Advice about quick sale companies?

Lewis799

Hello, I own a house in Ayrshire after inheriting it from my father after he died in 2013. I am 36 and single with no dependants. Well I have a tortoise who is like my child but I don't think that counts as a dependant :-)


In November 2014 I had my hours cut at work in the supermarket where I work and I started to search for another job. No luck. Bills don't stop when hours are cut and they keep coming. I missed some council tax payments and started to get behind on some other bills including gas and electric. In September 2015 I decided to go to university as I thought it would increase my chances of finding work further down the line.


Initially I was managing to keep up with repayments of my debts and also live off a student loan. When I started my need to pay council tax was stopped. Even so I still had to find a way to repay the outstanding debts. I found this hard to do on a student loan and my supermarket job let 12 staff go, me being one of them as I only worked two shifts due to returning to uni.


Here is my situation. I recently quit my university. I didn't want to do this but I couldn't focus due to worrying about my debts. At the moment I owe almost £1000 to council tax, £650 to gas and around the same for electric. Other debts to friends, etc amount to nearly £2800. In total my debts are close to £5000. I feel worried and very depressed.


I am in a fortunate position that I own my house outright. The two house either side of me recently sold for £72,000 and £69,000. My house is in need of repair. There is a leak in the roof and a slight dampness problem. It hasn't really been renovated for many years. When I took the house over I didn't have the money to make repairs.


My plan is to sell and rent. I will pay off my debts as well with the money.


If I sell through one of the quick sale sites, will the fact that repairs are needed to the property mean they will dramatically offer me a reduced price?


Thanks , I appreciate any advice offered

danslenoir

There are a multitude of threads on 'quick sale' sites.

You can achieve a 'quick sale' quite easily on your own, without paying a big wedge to a middle man, by marketing your house at an attractive enough price.

Pixie5740

You won't get a decent price using a quick sale company. The money to pay the middleman has to come from somewhere. If you want a quick sale then put it up for auction yourself. That way you'll end up with more of the money in your pocket. That said you don't currently have to pay rent or a mortgage so I wouldn't be so hasty to sell.

In the meantime, if you are struggling with your debts contact one of the debt charities (National Debtline, Step Change or CAP UK) for advice. There are a number of debt solutions available, it's just a case of finding the right one for you. Give Step Change's Debt Remedy Tool a try.

Davesnave

The advice re quick sale companies here is always, "Dont!"

My advice is look at the MSE Debt Free Board. People there have the knowledge skills and time to help you best.

Derboy

Lewis799 wrote: »

If I sell through one of the quick sale sites, will the fact that repairs are needed to the property mean they will dramatically offer me a reduced price?

Quick sale companies generally offer a drastically reduced price anyway. That's how they achieve a quick sale. So if it's in need of repair it'll be lower still.

As others have said, better to put it on the market yourself at a price that reflects it's condition.

eddddy

Lewis799 wrote: »

The two house either side of me recently sold for £72,000 and £69,000. My house is in need of repair. There is a leak in the roof and a slight dampness problem. It hasn't really been renovated for many years.

So just to illustrate what other's have said with a representative example of how a quick sale company works.

So perhaps your house is "worth" £62k.

A quick sale company might sell it for £58k
The quick sale company would pay you £46k
The quick sale company would keep £12k

Instead... you could just let an EA sell it for £58k and keep (almost) all the money yourself.

Just ask 2 or 3 'regular' EAs to value your property - for a quick sale.

Just for interest, you can also ask a quick sale company what they would pay you. (They might ask you to sign an irrevocable Option Agreement - don't sign this, or anything else, without taking professional advice.)

frugalsmurf

First of all...lots of people have been / are where you are, so don't feel alone in this.
Get advice from step change.
Look on mse debt boards as lots of good advice on there.
You could be paying minimal payments on your debts to see you through a bad time so look into that option.
Are you claiming everything you're entitled to? Job seekers and such?
We're you getting council tax discount when a student?
Have you definitely left uni? (You can change your mind in some cases) as you may have been able to get help from the uni with regards to hardship funds or scholarship s.