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Choosing to sell your house to a fast cash homebuyer is a big decision and you will no doubt have lots of questions. To help you get started and find the right cash homebuyer for you, we’ve put together a list of the 20 most frequently asked questions from users of the Property Sale Watchdog website.
With each of the questions, you’ll find a quick summary answer, along with a link to a longer, more in-depth article that explains the issue in detail.
A cash house buying company is a company that buys homes for cash. They do this as a business, and they make a reasonable living doing so. A cash homebuying company will buy your home fast, usually in around 14 days, in return for offering you a lower price, usually around 80% of the market value. Read more here.
Cash homebuyers buy homes cheap, usually at around 80% of the market value, in the hope of selling them at full price at a later stage. You get a fast, fuss-free sale that is guaranteed not to fall through, and they get your property at a bargain price. There is nothing fundamentally underhand or dishonest about this, they’re just buying and selling like any other merchant, hoping to make a little profit along the way. Read more here.
A fair and reasonable offer from a cash homebuyer is 80% of the realistic market value of your home. This is what you would actually get for it via a traditional sale, not what your estate agent says it’s worth when they first view it. It may not be full value, but you will not have to pay estate agent fees or solicitor fees, and you won’t have to pay to redecorate or renovate your home ready to sell. Read more here.
Most cash buyers will buy your home in around 14 to 28 days, although some say they can complete the sale faster than this. A sale in just a few days is possible, but you will get much less for your property. Unlike an open market sale, with a cash buyer, you can usually set your own timescale and complete on the day that suits you best. Read more here.
There are a number of ways to check that you are dealing with a legitimate cash home buyer, including checking records at Companies House, checking independent reviews, checking they are members of the Property Ombudsman and the National Association of Property Buyers. You can also read impartial reviews, such as those listed on the Property Sale Watchdog website. Read more here.
Yes you can. In the right circumstances, selling your house to a cash buyer is the perfect solution, saving you time, cutting out the stress of selling, and helping you to move on with your life quickly and easily. There are companies out there who genuinely care and want to do the best they can for you in terms of price, service and speed. Read more here.
A lot of people think that selling your home for cash is a last resort, and only for people facing the most dire of circumstances, but that’s simply not the case. Cash buyers can, and do, help people in all sorts of circumstances, including those who just can’t be bothered with the six-month merry-go-round of selling a home on the open market. They can help you get your hands on your inheritance. They can help you grab your dream home before someone else does. They can even help you to sell a home that no one else seems to want. Read more here.
If you sell to a cash buyer, you will get your cash, in the bank, on the day you sell. That means you could have your money in as little as two weeks from the day you first contact them. No other home sale route is anywhere near as fast. Read more here.
Don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to to feel confident in a cash buyer. A legitimate company will be happy to answer any questions you have and they should have nothing to hide. You should always ask a cash homebuyer for proof of funds, to show that they are in a position to actually buy your home. You should also ask to speak to satisfied customers to back up their claims about speed and service. Ask about their track record of sales, especially homes like yours, and ask if they are members of the Property Ombudsman and the National Association of Property Buyers. Read more here.
There is no formal regulation of the cash homebuying industry, and as such, there is little in the way of consumer protection. However, a reputable cash buyer should be registered with the Property Ombudsman. This gives you the protection of independent, binding arbitration in the event of a dispute. In the absence of formal regulation, a group of cash buyers set up their own organisation, the National Association of Property Buyers, whose members agree to operate to a strict code of conduct. Read more here.
If the cash buyer is a member of the Property Ombudsman service, you can complain to them and they will offer independent and binding arbitration. Unfortunately, since there is no formal regulation of the industry, if your cash buyer is not registered with TPO, then you may have nowhere to complain to. Many of the more reputable firms will also have a published complaints procedure, which outlines who to complain to and the timescales for any responses. Read more here.
Yes. Just like any property transaction, you can pull out anytime up to exchange of contracts if you change your mind or get a better offer. However, if you have signed a contract with the cash buyer, this may incur a hefty cash penalty. Some disreputable companies make most of their money from such penalties. This is why you should never sign a contract with a cash homebuyer. Read more here.
Yes they can. By selling to a cash buyer, you can avoid repossession and solve many other financial problems. A fast cash sale may not get as much as an open market sale, but you will get your money now, when you need it, rather than in four to six months’ time when it may be too late. Read more here.
Yes. Not only will cash buyers buy probate properties, you may even get a little more for it, as they will not have to pay Stamp Duty on their purchase. Selling a probate house to a cash buyer means you can get your inheritance sooner and avoid a long, drawn-out probate process. Read more here.
Yes, a cash home buyer will buy any home in any condition, as is. This includes problem properties such as those with damp, subsidence, rodent infestations and even Japanese knotweed. Whatever the problem with your home, a cash buyer will still consider it, saving you months on the market and thousands of pounds in remedial works. Read more here.
Yes, using a cash buyer is a great way to repair a broken property chain and get everyone moving again. If you can afford the price drop, it can help you to still get your dream home, even if your buyer pulls out. There is no Stamp Duty due on chain repair sales, so you may get a little more than 80% for your home. Read more here.
Cash buyers use local property experts, such as trusted estate agents to provide a market value for your home. They will then take into account the state of the local market and any issues there are with your property. It is worth remembering that ‘asking price’ is rarely the same as ‘selling price’ in the real world. The true value of your home is not what it is initially listed for by an estate agent, but what it would eventually sell for after all the negotiations, surveys and other factors are finished. Read more here.
Selling your home fast, for cash, with a guaranteed sale in as little as 14 days may appear to be too good to be true, and of course there is a catch. The catch is that you will only get around 80% of the market value of your home. This price reduction covers the buyers’ costs, including finance costs, solicitors fees, the cost of running their business, the risk of holding property in a volatile market and a small profit for the company involved. Read more here.
Most reputable cash home buyers will give you an estimated price over the phone or online, and come back to you with a firm offer within 24-48 hours. It is worth getting several quotes to compare them and ensure you are getting the best deal. You can also get an estimate on the value of your property in a cash sale by completing the cash offer calculator provided free of charge by the property Sale Watchdog. You don’t have to enter any personal details and there is no obligation to accept the quote. Click here for your free estimate.
The best place to start is right here on the Property Sale Watchdog website. Our independent experts have put together dozens of different articles explaining every aspect of selling your home to a cash buyer, along with impartial reviews of some of the biggest and best in the business. You can read about the pros and cons of using a cash homebuyer, how cash buyers work and how to sell problem properties, along with a number of property selling guides packed with expert advice and useful information. When you’re ready to go ahead, your first step is to find out how much your home is worth by using our free cash offer calculator.