Selling your house is one the life’s most stressful experiences. The frustration, the uncertainty and the stress can last for up to 3 months, according to recent research by E.ON.
The long-winded conveyancing process and buyer’s inability to raise finance can leave seller feel vulnerable and out of control. But what if you need to sell now?
Homeowners turn to ‘we buy any house companies’ that offer cash and promise very quick completion. The idea is that you won’t sell your home for the full market value, but you won’t have all the fees to pay. You don’t need to refurbish the property and you can sell it in its current condition. The company buying your property will refurbish it and sell or keep it.
The purpose of this article is to empower you on what to do, things to look-out for, and who to contact if you aren’t sure.
Not all ‘we buy any house’ companies are genuine cash buyers. There are opportunists that make false promising and defraud sellers who are in a rush. So why are we sharing this with you?
Property Saviour are one of the good ones. We offer to buy any property whether it is a commercial or residential. With lots of genuine five-star reviews from real sellers, we will guarantee to complete within a couple of weeks – or at your timescale. A cash offer along with a generous contribution of £1,500 towards your legal fees means you can move on to next chapter of your life.
Luckily, we are sharing proven methods that will help you avoid ‘we buy any house’ related scams.
Why use ‘we buy any house’ companies?
Time is a precious commodity for most people. There are several reasons why sellers opt for a quick sale, these include:
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Your property maybe stuck in a chain for months with little to no updates.
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You have an inherited a property that needs to be sold to pay beneficiaries
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Your property may need work, has structural issues or dispute with an abusive neighbour
Sellers are often reliant on the honesty of estate agents, speed of solicitors and authenticity of the buyer along with their ability to obtain a mortgage.
Further uncertainty can come during the conveyancing process for reasons such as:
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If the property is of non-standard construction and a survey carried out by the buyer’s mortgage lender deems the property to be un-mortgageable
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If it has a history of subsidence
It is also important to remember that a sale only becomes legal binding in England and Wales once the contracts have been exchanged, meaning that until that point either side can still pull out of the purchase.
Using a ‘we buy any house’ company helps to speed up these processes, cutting out middlemen and completing your sale in a far quicker timeframe than that of traditional house sales. According to Rightmove’s 2022 Spring Survey, 69% of buyers need to have sold their property before being able to buy.
The certainty of having a cash buyer in form of ‘we buy any house’ company means avoiding the dreaded chain that often leads to disappointment, uncertainty, and abortive sales.
How do we buy any house companies work?
With hundreds of ‘we buy any house’ businesses in the UK. It can be hard to know what to look for and which of these companies are trustworthy. It is important to begin with an understanding of the process.
When you first approach a ‘we buy any house’ company, they will, at no cost to you, accurately value the property that you wish to sell. This will be a cash offer with a quick completion – often in weeks or days.
The condition of your property is not important. Here at Property Saviour, we factor in any improvements and make you a cash offer. There are no estate agency or solicitors’ fees to be paid. The whole process can be concluded as quickly as you like.
Are ‘we buy any house’ companies legit?
The risk with using a ‘we buy any house’ business is that it has become an industry targeted by fraudsters. With the ease and low cost of being able to acquire a website, business telephone number and place adverts online. It is easier than ever for scammers to deceive innocent sellers. To identify genuine ‘we buy any house’ businesses, be sure to ask for proof of funds and who their solicitors and look into their reviews.
There are steps you can take to ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate ‘we buy any house’ company. You want a quick sale with certainty that it will go ahead, and your time won’t be wasted.
To identify whether a ‘we buy any house’ company is legit, check that they use the following process:
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When you contact a ‘we buy any house’ business, you will receive a cash offer
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Once accepted, the company will deal with the purchase, with no fees payable by you
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The company should pay for your legal fees
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The company should be willing to exchange contracts immediately without any delay
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You will agree a completion date that will be no longer than a month
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The sale will go through on the planned completion date
Types of we buy any house scams
To avoid being a victim of fraud from fake ‘we buy any house’ schemes, it is important to check that the company you intend to use is reputable. Any genuine firms will have an office address to arrange a face-to-face meeting, a company number easily found on their website as well as having reviews or testimonials on sources such as Google.
Here are at Property Saviour, we deal with many distressed sellers often let down by ‘we buy any house’ companies. The process leaves them frustrated, disappointment and financially worst off. Here are five scams that you should look out for:
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Lead generation scams
Your information is worth money. There are some ‘we buy any house’ companies that are not genuine buyers and, instead, acquire your details to sell on to a third party. They will claim to have a ‘network of approved buyers’ or words to that effect. Do you know who is accessing your information?
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Advance valuation fee scam
This is where fraudsters will make a seller an unbelievable cash offer. An example of this is if your property is worth £200k, they may offer you a cash price of £190k with no estate agent or solicitor fees and completion within 3-4 weeks but you must pay an initial valuation fee, normally around £500. Once you have paid this fee, the valuation is likely to be followed up with a lower offer.
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Hidden administration fees and charges
Some ‘we buy any house’ companies will make you an amazing offer but then once you’ve agreed, start to deduct administration and sales progression fees which shave tens of thousands of pounds off the initial offer price. These fees are only revealed on completion day which essentially leaves you unable to back out.
A genuine ‘we buy any house’ company, such as Property Saviour, will not charge any fees.
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Last minute price reductions
‘Gazundering’ is a common practice on the open market, but it is also used by ‘we buy any house’ scammers. Upon completion day, the initial offer will be reduced by tens of thousands of pounds as they know the seller can’t do anything about it. Look for a reputable company like Property Saviour. We always pay the offered price and that is why sellers trust us.
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Option agreements and lock-in periods
Fraudulent companies will often insist that you sign their option agreements which gives them exclusivity to buy or sell your property for up to 12 months. If you need a quick sale, you can’t wait up to 12 months to sell your property. Property Saviour will never make you sign any agreements and will always deal via solicitors.
These are the main scams that you may come across in your search for the right ‘we buy any house’ business but something else to be wary of is online estate agents who often approach sellers, pretending to be cash buyers, offering an assisted sale option or offer to sell your property for a fee.
You can get rid of these estate agents by asking them to provide proof of funds, they will soon leave you alone.
How to avoid ‘we buy any house’ scams
You may feel overwhelmed when it comes to selecting a genuine ‘we buy any house’ company and steering clear of the scams but there are plenty of red flags to look for that, that will keep you protected, including:
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If you are asked for money upfront
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If a valuation or surveyor fee is requested
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If you are asked to sign an option agreement. No matter how enticing it may sound!
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If a company offers to buy your property for 90-100% of its full market value. This simply is not possible.
These are our best tips when selecting a ‘we buy any house’ company:
Ask for proof of funds
A genuine ‘we buy any house’ company with cash readily available should not have any issue with providing a fee-free offer alongside proof of funds, demonstrating clear means to be able to pay cash. If a bank statement showing this cannot be provided, then they simply don’t have the cash available. If they need to get a mortgage or a bridging loan, they may ask you to pay for a surveyor.
Read their reviews
Genuine reviews help to identify the service received from a company.
With so many ‘fake reviews’ being featured in the news, ‘we buy any house’ industry is no exception to this. You’ll become a detective at spotting fake reviews.
Are they all written in the same tone with similar compliments or style of writing? There are many businesses that pay to have people review their business even when they’ve never received this service.
The same applies to video reviews. If they are filmed in a studio or seem a little too well rehearsed with smiley people in show homes, it is possible that they are actors who have been paid to read a script.
Trustworthy ‘we buy any home’ businesses will have easy-to-access real testimonials and case studies; those displayed on the Property Saviour website are a good example of easy-to-obtain information.
Ask for solicitors and buyer details
Any legitimate ‘we buy any home’ company will be able to provide details of their solicitor, as well as dates for exchange and completion. If a business is being deceptive and plans to sell the property to an investor or list it online, they won’t be able to provide these details and you will know that they are not a genuine cash buyer.
Key takeaways
Property Saviour have a transparent and honest approach. We are one of very few genuine cash buyers with plenty of real seller testimonials on our website. We will never act on behalf of investors, and we are not online estate agents.
We will always do what we promise. That’s why we have several five-star reviews.
Whether you are auctioning a house, looking for commercial property buyers, we are the ones to trust. Simply contact us via our website, and we will be in touch within 24 hours.
We are offer you a real alternative to selling your property. The price we offer is the price we pay. There are no fault-finding surveyors, and we will always honour the agreed price. You can instruct your own solicitor or solicitors acting for us can recommend one. Whatever your choice, we will pay £1,500 towards your legal fees. Put yourself in control of selling your property and complete when it suits you. Call us today on 0113 320 6700 to start a new chapter in your life.
