Has anyone used companies such as National Homebuyers

glo1967

Hi all

We are looking to sell our property & are looking for a quick sale, just wanted to know if any of you had dealt with any companies who buy your house directly from you & if so, how did you find the process & was the price a lot less than the market value? Thanks in advance.

maninthestreet

The general advice on these forums is to avoid these companies. Others will be along soon with more details.

I,_Geek

My OH and I looked into it because we had got desperate. We didn't go through with it in the end, but here's how it went:

- On market for £99k, a different homebuying company (I can't remember which one) offered £68-72k maximum. We had to refuse because it would have been financially impossible for us to move. The other companies we contacted came in with similar offers.

- They all based their valuations on (a) what it's currently on the market for, (b) what other properties within a half-mile radius are on for (c) how rent-able it is. One person asked if there were any restrictions in the deeds saying whether the flat could be let out or not.

- The companies didn't know the area and were looking purely at the numbers. Yes, you can buy a 3 bed house for the same as our 2 bed flat within a half-mile radius. And there's a reason why. But the homebuying company don't care whether you live in a good area or not.

- We'd refused an offer, but one company rang back saying they could get £85k if we went with their EA company. Apparently there were investment buyers willing to pay that for it. This made it sound even more dodgy than before. This higher offer was never mentioned at first.

- National Homebuyers rang about once a month asking if we were still interested.

- I also think National Homebuyers charge a valuation fee. I've read advice saying to stay away if they expect you to pay up-front for things like that.

I don't know what your situation is, but we found that the best way to sell our flat was to reduce the price. We were on at either the same price or cheaper than similar flats, but we had to reduce. It became the best flat in that price range, and we still got more for it than the offers from homebuying companies.

Good luck - I know what it feels like to just want to get out asap.

googler

There's been many recent threads on this topic - you could maybe use the search facility to find the more recent ones.

In general, the consensus seems to be - reduce your asking price from what you perceive to be true market value, and you're likely to make a sale long before you drop the price to the level that these homebuyers will offer.....

marcg

Just let your estate agent know you are serious about taking a low cash offer and I'm sure they will rustle someone up.

pinkshoes

Are you looking for a quick sale because you've spotted a house you love and want to move, or are you looking for a quick sale because you can't afford the mortgage for much longer and don't want to be repossessed?

They'll offer around 30% below the "realistic" market value, so it's much better to just lower your price, and annoy your EA to get their ar*e in gear and try harder to sell!

Mobile101

I have also known them to take quite some time - these companies generally are not advancing their own money, but drawing money down out of a fund for the purchase. This means that there are strict conditions that the purchase has to meet before can draw those monies down. If there is anything unusual about the property at all (eg listed) then it can take ages, and they downvalue aggressively. Generally, can't recommend them!

seasidepom

I wish I had read the posts on here and on other sites before I had instructed National Homebuyers. Having lost my original buyer and wanting to proceed with my purchase, I canvassed them and they said they would offer me between £81k and £104k (my property was on the market at £109k) so I paid their valuation fee. They came back with an offer of £70k. I was very angry but desperate to move, so I managed to talk them up to £73k, negotiated a higher mortgage with my bank and waited for things to happen. NH have now told me that they are reducing their offer to £55k because there is no parking and the area is prone to being noisy at night! I told them about the parking initially so they should have taken that into consideration at the outset and as for the noise....?? There is no way I can borrow ANOTHER £18k, I simply wouldn't be able to pay for food, bills, petrol..... Is there no law that governs this sort of practice? I would definitely advise anyone against paying a valuation fee to these money grabbing, swindling, manipulative cheats (as strong as I can make it without swearing). They hassled me and hassled me to let them quote on my property and eventually tempted me in with a half price valuation. That's still £250 of my money that I needn't have spent. :mad:

Cannon_Fodder

Sorry you lost £250.

Hopefully you can take some small consolation from the fact that sharing your experience may deter others from being 'mugged'.

maninthestreet

seasidepom wrote: »

I wish I had read the posts on here and on other sites before I had instructed National Homebuyers. Having lost my original buyer and wanting to proceed with my purchase, I canvassed them and they said they would offer me between £81k and £104k (my property was on the market at £109k) so I paid their valuation fee. They came back with an offer of £70k. I was very angry but desperate to move, so I managed to talk them up to £73k, negotiated a higher mortgage with my bank and waited for things to happen. NH have now told me that they are reducing their offer to £55k because there is no parking and the area is prone to being noisy at night! I told them about the parking initially so they should have taken that into consideration at the outset and as for the noise....?? There is no way I can borrow ANOTHER £18k, I simply wouldn't be able to pay for food, bills, petrol..... Is there no law that governs this sort of practice? I would definitely advise anyone against paying a valuation fee to these money grabbing, swindling, manipulative cheats (as strong as I can make it without swearing). They hassled me and hassled me to let them quote on my property and eventually tempted me in with a half price valuation. That's still £250 of my money that I needn't have spent. :mad:

This is nornally what does indeed happen - they make you an offer, you accept it, then they suddenly drop the offer close to exchange, leaving you either to withdraw from the sale losing your £250, or accepting their joke of an offer.

bandofbrothers

Modern day !!!!!! Turpins !!