a quick sale company ?????

theenquirer

I was reading in the paper today about a company who buy your house from you and then you can stay in it for as long as you like.
I thought they were an equity release company, but aparently they are different.
Anyone heard about them (good, bad or indifferent)?

This is their website http://www.a-quick-sale.co.uk/
The advert was in the Daily Mail Saturday 20th May. with a full page splash.
They read as if they are OK, but what should I look out for.
I was thinking of selling, paying off my large mortgage balance and renting from them.

Any thoughts?

Browntoa

they buy your house at a discount to the full valuation, the discount can be in the region of 25%

clutton_2

they are a very ethical company, and i would recommend them to anyone who does want a quick sale - obviously it will be a below market value offer. Not every part of the country works well for rent-backs though, so, be prepared.

Zannie

I have not really looked at the website at length but I noticed something that concerned me ...they state that "The simplest way to avoid repossession is to sell your home. We can complete a quick property sale which is guaranteed, without facing the uncertainties of the housing market which could put your home at risk" _ I used to work for the Citizens advice bureau and in my experience the simplist way to avoid reposession is to appear in court and negotiate with the mortgage company through the magistrate - I wonder what else is slightly understated. I dont know anything about this company but show the link for a company called national homebuyer and what watchdog said about them......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/watchdog/reports/homes/homes_20060502.shtml
this shows some of the possible pitfalls - the biggest of this this company was - whose valuation?
Hope this helps

courtjester

I think its a question of going into these situations with your eyes open.

The scandle of many of these companies is that they have no intention of buying the property at all - I think National Homebuyers are one of these - they charge an upfront 'survey fee' of anything from £100-£800 for someone to drive past the property, then make a riduclously low offer designed to be rejected.

Their survey fee of course is non-refundable, although the true 'value' of the work done in surveying is probably little more than £25-£30. This is clearly an organised scam.

There are doubtless companies out there which are legitimate - I would say as long as you expect to sell for something like 25-30% less then true market value AND you pay nothing to the company to survey or buy your property, then some of these companies may be worth a look if you're really desperate.

NB: You should'nt have to sign or pay anything to the purchasing company if they are genuine.

In the long run, you are better to price the property competitively (or slightly below market) and put out some additional advertising locally and online to push the property and get on the agents case about it too - how about an incetive to the agent - if they sell in under 4 weeks, they get a 1% bonus - better than giving away 25% to a quick sale company.

Apple_2

Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

theenquirer

Apple,
WHY would you not touch them with a barge pole? Do you have information?

To the others who replied. Thanks a lot.
I am not in a "reposession" problem. My problem is a bit long winded so will not go in to details.
I have made the first approach to them and found out for certain these facts.

1) They have nothing to do with Home Buyers.
2) They have offered me in writing a purchase figure of what I told them it was likely value less 12%
3) They asked me to choose a surveyor of my own and they would pay all costs. Surveyor been. No cost.
4) They guarantee in writing a figure for the rent and this has been fixed for 5 years. After 5 years they offer to sell back the property at the market value then with a 5% discount offered. You do not have to buy at this time either but can remain in the house till you want to buy.
5) They will pay £500 legal fees (solicitor of your own choice or theirs).
6) You can stay as tenant for as long as you want (or as little time).
7) You can do a straight sale and move right away.
8) Have had solicitor look at the offer and the paperwork and he can see no loop holes or catches.

Appears that the purchaser is an individual wanting to invest pensions or other money and this company do the renting out on a lease.

Will go down the road a bit more without signing anything to see if there are any pitfalls. So far looks OK for my stuation where I want to settle my interest only mortgage, have a bit left and still be able to stay in my house at an affordable rent.
Will see.
If anyone has any thoughts on why this might be dangerous I would love to hear them.
Thanks

klaatu

If you don't go through with it, do you definitely still owe them nothing?

Do you get to see the surveyor's valuation?

Steve

Apple_2

theenquirer

I'm surprised you got an offer at 12% discount. Generally that's not enough.

Some things you might want to consider :
You are not selling to a 'blue chip' company - you are selling to an individual investor. A Quick Sale is a vehicle putting buyers and sellers together.

BTL buyers in this scenario would generally want a 20% discount at least. This is because many ( not all ) would immediately re-mortgage the property, and they'd only get 80% of the market value, to release the funds to buy the next property. They will be building a portfolio of BTL properties. Your rent will cover their mortgage.

What happens if they sell on to another investor ? Or for whatever reason, they get into difficulty and the mortgage is defaulted on ?

I understand you have had your lawyer look over the paperwork and he can't see any problems, so I hope this works well for you. I personally would never use them. Reason : I spoke to one of their 'investors' at a social gathering, he explained how he did business. As Alan Sugar said, 'you'd count your fingers after shaking his hand'. Now maybe he was just a bad apple, but my point is you don't actually know who will be buying your house or what their behaviour will be like. Yes you have legal safeguards, but I'd rather avoid trouble in the first place.

This is just my opinion.