If price leads
Begin with the open-market route.
Full marketing and viewings give the market the opportunity to set the price. The trade-off is a longer, less predictable timetable.
Compare the two routes
England and Wales
General guidance
Reviewed 8 August 2026
Seller’s Guide
Make the first decision before the first viewing.
A practical dossier for choosing the right route, preparing the property and judging what happens before a sale can complete.
Both kinds of sale are explained plainly. Dukes currently provides the direct investor introduction; it is one route, not the right answer for every seller.
- Decide what matters most
- Understand the two kinds of sale
- Check the numbers first
- Gather title and tenure information
- Assemble the property documents
- Choose your solicitor or licensed conveyancer
- Prepare for viewings or investor assessment
- Judge offers on more than the number
- Know what the legal work involves
- No decision matches that. All nine are listed below.
What must this sale protect?
Choose the outcome that leads. This does not send or store anything; it simply shows which part of the guide deserves your attention first.
If timing leads
A direct investor introduction may fit.
It removes public marketing and viewings, but an investor will normally price that speed and simplicity below potential open-market value.
Understand the direct routeIf certainty leads
Test the buyer, not only the offer.
A direct route can reduce some uncertainty, but no route guarantees a buyer, an acceptable offer or a completion date. Funding and readiness still matter.
See how to judge an offerTwo routes. One honest trade-off.
The right route follows from the priority you set above. Neither is universally better, and neither removes the need for a ready buyer and sound legal work.
Read through your chosen lens:
Open-market sale
Designed to pursue the best price the market will pay.
- Exposure
- Public marketing and viewings.
- Pace
- Set by demand, the buyer's chain and the legal work.
- Trade-off
- More moving parts and a less predictable timetable.
Direct investor introduction
Designed to prioritise speed and simplicity over the final figure.
- Exposure
- No public marketing; the property is introduced to investors.
- Pace
- Fewer marketing steps, subject to the property, title and buyer being ready.
- Trade-off
- An offer, if one comes, is normally below potential open-market value.
Dukes currently provides the direct investor introduction. Dukes introduces the property and is not the buyer.
Decide your route
Decide what matters most
Price, timing and certainty pull against each other in almost every sale. Deciding which one leads before you start is the single choice that makes every later decision easier.
- If the highest achievable price leads, expect a longer, less predictable timescale.
- If timing or certainty leads, expect to trade some of the price for it.
- Write your answer down — it is the yardstick you will judge offers against later.
More detail
- Why this comes first
- The route you choose, the professionals you instruct and the offers you take seriously all follow from this one answer. A seller who has not decided it tends to relitigate it at every stage.
Understand the two kinds of sale
A conventional open-market sale advertises the property, invites viewings and looks for the best price the market will pay, over whatever time that takes. A direct investor introduction approaches investors who buy directly, prioritising speed and simplicity over the final figure.
- Open market: full marketing, viewings, negotiation — aimed at the best price, on the market's timetable.
- Direct introduction: no public marketing — an offer, if one comes, is normally below potential open-market value.
- Dukes currently provides the direct investor introduction; this guide explains both so you can compare them honestly.
More detail
- The trade in plain terms
- An investor is buying speed and certainty from you and pricing that in. If the highest price matters more than the timescale, the open-market route is the better fit and no honest adviser should tell you otherwise.
- Neither route guarantees a buyer
- On either route, a buyer must actually be found and an offer must actually be acceptable to you. No availability, offer level or date can be promised in advance.
Check the numbers first
Before anyone values anything, know what the sale has to clear. Three figures decide whether a sale makes sense at a given price.
- Your outstanding mortgage balance — ask your lender for a redemption figure.
- Any early-repayment charge for paying the mortgage off before its term.
- The likely costs of selling: legal fees, any agency fees, an EPC if yours has expired, and removals.
More detail
- Appraisal or formal valuation?
- An estate agent's market appraisal is an informed opinion of the likely selling price — useful, free of charge, and not a formal valuation. A formal valuation is carried out by a qualified valuer, for example for a lender, tax or legal purpose, and is a different document. Know which one you are being given.
- Tax, if the property was let or is not your main home
- Selling an investment property, a previously let property or a second home can have tax consequences. Dukes does not give tax advice — speak to an accountant or tax adviser before committing.
Prepare the property and paperwork
Gather title and tenure information
The legal work runs fastest when the paperwork is ready before it is asked for. Start with what you own and on what terms.
- Confirm whether the property is freehold or leasehold.
- Leasehold: find the lease, the ground-rent and service-charge details, and the managing agent's contact.
- Check your title is registered with HM Land Registry, and whose names are on it.
More detail
- Sales that need extra legal steps
- A tenanted property, a probate sale, a jointly owned property or one sold under a power of attorney each carries additional legal requirements. Tell your conveyancer at the start — surprises here are the classic late-stage delay.
Assemble the property documents
Buyers' solicitors ask for the same documents on almost every sale. Collecting them now, rather than mid-transaction, keeps the momentum you will want later.
- A valid Energy Performance Certificate — an EPC lasts ten years, must come from an accredited assessor, and is needed before a property is marketed.
- Planning permissions and building-regulations certificates for any works done.
- Guarantees and warranties that transfer with the property: damp treatment, windows, a new boiler.
- Gas and electrical certificates where you hold them.
Choose your solicitor or licensed conveyancer
The seller is responsible for the legal contract that transfers ownership, and your conveyancer drafts it, answers the buyer's enquiries and negotiates its details. Choosing early means the contract pack can be ready the day you accept an offer.
- Instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer you are comfortable contacting directly.
- Ask how they quote: fixed fee or hourly, and what disbursements are extra.
- They act for you and no one else in the transaction.
Be ready for offers and legal work
Prepare for viewings or investor assessment
Whichever route you take, someone is going to look carefully at the property. First impressions are cheap to improve and expensive to ignore.
- Finish the small jobs: the dripping tap and the cracked tile cost more in impression than in repair.
- Have practical details ready — boiler age, council-tax band, service charges — the questions every serious viewer asks.
- On the investor route, honest condition information up front leads to a firmer, better-informed proposal.
Judge offers on more than the number
The headline figure is one part of an offer. The buyer behind it decides whether that figure ever becomes money.
- Price — against the priority you wrote down in stage one.
- The buyer's position: chain-free, sold subject to contract, or not yet on the market.
- Funding: cash, mortgage agreed in principle, or nothing evidenced yet.
- Their proposed timescale, and whether it matches yours.
More detail
- You can negotiate freely
- You may accept, reject or counter any offer. An offer is not legally binding in England and Wales until contracts are exchanged — on either side — so nothing is settled by an email or a phone call, however enthusiastic.
Know what the legal work involves
Accepting an offer starts the conveyancing, not the celebration. Between acceptance and completion sit the buyer's searches, enquiries and mortgage arrangements — and the exchange of contracts that finally makes the sale binding.
- After acceptance the buyer's side arranges searches and reviews your title; your conveyancer answers their enquiries.
- Exchange of contracts is the moment the sale becomes legally binding on both sides.
- At completion the money is transferred, your mortgage is paid off from the proceeds, and ownership passes to the buyer.
Four answers worth finding quickly
The points most likely to stop a sale or create false confidence, kept together for reference.
Do I need an EPC before the property is marketed?
Yes. A valid Energy Performance Certificate is required before marketing, lasts ten years and must be produced by an accredited assessor.
Is an accepted offer legally binding?
No. In England and Wales, either side can still withdraw until contracts are exchanged.
Is a direct investor introduction the same as selling to Dukes?
No. Dukes introduces the property to investors who buy directly; Dukes is not the buyer, and a buyer or acceptable offer cannot be promised.
When should I choose a conveyancer?
Choose a solicitor or licensed conveyancer early. They can open the file and prepare the contract pack before an offer arrives.
Why Dukes
Guidance signed by the people who give it
Reviewers repeatedly describe an approachable, easy-to-reach service; clear explanation and prompt replies; and dependable, hands-on property handling.
Reviewers repeatedly describe Amrit as approachable and easy to reach.Several reviewers mention clear explanation and prompt replies.Maintenance handled quickly is a recurring comment.Reviewers describe dependable, hands-on property management.
-
The service was simple clear, concise and provided me with all relevant information. Amrit showed a fantastic understanding of my situation was patient and provided the highest of customer service.
-
Dukes Estate Agency provided an excellent service throughout the whole process. The team was professional, friendly, and always available to help with any questions.
-
Amrit's knowledge and understanding of all things proper is amazing - would highly recommend.
Sharron F. Read on Google (opens in a new tab)
- Read all verified Google reviews
- How clients are protected
- Check the company record (opens in a new tab)
Dukes currently provides the direct investor introduction. Dukes introduces the property and is not the buyer.
Ready for a personal assessment?
Tell Dukes about the property and what matters most to you, and receive a personal view of the likely route and next steps. It is an estate-agency assessment, not a formal valuation, and nothing is sent until you choose to send it.
Before you rely on this
This guide is general information, not legal, financial, surveying or tax advice. What applies to you depends on the property and your circumstances — confirm any decision with your conveyancer, lender, a qualified valuer or a tax adviser before acting on it. An offer is not legally binding in England and Wales until contracts are exchanged.
Official guidance
- GOV.UK — Selling a home (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK — Preparing to sell (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK — Energy Performance Certificates (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK — Offers and negotiations (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK — Transferring ownership (conveyancing) (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK — How to sell a home (opens in a new tab)
Information reviewed 8 August 2026.
