone they represent is not being petty. I would 100% push this back to the EA and/or the seller.