Home owners can be paid to sell their house in a new auction website being launched by an estate agent.

Dockside Property Services, based in Rochester, has launched a new online bidding process called the Modern Method – a kind of eBay for houses – which it hopes will transform the way people buy and sell their home.

Unlike other agents, it will not charge homeowners for selling their property. It instead receives its income from 2.5% commission paid by buyers, which it splits with the seller.

The company is the first agent in Kent to make a payment to the vendor on completion of a sale, using software created by auction company iamsold.

Managing director Spencer Fortag said: “The format is a modern way of selling your property. The way we buy property in Britain is ludicrous.

“You see a property, then you negotiate a price without being fully informed about it and then you wait for solicitors to drag their heels and wait for the paperwork to come through.

“Then there is often a period of renegotiation because something shows up.

“This online auction method allows us to market a property with all the information online. Anything a purchaser needs to know to buy that property will be on the website.

“By the time the bidding starts, buyers are in an informed place to buy a property with confidence.”

Dockside Property, which employs 10 people, has been based in the county for 11 years and has spent the last six months developing this new concept.

“I expect this to have a massive impact, not just on Medway but on the UK property market,” said Mr Fortag.

“There are no agents trying to drive the price up to earn more commission because the whole deal is online and clear...” - Spencer Fortag, Dockside Property Services

“It is an innovative way of selling and buying. It’s transparent, it’s fair and gives users the element of control.

“They have complete transparency. They can see the bids, similar to eBay.

“There are no agents trying to drive the price up to earn more commission because the whole deal is online and clear.”

As well as seller’s being paid to sell their home, Mr Fortag also believes the process is better for buyers.

It is the first auction process open to people who need to get a mortgage, although all buyers have to go through a registration process before they are allowed to bid, indicating their funding position and solicitors’ details.

Mr Fortag said: “The problem with traditional auctions is they eliminate people who need funding.

“In a traditional auction you have to complete within 28 days but with this we can wait two to three months on the exchange to give buyers time to sort their funding out.

“There is a real shortage of sensibly-priced property towards the lower end of the spectrum.

“Research shows buyers are prepared to pay a fee to secure those properties.”