House Buying Agents??

cuddles999

I am trying to sell my house. I have been in touch with a house buying agent but they do not seem to be regulated by any association in the UK. They operate by finding property for landlords, managing renovations, sourcing tenants etc. They have offered to take over my mortgage (not paying it off), pay my debts, and give me a cash sum to walk away with. I believe this is called a mortgage assumption but that not all banks/lenders will allow this to b done as there can be a due on sale clause in the mortgage agreement. Also it seems I would need a solicitor to draw up a liability release document so I cannot be held responsible for the mortgage at a later date. In addition I am not sure if there would be any SDLT payble on transfer of the property. Can anyone help with this. Has anyone used one of these companies, are they legitimate? Does anyone know if there are there any catches to using these property buying agents, or where I could go for advice? Thanks in advance.

eddddy

I'm intrigued...

cuddles999 wrote: »

I am trying to sell my house. I have been in touch with a house buying agent but they do not seem to be regulated by any association in the UK.

Do you mean the company is based outside the UK?

cuddles999 wrote: »

They have offered to take over my mortgage (not paying it off), pay my debts, and give me a cash sum to walk away with. I believe this is called a mortgage assumption but that not all banks/lenders will allow this to b done as there can be a due on sale clause in the mortgage agreement. Also it seems I would need a solicitor to draw up a liability release document so I cannot be held responsible for the mortgage at a later date.

'Mortgage Assumption' and 'Mortgage Liability Release' sound like US terms. (And I can't imagine that a UK lender would agree to these.)

Are you sure the company realises that you (and the property) are in the UK?



In any case, if your house isn't selling, it's almost certainly because it's priced higher than anyone is willing to pay. (i.e. It's priced higher than it's market value.)

House buying companies exist to make a profit. So they will not pay you more than it's market value - in fact, they will pay you substantially less than it's market value.

So your best bet is to reduce it's price, and not bother with the house buying company.

davidmcn

It sounds like this sort of thing:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5388623

Cakeguts

Put it into an auction.

tim123456789

cuddles999 wrote: »

Does anyone know if there are there any catches to using these property buying agents

they will offer you 20% below market value

tim

theGrinch

It is a little unclear what you are referring to but I have a possible idea.

Are they offering to meet the payments of your mortgage for a fixed term during which time they are permitted to let out your property?

They also have the option to buy the property at a fixed priced at some point in the future?

Or are you referring to those quick buy companies that will purchase at a discount?

If you let me know which if either them I might be able to help a little more.

cuddles999

Hi, thanks for your reply. The company is a Ltd. uk company. They procure property for landlards, then rip the guts out of them and re-config the property into rooms - HMO for rental. I reckon my house is probably valued at 75-80k. They are offering to take over my mortgage of 63K, pay off my debts of 5k, and give me a cash sum of approx 7k to walk away with. This seems very reasonable and appealing to me as I also would not incur estate agent/solicitor fees. I am just a little wary of the legalities of this, and how they get my lender to agree to them taking over the mortgage. They have asked me to ring my lender and ask them if they would consider 'buy-to-let' on my property. Is this a way for landlords to avoid paying SDLT when buying multiple properties? I need to ensure I would be safe and not be held responsible for the mortgage at some point in the future. They have already acquired the property next door to my house and started work. The property on the other side of me is also currently up 'to-let' through an agency. I cannot see this being conducive to a sale of my property on the open market with rentals on both sides!!

Pixie5740

How can they "take over your mortgage?" They can give you the money to repay your mortgage and therefore close your mortgage account but they can't just take the account over.

theGrinch

Its a possible solution, but I think what they are offering you is known as a "lease option". I hope they have advised you or are arranging for you to have legal representation to review the contract.

Have they indicated a time-frame to buy or exercise the right to purchase?

This could work if you get a good reputable company. Check who they are affiliated to, carry full insurance and are ICO registered.

While someone can step in and pay someone's mortgage INTEREST, you are still on the hook for the CAPITAL of the mortgage should they decide not to proceed down the line and that is a real possibility depending on their approach.

It sounds like they will make their money out of rental income, rather than a resale or assignment of the contract. I think they are misleading you a little on the SDLT to deflect a bit.

I am just curious why cant it sell on the open market. Is there an issue of negative or little equity?