Quick sale web sites. Anybody used them?

samo8076

Hi,

Has anybody used any websites such as webuyanyhouse etc to sell their houses?

If so, what are they like, any recommendations?

Cheers

Pixie5740

My recommendation? Avoid, avoid, avoid. If you need a quick sale either price it accordingly and list it with an estate agent or put the property up for auction. All those quick buy companies will do is give you a fraction of what your house is worth. Cut out the middleman and keep the money in your pocket.

Davesnave

In a nutshell, their business model cannot work if they're to buy your house at anything like its true value, so best forget the idea.

Perhaps if you said why you might want to use one of these companies, people would be able to make suggestions.

For example, if the house has issues and you don't have the cash to fix them, an auction is one possible route.

samo8076

thanks. after a quick sale due to financial reasons.

csgohan4

you are more likely to be out of pocket, they will gazunder you at the last minute before exchange leaving you desperate as you have spent the money before you received it.

Davesnave

samo8076 wrote: »

thanks. after a quick sale due to financial reasons.

Well, yes, but that's still not enough detail.

For example, the person I bought my house from wanted to be out and gone in 4 months flat, so she put it up for sale at a price that attracted a cash buyer with no mortgage complications etc.

She might have got another 10% if she'd had more time/flexibility. It was probably better than going to auction and definitely better than a quick sale company.

However, if no one had come along to buy, she still had time to go to auction, as she wasn't in imminent danger of repossession.

So, the time you have to spare before things get really tricky is important, Selling conventionally at a really attractive price will probably take 3 months. My purchase could have been faster than that, but there were problems with the paperwork and only a good solicitor made a 12 week sale still possible.

Have you got 12 weeks?

newtothis141414

Csgohan touched on it - they might quote you a price that is a bit below what you expect, you agree, all goes well until the last minute when wham, they knock 20% off the price and by then you're in so deep you'll accept it. Sharks, the lot of them.

G_M

You will be greatly out of pocket.

If these sites/companies paid anything like market rate, but on a 'quick sale' basis, everyone would use them wouldn't they?

They make their profit by preying on the desperate and squeezing every last £ out of the deal.

Do not trust anything you are told. and do not sign anything unless you fully understand what you are getting and what you are commiting to.

Mickygg

I think it's clear people above have not used them.

It makes sense that people say avoid, but I would still seek advice from someone who has had first hand experience using a fast sale company.

If you really are in severe financial difficulty I would suggest dealing with the cheapest EA you can find that can launch your property immediately and put at a low price to sell.

Oh and before someone jumps on this comment I'm not suggesting you actually use one of these fast sale companies.

[Deleted User]

We sold 5 years ago to an estate agent, true we got 15% less than they later sold it for BUT it enabled us to do what we wanted to do and saved us double that on the property we live in now.
Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

samo8076

Thanks guys.

I do have time on my side, but it will mean my financials will be super tight until it's sold. The reason I'm selling is to clear my debt (i have had the house valued 40k more than what I paid for it after some renovations).