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Original poster

Has anyone used one of those ‘we buy any house’ type companies?

31 replies

icebearforpresident · 20/01/2021 21:55

Our house is on the market but getting ittle interest - I am actually an estate agent selling through my own work so the house is being marketed well and is well priced but in my area all anyone wants at the moment are rural properties, and I’m in a mid terrace on a busy road. The market will pick up eventually I have no doubt and under normal circumstances would probably have had a lot of interest.

However, DH and I have the opportunity to purchase a house off market from a family member. We are also both expecting to receive an inheritance, from my mum & his uncle, which between them could be a fairly significant amount of money. With that and the sale of our own house we could potentially but the new property outright or with a very small mortgage.

The family member will give us some time but can’t wait indefinitely. If you’ve used one of these companies what was your experience like? I fully expect they won’t offer full market value but we don’t owe a lot on our current mortgage so likely could afford to not get that but at the same time we couldn’t afford to lose 25/30% either. Was it as quick at they make out?

OP posts:
ellenpartridge · 20/01/2021 22:05

We briefly looked into it but didn't do it. They will offer well below market so if you can't afford to lose 25% it's not for you.

Spaceman1 · 20/01/2021 22:21

I would use Rightmove to get a feel for what your house is worth and then decide what you would be willing to sell for for a quick deal, then approach the company and offer it to them at that figure or no deal. That way you are in control of the process.

SnoozyBoozy · 20/01/2021 22:28

We sold out car with we buy any car and to be honest, it was a bit of a rip off, but we didn't desperately need the money and it saved us the hassle of selling it privately. We did an online quote and got just over half an if what they'd quoted online (which was about what we would have got had we sold it privately). I imagine it would work similarly with a house.

So if you don't need the full market value and want a quick sale, it could work, but I wouldn't expect to get what the house is worth, so it would probably also depend.on whether you could afford to hold out for longer.

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WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 20/01/2021 22:36

I've not done it, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that they offer you about 60% of the value. Maybe that wouldn't be too dreadful for one of the car equivalents, if it's an older car and if the circumstances are right; but for a house, it's a buttock-clenchingly huge amount to lose.

I suppose they're at the far end of the 'desperation' line, so they take full advantage of that. Like the Wonga-type companies that know they're your very last hope, so they're never going to give you rates that are comparable to those from a more normal/mainstream lender/buyer - that's their whole raison d'etre.

I think they usually sell the houses on at auction - which are already mainly the preserve of those for whom ordinary selling methods aren't feasible - so being one step further down the 'less than ideal' line, they're already going to be mentally knocking huge percentages off in order to guarantee themselves a very decent return for shelling out a lot of money upfront.

AcornAutumn · 20/01/2021 22:37

I've looked at this in the past for my auntie

It definitely seemed she would lose about 25% of market value, but it was a very low quality flat in a bad area, so 25% wasn't horrific.

It depends very much on individual circumstances.

They certainly want to be quick about it but in the current situation, I imagine there could be delays they have no control over.

SpaceRaiders · 20/01/2021 22:43

Like pp said those type of companies take advantage of the fact that you’re a “distressed” seller. I wouldn’t have thought their offer would be close to what you’re looking for. Could you perhaps release some equity, get consent to let and sell at a later date?

Pipandmum · 20/01/2021 22:48

They will offer you 20-25% below 'market value', which is not to say what you have it listed as!

Ellmau · 20/01/2021 23:04

Better to get a larger mortgage now and then pay it off when you get the inheritance?

Original poster
icebearforpresident · 21/01/2021 10:09

Thanks for the input everyone.

At the moment it’s all very up in the air, the only certainty is that we really want the other house. When it comes to the finances it’s all very uncertain just now, both inheritances are made up of the sale of property so while we have an idea on how much money we may be getting we don’t know for certain how much we’re getting until they are actually sold so we’re really just considering all options for all possibilities, including extending our current mortgage.

Renting our current house is a definite non starter, I deal with rental properties through work and its more haste than its worth. There’s also the eviction ban here in Scotland due to COVID so in the event we had an issue with the tenant or actually had a buyer for the house we would need to give 6 months notice.

OP posts:
WitchDancer · 21/01/2021 10:15

How about selling through auction yourself? We sold a house this way and got what we needed from it in a quick and easy way. It certainly takes the uncertainty out of when it will go!

Bluntness100 · 21/01/2021 10:18

Why don’t you just drop the price by ten percent. Even fifteen, it’s always going to be less than you’ll lose through companies like this.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 21/01/2021 11:06

Either of the previous two suggestions sounds like good advice to me. No point in adding a profit-hungry middle-man into the process, looking to take a big slice of the money for themselves.

They're also clearly after capitalising on people's concerns that things will be far more complicated than if you 'just let them handle it for you' - reminds me of a grand-scale version of where Halfords will charge you several pounds to take 5 seconds to 'fit' new windscreen wipers - but the legal professionals will still be involved either way (and ultimately paid for by you), to do the few really complicated things that you can't/wouldn't understand yourself.

If you don't need the money NOW, don't go down that route.

Tier10 · 21/01/2021 11:38

I sold a property yesterday with one of these companies and was very pleased with the price and the service.

WhatAreWordsWorth · 21/01/2021 12:09

We briefly considered one of these companies when our house took 9 months to sell (we did have a buyer who pulled out at the 11th hour, and after that we just couldn’t get a sale).

Our house was valued at a very fair £220k and the company offered us £170-180k Envy

In the end we dropped the price to £205k and managed to get an asking price offer. Honestly, I would just drop the price yourself as it will probably gather some interest and you’ll still sell it for more than if you used one of these companies.

BoJoHoNo · 21/01/2021 12:24

Could you market yours as being 'open to offers' to see if that generates any further interest? I've never directly dealt with a we buy any house company, but I did a bit of research last year and it sounds like sometimes they will lower their offer right at the last minute, which put me off the idea.

Tier10 · 21/01/2021 12:38

You need to find a company that actually has the cash as lots make out they will buy your property but then it turns out they lock you in and then just market it.

KenAdams · 21/01/2021 12:43

Just drop the price of yours. You'll make more on it that way.

HappyTimeTunnelDinosaur · 21/01/2021 12:47

We used one similar, but they didnt buy, just guaranteed sale within 2 months (would buy if not). It worked well for us as our local market was slow and we negotiated a price we were quite happy with - 15k under value (275k vs 290ishk) which we felt was very fair. We were in a rush for the house we wanted and the current one had gained enough that it we didn't actually lose any money, just less extra. I think you have to be quite firm with them though and willing not to go ahead if the price isn't right. This was at the start of the pandemic and they were probably keen to get any money they could. Now I imagine they'd factor in stamp duty savings and take that off the price they'd offer.

zigaziga · 21/01/2021 12:47

@Tier10

I sold a property yesterday with one of these companies and was very pleased with the price and the service.
I think I will do that in a few years. Have tried to sell my old flat for years and it’s currently let out. I never wanted to be a landlord. Which one did you use?
user1471538283 · 21/01/2021 12:48

I approached some when I couldn't sell our last house but they wanted it so cheaply because they then sell it on. In the end I dropped the price of my house significantly and sold within days of the price drop. Is this an option for you?

Daydreamsinglorioustechnicolor · 21/01/2021 12:50

You could go to auction? I believe you can still set a reserve.

Tier10 · 21/01/2021 12:53

I used a company called Rapid Sales, no last minute price drop or anything like that. I got 90% of market value and obviously saved a lot on geese. I inherited a property recently that wasn’t near where I live and really didn’t want to market it particularly in these difficult COVID times.

Tier10 · 21/01/2021 12:54

Sorry that should say fees.

2020quelhorreur · 21/01/2021 12:57

Funny how this thread how one person who’s just used a fast sale company and another who wants to know the name of it.

Tier10 · 21/01/2021 12:59

Yes , hilarious that my Dad died. Look me up.
Shame on you.