The headline offer is only half the comparison. Here's the full one, using a typical three-bed Northwich semi that needs modernising.
Estate agent route
Asking price £220,000. Achieved after a survey renegotiation: £205,000. Agent's fee at 1.2% plus VAT: £2,950. Solicitor: £1,500. Six months of council tax after the exemption ends, insurance, utilities and maintenance: around £2,400. Clearance: £1,200. Net to the estate: roughly £197,000, after six to eight months, with the risk of the chain failing once along the way.
Cash sale to OJD Homes
Offer: £185,000 to £190,000 depending on condition. No agent fee, no legal fees for the estate, no clearance, no further empty-house costs. Completion four weeks after the grant. Net to the estate: the offer figure, in full.
The gap
In this example the agent route nets around £7,000 to £12,000 more, but takes five months longer, costs the executors their time, and carries the risk of a collapsed sale. For a house in genuinely good condition the gap is wider and an agent is usually right. For a house that needs work, where the beneficiaries would rather have certainty, a cash sale often wins. We'll tell you which we think applies to yours.