"Quick Buy" Property Companies - any recommended?

titusbungle

Kynthia wrote: »

I thought the OP was asking how putting it into an auction works. Love your analysis though. :T

I was asking about auction, but I do appreciate that reply! I'd have laughed if it wasn't a situation that it sounds like many have been in!

GDB2222

titusbungle wrote: »

Can you advise any further on how this works - costs etc?

Auction - you pay the auctioneers a listing fee - usually £500-ish but check different auctioneers' websites.

You specify a reserve, but the auctioneers won't take it on unless the reserve is fairly low.

Assuming it reaches the reserve in the auction room, the buyer is committed to the purchase and pays 10% deposit right then. Likewise, you are committed to sell. Completion takes place 28 days later, and you pay the auction house around 2-3% fee.

silvercar

GDB2222 wrote: »

Auction - you pay the auctioneers a listing fee - usually £500-ish but check different auctioneers' websites.

You specify a reserve, but the auctioneers won't take it on unless the reserve is fairly low.

Assuming it reaches the reserve in the auction room, the buyer is committed to the purchase and pays 10% deposit right then. Likewise, you are committed to sell. Completion takes place 28 days later, and you pay the auction house around 2-3% fee.

In this case your problem is that you have to set the reserve high enough that you definitely afford to clear the mortgage, that may be too high for the auction house to take on. But worth enquiring?

seven-day-weekend

titusbungle wrote: »

Can you advise any further on how this works - costs etc?

Sorry, I don't know any details. All I do is watch Homes Under the Hammer

laurel7172

I suspect we were in a similar position at the end of the last housing crash.

We'd saved up our negative equity and had the house on the market when we had six weeks' notice(!) of a transfer abroad.

We knocked another 10% off the house price, threw in most of the furniture (which would have cost us more money to store or ship than it was worth) as an additional sweetener, and sold very quickly indeed. We appointed my father as an attorney to sign the final paperwork on our behalf.

I think I recognise the feeling of wanting to get rid at any price, but feel I should mention that, in retrospect, crystallising the loss at that point possibly wasn't the smartest decision we could have made. Five years later, that house was worth three times as much (and double the outstanding mortgage). However, we could have let it, had nightmare tenants etc etc...it definitely felt like a huge relief at the time.

Just take a deep breath...and don't let your understandable urge to be rid of a millstone with minimal hassle create a bigger nightmare. Estate agents aren't my favourite people to have to deal with, but they're fluffy little lambs compared to the quick buy merchants.

titusbungle

laurel7172 wrote: »

I suspect we were in a similar position at the end of the last housing crash.

We'd saved up our negative equity and had the house on the market when we had six weeks' notice(!) of a transfer abroad.

We knocked another 10% off the house price, threw in most of the furniture (which would have cost us more money to store or ship than it was worth) as an additional sweetener, and sold very quickly indeed. We appointed my father as an attorney to sign the final paperwork on our behalf.

I think I recognise the feeling of wanting to get rid at any price, but feel I should mention that, in retrospect, crystallising the loss at that point possibly wasn't the smartest decision we could have made. Five years later, that house was worth three times as much (and double the outstanding mortgage). However, we could have let it, had nightmare tenants etc etc...it definitely felt like a huge relief at the time.

Just take a deep breath...and don't let your understandable urge to be rid of a millstone with minimal hassle create a bigger nightmare. Estate agents aren't my favourite people to have to deal with, but they're fluffy little lambs compared to the quick buy merchants.

This is really good advice, think we need to take a step back and think that if we've managed here for 7 years then a few more months isn't going to kill us. Thank you :j

bitsandpieces

Auction it - with a low enough reserve - and it will sell quickly with the buyer tied in from the moment the hammer falls. You'll likely get a bit less than selling through an estate agent, though, and fees can add up.

Sell it at below market value with an estate agent and specify a quick sale and you'll find a buyer quickly (unless in a *very* unusual area - which doesn't sound like it's the case with you). There's the usual scope to be messed around during the sale process, but you're likely to get a bit more than an auction. Remember you can negotiate on EA fees, too - make clear that you're selling below value so it will go quickly and the EA will be able to get their fees quickly for relatively limited work

If you go with a quick buy company then you'll get the worst of both worlds. You'll likely get less money than either of the previous options (there'd be no point in quick buy doing this if they could get properties cheaper at auction). Unlike an auction, though, you'll risk being messed around on price until near the end of the sale process. If you're unlucky, you'll get outright ripped off and end up stung for substantial fees without having sold the property.

It doesn't sound like you're under time pressure here - so in your position I'd probably try through an EA first. If you need things sorted quickly, though, go for an auction over a quick buy company.