Winning instructions, selling more properties, and earning more commission all start with the same question: how committed is your buyer? For decades, estate agents have sold properties on hope rather than certainty, watching deals collapse weeks or even days before exchange. The Gazeal Reservation Agreement changes that equation, giving agents a tool to answer the commitment question on the very day a sale is agreed.
Reservation Agreement
Our unique Reservation and Deposit process provides a Commitment to the terms agreed by the Buyer and the Seller, that Gazeal guarantees, so both parties can proceed in the safest way possible. This ensures a fair and efficient process for all involved, offering protection against anyone who may not be truly committed.
What Is a Gazeal Reservation Agreement?
A Gazeal Reservation Agreement is a mutual financial commitment between a seller and a buyer, signed before exchange of contracts, that secures mutual commitment to a sale. It's backed by a financial guarantee administered independently by Gazeal, so both parties have skin in the game from the outset. Rather than relying on goodwill, the agreement creates a structured, time-bound path to exchange, with real consequences if either party walks away unreasonably.
Why Are Reservation Agreements Becoming So Popular?
Demand for this kind of commitment is coming from both sides of the transaction.
How Can a Reservation Agreement Help Your Estate Agency?
Win More Instructions
With over 89% of sellers showing interest in securing their sale, offering Gazeal Reservation Agreements gives your agency a genuine point of difference in a crowded local market. Every seller you meet at valuation is silently asking the same question: will this buyer still be here in twelve weeks? With a Gazeal Reservation Agreement, you can answer that question on the day you agree the sale, not months later when it's too late to matter.
The scale of the problem makes this USP even more compelling. A UK property sale falls through every two minutes, with more than 6,000 collapsing every week and over 12,000 people affected. That's not a minor inconvenience, it's a structural weakness in the industry that most agents simply accept as the cost of doing business. Agents who offer Reservation Agreements don't have to accept it. They can fix it, and use that fix to win the listening in the first place.
Protect the Pipeline and Your Business
A 30% fall-through rate has been treated as normal for far too long. Gazeal has proven that when a sale goes through a secure process from offer to exchange, that rate drops to as low as 5%, a reduction of roughly 70% compared to the industry standard. Agents who join Gazeal see their fall-through rate fall to just 1 in 20 sales.
For an agency, that's the difference between a pipeline you can forecast against and one that collapses unpredictably. Fewer fall-throughs mean fewer re-marketing, fewer awkward conversations with sellers, and a far more reliable forecast of income each quarter. It's one of the strongest arguments an agent can make against a competitor who can't offer the same protection.
Earn More Commission
Fall-throughs don't just cost sellers stress and money, they cost agents directly. Collapsed sales cost UK estate agents over £1.2 billion in lost commission last year. Every deal that falls through near exchange represents weeks of work, marketing spend, and admin time that simply evaporates.
By listing more properties and closing deals through a near-certain pipeline, agencies using Gazeal Reservation Agreements can list more, sell more, and close faster, converting pipeline into paid commission at a far higher rate than agencies relying on the traditional, unsecured sale process.
How Do I Start Using Reservation Agreements at My Agency?
Introducing Gazeal Reservation Agreements into your sales process follows three clear steps.
1. Raise it at valuation.
Introduce the concept securing their sale with the best buyer to your seller from the very first meeting. Tell them you can secure a committed buyer from day one using a Gazeal Reservation Agreement, instantly positioning your agency ahead of competitors still selling on hope alone.
2. Lock in the buyer once an offer is accepted
Grant an exclusivity period, agree a clear timeline to exchange, and have the buyer commit financially, either through the Gazeal Guarantee (from £600 inc. VAT, guaranteeing £2,000 or more) or a Holding Deposit. Both sides are now matched in their level of commitment, which is exactly what drives the drop in fall-through rates.
3. Let Gazeal protect the sale through to exchange
Around 95% of Gazeal-secured sales reach exchange (Gazeal). If a buyer withdraws unreasonably, the seller is compensated up to £10,000. Gazeal administers the entire process independently and does not represent either the buyer or the seller, which keeps the process fair and independent.
Will Sellers Resist a Reservation Agreement?
No. Agents consistently report zero resistance from sellers when the service is introduced correctly. If anything, the opposite is true, both buyers and sellers are actively craving more certainty in the sale process, and agents who can offer it are seen as more professional, more prepared, and more worth instructing.
Start With a Conversation
A Reservation Agreement isn't just another compliance form to add to your checklist, it's a direct answer to the question every seller asks before they instruct an agent: can you actually get my property sold? Agencies that can say yes, with evidence, win more instructions and protect more of the commission they've worked hard to earn.
If you're ready to see how Gazeal Reservation Agreements could fit into your agency's sales process, start with a conversation with the Gazeal team.
Learn more about Reservation Agreements
Find out how you can secure your pipeline with Gazeal
Lean moreFAQ
What is a Gazeal Reservation Agreement?
It's an agreement signed by a buyer and seller before exchange of contracts that secures mutual commitment to the sale, backed by an independent financial guarantee administered by Gazeal.
How much does a Gazeal Reservation Agreement cost?
Buyers can commit via the Gazeal Guarantee, which starts from £600 inc. VAT and guarantees £2,000 or more, or through a Holding Deposit agreed between the parties.
How does a Reservation Agreement reduce fall-throughs?
By having both buyer and seller commit financially and contractually at the point of offer, Gazeal reduces the average fall-through rate from 30% industry-wide to as low as 5% (Gazeal).
What happens if a buyer pulls out unreasonably?
The seller can be compensated up to £10,000, and Gazeal administers the compensation process independently of both parties.
Is Gazeal biased toward the buyer or the seller?
No. Gazeal is independent and does not represent either party, its role is to administer the agreement and guarantee fairly for both sides.
