Pros and cons for selling your home quickly to a cash property buyer
Using a property buying company to buy your home fast is becoming more popular as the UK housing market evolves. The traditional route of using an estate agent to sell your home isn’t always the best option for a homeowner needing a fast sale. We examine the pros and cons of selling your home at a discount in return for a quick sale.
Pros – Quick sale firms.
#1 – Fast purchase – The promise to buy your home in as little as a few weeks, sometimes in a matter of days. Selling your house the traditional way (using an estate agent) can take six to twelve months!
#2 – Buy any home anywhere in the UK, in any condition – From Lands End to John ‘O’ Groats, a cash house buying company will buy anywhere in the UK, whatever the location.
#3- Buy your home whatever the condition – Even if your property is a fixer-upper needing extensive repairs or renovations, they’ll buy it in a snap. No need for any repairs or get your home ready to sell. They believe ‘as is.
#3 – Hassle-free service – No detailed evaluations or evaluations needed. No countless viewings with strangers traipsing through your home. No price reductions, negotiations, lost sales, property chains, etc. The process is endless, but you avoid the aggravation.
#4 – Confidential – Many house sellers want to keep their business private, no for sale board, no Rightmove or Zoopla listings, no nosey neighbours. Maybe you’ve inherited a property, or perhaps you want to move quickly for job relocation, or the house is about to be repossessed. A quick sale firm is ideally placed to help and guarantee confidentiality. No one needs to know your business.
#5 – Guaranteed sale – Once a quick sale firm agrees to purchase your home, they don’t usually back out. In contrast, a traditional purchase may fall through at any point for various reasons, such as a broken property chain or the buyer has found a different property to buy and changed their mind.
#6 – Agreed timescale to sell – Sell in a few weeks; some firms may purchase in days. Selling fast allows you to plan your next purchase, which might be time sensitive or require certainty.
Cons – Quick sale firms.
#1 -Lose 15-20% of your property’s value – All quick house sale companies will offer you a price below market value. Only you, the seller, can decide if it’s worth it.
#2 – False claims and promises – Some quick house sale firms are brokers acting for investors. Some use option agreements and are not buying your property.
#3 – Last-minute price drop scam -Some undesirable firms reduce the price offered at the last minute, leaving you in the lurch, and you have no option other than to accept a further reduction on the price agreed at the outset.
#4 – Hidden or unexpected fees – You may be charged fees that were not made clear at the start and could be substantial. Please do your due diligence and read all the sections of our guide.
#5 – Unrealistic offers – If you receive an offer of more than 85%, then the valuation price may be suspect, too low. If any company offers you an unusually high price, be very wary.
Summary:
The main advantage of using a quick sale firm is that they will purchase your property quickly. The major disadvantage is that they will pay below market value.
When a homeowner uses a fast sale firm, it means they are desperate and NEED a quick solution (imminent repossession), or they WANT an immediate sale because it suits their situation (e.g. inherited a house). Either way, it’s a distress sale.
