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Original poster

House offer with delayed payment option - what am I missing?

36 replies

AntiStars · 10/10/2025 03:26

Have a house that's been rented out. Tennant's have now left so vacant and on market for 20 weeks at £170k. Place needs modernisation, new boiler, redecoration and new carpets throughout. Off putting to a 1st time buyer in current state but a landlord could turn it quickly and sell or rent ~1k per month. Have had 1 x offer of 150k which I declined as too low and now looking to swap agents BUT, was given the details of someone who buys houses that other people can't sell eg mould problems, cash needed quick etc.
They've offered to buy for 170k with 110k paid now (this will mean I can clear my mortgage and have a 40K lump sum) and they will then give me the other 60k (delayed) in 5 years time as a 2nd lump sum but will give me interim payments of the interest (4%) on the 60K during those 5 years.
I asked what happens if he dies or his company goes bust etc in those 5 years before I get my full money back and he said that my money is personally guaranteed but not underwritten by a bank so the contracts would be drawn up by a solicitor and be legally binding etc but has anyone heard of this or bought a house in this manner before? What am I missing? I presume there's some tax/capital gains implications as well as the obvious high risk that he could be a complete fraudster?

OP posts:
Savethechocolatecake · 10/10/2025 04:04

Scam. Absolutely.

Tiredofwhataboutery · 10/10/2025 04:10

I have never heard of this and I’d be super wary. A personal guarantee for payment?

Dippythedino · 10/10/2025 04:14

This is a very well known scam, don't fall for it and I'm surprised your agent sent you the offer. Swap agents as soon as you can.

What happens if something happened to you or you died before the remainder was paid? Your estate would probably not recoup the money owed to you so please don't consider this.

Market the house as an ideal first time buy and/or fixer upper, this is the type of property most 1st time buyers buy to get their foot on the ladder.

PennyRest · 10/10/2025 04:45

Don’t do it OP

daisychain01 · 10/10/2025 04:59

I asked what happens if he dies or his company goes bust etc in those 5 years before I get my full money back and he said that my money is personally guaranteed but not underwritten by a bank so the contracts would be drawn up by a solicitor and be legally binding etc

he didn't address your concern, in fact what he said right there was that if he dies or his company goes bust, you'd have to fight for the money. A contract of that nature wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on.

you would be better off taking the £150K offer now than £110K now, because that's really all you're getting out of the deal as you have no real certainty you'll get the balance.

Iamfree · 10/10/2025 05:23

Obviously you’re way better off taking the 150k offer. You’re comparing a 150k offer with a 110k plus 60k with a probability of 10%, so 116k (very simplified). Go back to the 150k guy and accept it please. Or remarket with another agent but please don’t take the 110k scam offer

Linenpickle · 10/10/2025 06:25

scam of course. You’ll get £110k and that’s it. And you won’t be able to do a thing about it.

DrySherry · 10/10/2025 06:25

Crikey no, although if he and his solicitor were to offer to place a charge on his main home - to your estate (assuming that his home is not mortgaged) then that would be a safer option for you. I still wouldn't want to personally.
After 20 weeks on the market I would say that £150k was probably a pretty good offer, I would just reduce the price with a new agent and hopefully try to get another straightforward buyer.

Lamplight101 · 10/10/2025 08:08

Sounds like you should have grabbed that 150k offer with both hands.

Original poster
AntiStars · 10/10/2025 08:54

Oh gosh :-( thank you all for opening my eyes I guess.

OP posts:
kirinm · 10/10/2025 10:24

It worries me that anybody even considers this. No wonder scammers do so well.

Autumnlife · 10/10/2025 11:07

We sold ours to a landlord and we had a cash buyer. Don’t get scammed you want the full amount nothing less. Sounds like a lot of work for whoever buys it but put it on the market as such.
Our new house isn’t perfect and needs lots doing to it but we moved from a house that we had lived in for many years and had it how we liked it. We’ve decorated throughout new carpet in all bedrooms as it desperately needed it. New boiler and upgraded the heating system was first priority plus new windows installed in all bedrooms. Next up is carpet in the cold living room just waiting for a date for it to be done.

Figgygal · 10/10/2025 12:11

Madness
Accept the £150k given the need for work

boredwfh · 10/10/2025 12:36

Mmm. Not necessarily a scam.. in
a property investor & these inventive deals are done all the time with sophisticated property investors. But I’d want security like 2nd charge on his personal house. It could be paper 2nd charge. So not filed with land reg but all signed with a solicitor to save on costs initially but legal if you need to enact it. Take legal advice, it’s easy for people that aren’t property investors to say ‘scam’ but it’s not always. However approach with caution.

Nandina · 10/10/2025 12:45

Your solicitor would not let you sell without receiving the full purchase price. A 'personal guarantee' of a loan or debt is useless.

kirinm · 10/10/2025 12:47

What good is a personal guarantee? It means absolutely nothing particularly if the person dies!

LooseCanyon · 10/10/2025 12:50

boredwfh · 10/10/2025 12:36

Mmm. Not necessarily a scam.. in
a property investor & these inventive deals are done all the time with sophisticated property investors. But I’d want security like 2nd charge on his personal house. It could be paper 2nd charge. So not filed with land reg but all signed with a solicitor to save on costs initially but legal if you need to enact it. Take legal advice, it’s easy for people that aren’t property investors to say ‘scam’ but it’s not always. However approach with caution.

If he goes bust then OP will be a long way down the list of creditors.

Just take the £150,000 OP, £40,000 in the hand is worth a lot more than some putative future payments!!

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 10/10/2025 12:52

The only way to do this is with a charge over an asset. I'd be wary of a second charge because you can't know whether you'd get the value from it. Unless there's a charge on the house you're selling in your favour for the balance, then don't do it.

LooseCanyon · 10/10/2025 12:57

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 10/10/2025 12:52

The only way to do this is with a charge over an asset. I'd be wary of a second charge because you can't know whether you'd get the value from it. Unless there's a charge on the house you're selling in your favour for the balance, then don't do it.

Waste of time if he goes bankrupt. HMRC get first dibs, then lawyers, etc etc.

Silvertulips · 10/10/2025 13:03

Take it off the market and do the boiler and redecorate - new boiler is £2K same for carpets paint isn’t that expensive. Some elbow grease in the kitchen and bathroom. Tidy up the garden!

Young people have 2 workers to afford a home.

At the moment the house is costing you!

Mumsgirls · 10/10/2025 13:34

Charge on the property comes before HMRC. Solicitor could make sure it is a first charge on sale property. If not , forget it

LooseCanyon · 10/10/2025 13:36

Mumsgirls · 10/10/2025 13:34

Charge on the property comes before HMRC. Solicitor could make sure it is a first charge on sale property. If not , forget it

Oh, I see! Still, far too much complication (and solicitor's fees) for money that may never materialise.

ETA: And I bet he wouldn't agree to it OP. There will be all sorts of reasons why you can't do it. Ask him, and see what he says!

PloddingAlong21 · 10/10/2025 19:31

You’d be better off taking the 150k and putting the money in cash ISA or shares and get a much huger return than waiting for 5 years and just getting interest.

Original poster
AntiStars · 10/10/2025 19:36

LooseCanyon · 10/10/2025 13:36

Oh, I see! Still, far too much complication (and solicitor's fees) for money that may never materialise.

ETA: And I bet he wouldn't agree to it OP. There will be all sorts of reasons why you can't do it. Ask him, and see what he says!

Edited
Show quote history

Asked him about charge and he didn’t say it’s off the table but he did say it gets complicated as the lenders don’t always like it. He said if I’m keen then he’s happy to look at it and see if it can work for both of us.

OP posts:
Original poster
AntiStars · 10/10/2025 19:45

I’ve found some lawyers that specialise in ‘delayed consideration’ so will speak to them. It does sound like this is much more common place for investors dealing with portfolios rather than a single property offer but I’m going to keep researching and will keep you all posted on outcome

OP posts:
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