Letting & Estate Agent Podcast My Secret to cut Sale Fall Thrus - Ep. 2478
Feb 19, 2026
Chris Ellis, a Kent estate agent who has completed nearly 500 reservation agreements, discusses using reservations to cut sale fall-throughs. He highlights their 94% completion rate. Short segments cover handling dodgy surveys, persuading buyers to sign, training negotiators, using data to convince valuers, and choosing a provider.
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Reservation Agreements Cut Fall Throughs Dramatically
- Reservation agreements drastically reduce fall-throughs, delivering a 94% completion rate across nearly 500 reservations since 2020.
- Chris Ellis contrasts this with the UK average 24.2% fall-through rate and his firm's overall 18% when not all deals use reservations.
Turn Survey Problems Into Negotiation Opportunities
- Use reservation agreements to force survey issues into conversation rather than allowing buyers to withdraw immediately.
- Chris gives a survey example where urgent repairs were whittled down to £900 after investigation, enabling negotiation instead of collapse.
Buyers Sometimes Object But Often Accept After Review
- Some buyers review the reservation terms and withdraw, but many accept them after seeing the T's and C's; Chris says they don't charge for reservations.
- He notes family pressure (e.g., 'Mum and Dad') sometimes causes withdrawals yet he deliberately chose not to profit from the agreements.