Is that sourcing fee fair?
Deal sourcers charge anywhere from £500 to £6,000+ per deal, and the industry has more cowboys than most. Check a quoted fee against market norms. More importantly, check the sourcer.
That's 2.9% of the purchase price
Within the market range
UK sourcing fees typically run £2,000 to £6,000 fixed or 1 to 5% of purchase price (most commonly 1 to 3%). The fee is only half the question though. What's included and whether they're compliant matter more.
What's included in the fee?
A market-rate fee should include most of this list. One tick or none is a deal-pack mill, not a sourcing service.
The checklist that matters more than the fee
Sourcing deals for a fee is legally estate agency work in the UK. Before paying anyone a penny, ask for proof of all four. A compliant sourcer will show them without flinching:
- ✅ Redress scheme membership (The Property Ombudsman or PRS, searchable on their sites)
- ✅ HMRC anti-money-laundering registration (trading without it is a criminal offence)
- ✅ Professional indemnity insurance
- ✅ ICO registration (they hold your personal data)
No proof, no deal, however good the numbers look. And never send reservation money to a personal bank account.
Why we built this:sourcing for a fee is legally estate agency work: redress membership, anti-money-laundering registration and insurance aren't optional extras, they're the law. Most buyers don't know to ask. Now you do. The market-norm figures come from our 2026 research across UK sourcing services.
Learn how deals get valued in the below-market-value guide. Education, not financial advice. Ask about any sourcer in the free Discord. Someone may have dealt with them.