House Buying Companies

Nextsteps999

Hi All,

We are currently selling the family home but currently there has been no interest. We have seen companies claiming to buy properties quickly and at somewhere near market value, we know they will never buy at the full asking price, but were looking to sell quickly and move on.
The question is, does anyone have any experience of these companies, the few we have looked into, were not confident it's the right move as some people have claimed that offers were reduced near completion, or that the communication was awful etc.
Are there any companies out there that do offer a good service and a decent offer?? Are there any other threads/discussions on this topic?? 

Thanks.

elsien

If you are getting no interest, unless your property is unusual in someway, that would suggest it is overpriced. So the chances of any company buying it anywhere near its current full asking place are remote.
I’ve only heard the same stories that you have – reducing the offer close to completion – which wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.

People come on here and ask the question, but no one ever comes back to say they’ve used a house buying company successfully. You might want to look at the post from edddy for how they work. 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80039497#Comment_80039497?utm_source=community-search&utm_medium=organic-search&utm_term=house+buying+company


What do you think is the reason your property isn’t selling? 

user1977

Nextsteps999 said:

We are currently selling the family home but currently there has been no interest. We have seen companies claiming to buy properties quickly and at somewhere near market value, we know they will never buy at the full asking price, but were looking to sell quickly and move on.

But the house-buying companies are only interested in (re)selling quickly too (and at a profit). So what you need to do is the same as them - reduce it to a price which the same ultimate buyers will be interested in.

GDB2222

Nextsteps999 said:

Hi All,

We are currently selling the family home but currently there has been no interest. We have seen companies claiming to buy properties quickly and at somewhere near market value, we know they will never buy at the full asking price, but were looking to sell quickly and move on.
The question is, does anyone have any experience of these companies, the few we have looked into, were not confident it's the right move as some people have claimed that offers were reduced near completion, or that the communication was awful etc.
Are there any companies out there that do offer a good service and a decent offer?? Are there any other threads/discussions on this topic?? 

Thanks.

Loads of threads out there on this.

There aren't any companies out there offering the sort of service you want. They don't want your house long term, so they need to buy your house cheaply enough that they can cover all their costs and make a profit. So, they need to buy your house at a price at least 20% below market value. (NB 20% below market value, not 20% below your asking price.)

If your home is priced at market value, it will sell. If you price it a few percent below market value, it will sell pretty fast.

If you genuinely need an immediate sale, and don't mind losing at least 20% of its value, I'm sure one of these companies will take it off your hands. 

MEM62

I explored this avenue when selling my flat recently.  I was offered 60% of what it actually sold for.  You would need to be really desperate to sell your property this way.    

Nextsteps999

Thanks all, 
Satisfied now we need to reduce the value and see what happens and then move to auction if there is still no interest.

DullGreyGuy

Nextsteps999 said:

We are currently selling the family home but currently there has been no interest. We have seen companies claiming to buy properties quickly and at somewhere near market value, we know they will never buy at the full asking price, but were looking to sell quickly and move on.
The question is, does anyone have any experience of these companies, the few we have looked into, were not confident it's the right move as some people have claimed that offers were reduced near completion, or that the communication was awful etc.
Are there any companies out there that do offer a good service and a decent offer?? Are there any other threads/discussions on this topic?? 

I've limited experience, and oddly from a tech perspective. 

My experience is that there is a lot of smoke and mirrors, the three entities I had access to were fronts... they do lead generation, vet those that say they want to sell and then sell the details on to buyers (who equally have been vetted to show they have the cash). 

Selling... generally it went as you'd expect, sales typically did complete very quickly but inevitably immediately before exchange the valuation was dropped. 

Selling & Rent Back (before it became regulated) was much more messy as whilst the promise was giving you fair value and you can rent back as long as wanted the reality was another slashed sales price and escalating rents to get you out as quickly as possible. 

Albermarle

Nextsteps999 said:

Thanks all, 
Satisfied now we need to reduce the value and see what happens and then move to auction if there is still no interest.

Avoid the 'modern method of auction' , the traditional way is better.
Having said that auctions are usually best for unusual/problem properties, where you can not get a mortgage on it for example.
Reducing the asking price by 10 or 15% should generate some interest.

GDB2222

Nextsteps999 said:

Thanks all, 
Satisfied now we need to reduce the value and see what happens and then move to auction if there is still no interest.

There are snags with auctions, too. The property is likely to sell, as long as you put a lowish reserve on it. But, you have no control over the price it reaches (apart from the reserve), and completion is normally 4 weeks after the auction. So, it's almost impossible to coordinate that with your onward purchase. 

  

ReadySteadyPop

Nextsteps999 said:

Hi All,

We are currently selling the family home but currently there has been no interest. We have seen companies claiming to buy properties quickly and at somewhere near market value, we know they will never buy at the full asking price, but were looking to sell quickly and move on.
The question is, does anyone have any experience of these companies, the few we have looked into, were not confident it's the right move as some people have claimed that offers were reduced near completion, or that the communication was awful etc.
Are there any companies out there that do offer a good service and a decent offer?? Are there any other threads/discussions on this topic?? 

Thanks.

The general thinking on here seems to be to avoid these companies, are you using PropertyLog or similar to see what other sellers in your area are doing? Undercutting your competition even slightly on price could get you some viewings.

Bigphil1474

Speak to your EA and see what they recommend - they have a vested interest in selling the property. Before Christmas is generally a bad time to sell, you are just getting to the better time to sell, and there may well be a big uptick in demand given the looming Stamp Duty rises due to come in in April (in England at least), although that's slightly offset by interest rates not plummeting as some predicted. Personally, if your EA aren't suggesting a price drop, I'd maybe hang on a few weeks, then reduce by what you are happy to reduce by, and see how it goes.

I wouldn't recommend any of the house buying companies. If you are looking to buy, you could look at part exchange on new properties which are generally better although selling direct is still normally the better return.