How buying agent fees work in London, how Arbitrage charges (a success fee on exchange, no retainer), and why the fee is usually the cheapest part of the deal.
By Aldo Attanasio d’Aponte – September 9, 2026
Buying agent fees explained: what you pay and what you get back
A buying agent’s fee is a percentage of the purchase price, paid by the buyer, in exchange for representation on the buyer’s side of the table. At Arbitrage the fee is due only on exchange of contracts, is agreed in writing before we start, and there is no retainer. Whether it is worth paying depends on one question: does the adviser recover more than the fee in price, in access and in mistakes avoided? Across twenty years our purchases have averaged 12% below asking, which answers it for most clients.
How are buying agent fees structured?
There are three models in the London market. Some firms charge an upfront registration fee or retainer, followed by a success fee when a property is bought. Some charge a fixed sum for a defined piece of work, such as negotiating on a property the client has already found. Some, like us, charge only on success.
Our structure is deliberately simple. We agree a percentage of the purchase price in writing at the outset. That percentage becomes payable when contracts exchange, which is the moment the purchase is legally secured. If we do not buy, we are not paid. If we advise a client to walk away from a property, or to wait a year because the market is moving in their favour, we have given up a fee. I have done that more times than I can count. It is often the most valuable advice we give, and it is the reason clients come back and send their friends.
A word on retainers. There is nothing improper about them, and for a search that runs for years they compensate the adviser for time. But a retainer changes the relationship slightly. A firm that has been paid to look is under less pressure to find. A firm that is paid only on exchange has every reason to find the right property quickly and to buy it well. We prefer the second arrangement because it puts our income on the same side as the client’s outcome.
Why does a buyer need their own adviser at all?
Because everyone else in the transaction is working for someone else. The estate agent is instructed and paid by the seller. The developer’s sales team is paid by the developer. The solicitor acts for you but only on the legal documents, and the surveyor only on the fabric of the building. Nobody is paid to tell you whether the price is right, whether the building is well run, whether the street is the right side of the square, or whether you should be buying at all.
In my banking days it would have been unthinkable to buy a company without an adviser on your side of the deal. Prime London property is bought in the same sums, £3m, £8m, £20m, and a surprising number of buyers still go in armed with portal alerts and the goodwill of the seller’s agent. The fee buys you someone whose only client is you.
What does the fee actually pay for?
The work divides into four parts, and the fee covers all of them.
Defining the brief. Most people begin with an area and a budget. We turn that into something sharper: what the property is for, how long it will be held, how it fits with the rest of the client’s affairs. A purchase is one line on a wider balance sheet, and we coordinate with the client’s private bank, tax advisers and solicitors so that line sits properly.
Finding the property. In prime central London the best properties change hands before they are advertised. Sellers at this level value privacy; agents show discreet instructions to buying agents they trust before launching them. Over our history 78% of purchases have been secured off-market. A buyer working alone sees the portals and whatever the agents choose to show them, which is a fraction of what is actually available.
Valuing and negotiating. We build the case from comparable sales, lease terms, service charges, condition and the seller’s circumstances, and we negotiate from evidence rather than instinct. This is where the fee is usually recovered several times over. On a £5m purchase, a 10% reduction is £500,000. Sometimes the saving is not a discount but an overpayment avoided: a property that has come off the market without a clear asking price is easy to overpay for, and a firm valuation is worth a great deal in that situation.
Managing the transaction. From accepted offer to completion someone has to chase solicitors, surveyors, lenders and managing agents, and solve the problems that always appear. We do that, and we keep the client’s other advisers informed so nothing is duplicated or missed.
Can a cheaper adviser cost more?
Yes, and this is the trap. Fees are the easiest thing to compare, so buyers compare them. But a low fee often signals a narrow service: a one-person operation with limited reach, a junior consultant, an adviser who also sells property and therefore cannot be shown the discreet instructions that other agents hold back from competitors, or a broker who needs a transaction this quarter and will steer you towards one.
On a £4m purchase, saving £20,000 on fees and then overpaying by £200,000, or buying a flat with a lease problem that surfaces at resale, is not a saving. The right question is not “what does this adviser charge?” but “what has this adviser achieved for buyers like me, and who else do they act for?”
We act only for buyers and occupiers. We do not sell property, take instructions from vendors or market developments for others. That independence is what makes the advice worth paying for, and it is why other agents are willing to show us what they will not show a competitor.
When is a buying agent worth the fee?
In my experience the fee pays for itself in four situations. When the purchase is large, because a small percentage on a large number is a large number. When the buyer is overseas or time-poor, because the search and the transaction demand presence in London and hours the client does not have. When the market is competitive or discreet, because access and speed decide who buys the best properties. And when the buyer wants someone to tell them the truth, including the truth that this is the wrong property or the wrong time.
A family office client from Milan once asked me why they should pay a fee when they were quite capable of reading Rightmove. I said that Rightmove would not tell them that the flat they liked sat above a restaurant extraction unit, that the building’s reserve fund was empty, or that the vendor had already turned down two higher offers because he wanted a quick completion. That is the fee.
Are buying agent fees negotiable?
Sometimes, and it is reasonable to ask. What matters more is that the terms are in writing before the search begins: the percentage, the trigger for payment, what happens if you buy more than one property, and what happens if the search is abandoned. A clear agreement protects both sides. Be wary of any adviser who is vague on this point.
How Arbitrage can help
We have acted for buyers only since 2006, advising on more than £1.5bn of acquisitions and buying over 500 homes for private clients, most of whom came to us by word of mouth. Our fee is a success fee on exchange, a percentage of the purchase price agreed in writing at the start, with no retainer. If we do not find you the right property at the right price, you owe us nothing. Read more about our acquisition service or our client stories.
Frequently asked questions
How does Arbitrage charge for a property search?
We charge a success fee on exchange of contracts, calculated as a percentage of the purchase price and agreed in writing before the search begins. There is no retainer and no registration fee. If no purchase completes, no fee is due.
When is the fee paid?
On exchange of contracts, which is the point at which the purchase becomes legally binding. Nothing is payable while we are searching, viewing or negotiating.
Is a buying agent fee worth it on a smaller purchase?
Usually yes, provided the adviser is genuinely independent. Even at £1.5m to £2m, the difference between a well-negotiated purchase and an over-eager one is many times the fee, and the risk of buying the wrong flat, on the wrong lease, in a badly run building, does not shrink with the price.
Does a buying agent replace my solicitor and surveyor?
No. Your solicitor handles the legal work and your surveyor inspects the building. A buying agent finds the property, values it, negotiates it and coordinates everyone else, including your bank and tax advisers, so the purchase fits the rest of your affairs.
Do you ever advise a client not to buy?
Regularly. Telling a client to wait or to walk away costs us a fee, and it is often the right advice. Buyers rarely regret the properties they did not buy; they regret the ones they rushed into.