How Our Sliding Fee Works (and the Terms Behind It)
James & James Estate Agents · Goring · Ferring · Broadwater
Most estate agents charge you the same whether your home sells in a week or sits there for six months. We've never thought that was fair. So we've done something no other agent on our patch will: we've put our own fee on the line.
The longer it takes us to get your home sold, the less we charge. You pay us well if we're quick; and if we're slow, that's on us, not you. It's the most honest way we know to back up how confident we are that we are the right choice for your move.
Here's exactly how it works, in plain English, followed by the full terms so there are no surprises.
The Short Version
- Sole Agency Basis: The offer is for new clients, on a sole agency basis. This means you only instruct us to market and sell your property, with no other agents on board.
- Agreed Valuation: Your home comes to market at the valuation we agree together. A realistic price that gets buyers through the door.
- Stepped Fee: Our fee then steps down the longer it takes to achieve an offer. You always know where you stand.
- Flexible Terms: It's all backed by no lengthy tie-in and only two weeks' notice; because if we're not performing, you shouldn't feel trapped.
If that sounds like the kind of agent you'd want in your corner, book your free valuation and we'll walk you through it at the kitchen table.
The Full Terms & Conditions
Please read these carefully. By instructing James & James Estate Agents under this promotion, you agree to these terms, which form part of your Sole Agency Agreement.
1. The Promoter
This promotion is offered by James & James Estate Agents Ltd registered in England & Wales under company number 12642413, registered office St James' Hall, Mill Road, Lancing, West Sussex, England, BN15 0PT ("we", "us", "our", "James & James").
2. The Promotion Period
This promotion applies to properties where a Sole Agency Agreement is signed between 15th September 2026 and 31st December 2026, unless we withdraw or extend it (see clause 12). We may change or end the promotion at any time, but doing so will not affect the terms already agreed with clients who instructed us while it was running.
3. Who Is Eligible
This promotion is available to new residential sales clients only. You are a new client if you have not instructed James & James to market the same property for sale in the 12 months before the date of your Sole Agency Agreement. It applies to residential sales instructions within our core area of Worthing, Goring and Ferring and immediately surrounding areas. It does not apply to lettings, commercial property, auction, part-exchange or probate-only valuations.
4. The Condition That Makes It Work: Coming to Market at the Agreed Valuation
The stepped fee applies only where your property is first marketed at the valuation figure we recommend and agree with you ("the Agreed Marketing Price").
If you choose to bring your property to market at a price higher than our recommended valuation (for example, to "test the market") the promotional stepped fee does not apply, and our agreed fee will apply throughout. We'll always be upfront about this at your valuation. The promotion is our way of backing our advice, and it only works if the price is right from day one.
5. How the Stepped Fee Works
Where clauses 3 and 4 are met, our sole agency fee reduces according to how long it takes to achieve an agreeable offer (see clause 6 for what "achieved an agreeable offer" means and when the clock starts):
| When an agreeable offer is achieved | Sole agency fee (of the agreed sale price) |
|---|---|
| Within the first 4 weeks of marketing | 1.5% + VAT |
| After 4 weeks, up to 8 weeks | 1.25% + VAT |
| After 8 weeks, up to 12 weeks | 1% + VAT |
| After 12 weeks | 0.85% + VAT |
The fee that applies is fixed by the point at which a sale is agreed, and does not reduce further while that sale progresses to completion. VAT is charged at the prevailing rate in addition to all fees quoted.
6. When the Clock Starts, and What Counts as a Sale
Marketing start date: The clock starts on the date your property first goes live for sale on the major property portals (for example Rightmove and Zoopla) under our agency.
"Achieve an agreeable offer": An agreeable offer is a buyer's offer which goes on to be accepted by you, and therefore leads to an agreed sale. The date on which the offer is first received is when the applicable fee band is set. This means, for example, that should an offer be submitted within the first 4 weeks, but negotiations continue into week 5 before it is accepted, week 4's fee band will apply.
"Agreed a sale": A sale is treated as agreed on the date we confirm your acceptance of a buyer's offer that you have agreed to proceed with.
The fee remains payable in line with your Sole Agency Agreement (normally on completion of the sale).
7. Reasonable Offers (So the Offer Stays Fair to Both Sides)
This promotion rewards us for selling your home quickly and rewards you if we don't. To keep it fair both ways: if you decline a written offer at or above the Agreed Marketing Price, the fee band that applied on the date of that offer will be the fee band for your instruction from that point on, even if the property is later sold at a lower band's timescale. In other words, the stepped fee is designed to reflect our performance, not to reward turning down good offers. We'll always advise you honestly on whether an offer is one worth taking.
8. Price Changes During Marketing
If, on our recommendation, the Agreed Marketing Price is reduced during marketing, the promotion continues to apply and the clock continues to run from the original marketing start date. If you ask us to increase the marketing price above the Agreed Marketing Price, clause 4 applies from that date and the standard 1.5% + VAT fee will apply.
9. Withdrawals, Notice and Changing Your Mind
This promotion sits alongside your Sole Agency Agreement, which provides for no tie-in period and two weeks' written notice to end the agreement. If you withdraw your property from the market, instruct another agent in breach of the sole agency terms, or take the property off the market and re-list it elsewhere, the terms of your Sole Agency Agreement (including any withdrawal or abortive-costs provisions) apply, and this promotion may no longer apply. Full details are set out in your Agreement.
10. Sole Agency
This promotion is available on a sole agency basis only. If your instruction changes to a multiple or joint agency arrangement at any point, this promotion ends and the fee terms of the relevant agency basis apply instead.
11. General
The stepped fee is calculated on the agreed sale price and is exclusive of VAT and of any additional services you opt into that are quoted separately. This promotion cannot be used in conjunction with any other fee offer or introductory arrangement unless we agree otherwise in writing. It has no cash alternative and is non-transferable.
12. Changes to This Promotion
We reserve the right to amend, suspend or withdraw this promotion at any time. Any change will be published on this page and will not affect the terms already agreed with clients who instructed us before the change.
13. Your Statutory Rights
Nothing in this promotion affects your statutory rights.
14. Governing Law
This promotion and your Sole Agency Agreement are governed by the law of England & Wales and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of its courts.
15. Questions?
The easiest way to understand exactly what this means for your home is to ask us at your free valuation. Call 01903 958770, email
