Sell Property to Investor

missile

Hi,

I have a rental property. When tenant moved out I want to sell quickly. To avoid the hassle and expense of advertising etc, I tried to sell to an investor. Contacted a few and accepted what I thought was a reasonable offer. Buyer asked for 4 weeks to entry date / completion. Then delay because he was on holiday. Further delay because his solicitor needed to confirm source funds for Money Laundering regs. Delay again as his solicitor still awaiting confirmation of source funds. I have told them complete by Wednesday or offer is rejected. I suspect I have been scammed: Buyer is dishonest, wants to flip my property and delaying completion until he finds a buyer.

sherlock228

in what way is he acting in a manner different to yours?
You both intended to make money from property and act in your respective "best" self interest
You "save" on advertising, they "save" with a delay
it is a purely commercial transaction between people who should be aware of the risks of commerce.

TroubledTarts

Life is full of lessons or conversely purchasing issue do tend to come up and delay things.

daveyjp

Selling to an investor can be far more complicated and tedious than selling to a buyer who is using a straightforward mortage from a UK based provider for the purchase.

Investors generally don't have bags of cash waiting to be spent. The finances and business structures can be complicated, they may not be sourcing finance from traditional lenders, they may have partners based abroad who are investing and until financial checks have been done and funds sourced nothing will proceed.

Jenniefour

Because you are trying to sell quickly you may have made yourself vulnerable to being exploited. The delays may be genuine or they may be stalling tactics to try and put you in a position where you would be more likely to accept a greatly reduced asking price - which may be sprung on you right before exchange. If you are in some kind of financial difficulty and need this sale to go through at the agreed price and quickly then you need to seek immediate advice on your situation. If your situation is exactly as you say - i.e. you wanted to avoid fees etc. then stay with your hard deadline and be prepared to pull out completely.

Good luck.

Jenniefour

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041595#Comment_82041595

Your point about raising funds is important - but OP is telling us the buyer set the four week timeframe, not him/her. Which does make me a little bit suspicious.

missile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041590#Comment_82041590

My interest is a discounted price for a quick no hassle sale with no risk. His is maximise his profit with hassle for me and no risk to him

mta999

Is it a flat or a house

If the former then you might want to hang on to any purchaser as the market for flats is dire at the moment with many on the market with absolutely no viewings - varies by by area of course

sherlock228

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041623#Comment_82041623

semantics, the risk to him is you pulling out.
He will have incurred costs in getting to the point of offer and would lose money.
You have incurred no additional costs in choosing his offer.

missile

Thanks for your comments. Lesson learned and hopefully my experience might be a warning to others.

I have done some research on the buyer via Companies House

Statement of capital on 2025-02-18 GBP 1. They do not even have a website.

A little late I know, but I did not have his details until his solicitor made an offer.

I doubt he will complete on Wednesday and I will instruct my solicitor to market the property.

user1977

 They do not even have a website.

Why would they?