we buy any house companies

thebullsback

Has anyone had dealings with these sort of companies ?

just interested in any feedback as it may become an option for me .

my situation is old terrace house in good repair for sale but neighbouring property is in poor state of repair which i can see putting buyers off .

Also I will need to declare i have approached neighbour and local council about condition of neighbouring property.

my property is valued at £130k

Brie

I've no actual experience with them but have seen comments here that they will give you a very low offer - maybe at least 25% off what you would like to get. Then they wait til the last minute and withdraw the offer and then someone else (friend, silent business partner, etc) comes in with an even lower offer. People may be desperate at that point and then proceed just to be over the whole thing.

SiliconChip

The only way they can make a profit is by selling it for less than you're trying to and buying it from you for significantly less than that. Far better for you to drop your price until it attracts attention.

eddddy

I guess you need to bear in mind that these companies aren't charities - they won't pay you more than your house is worth (i.e. the open market value). In fact, they'll pay you less than the market value. Many will say they'll only pay you 80% of the market value.

They make their money by buying your house, and reselling it (usually on the same day) for more money.

So it might work out like this:

• You feel your house is worth £130k - but will be difficult to sell because of the neighbouring house

• So the house buying company might feel they can find a buyer within 7 days - if the asking price is £100k

• So they'll offer you 80% of that i.e. £80k

• If they find a buyer prepared to pay £100k - then they'll buy the house from you for £80k and sell it to the buyer for £100k - all on the same day. (And they'll keep the £20k profit.)

• (If they can't find a buyer prepared to pay £100k, they'll either try to negotiate you down, or otherwise, they might simply walk away.)

Obviously, in that scenario, you could by-pass the house buying company and reduce the price to £100k in order to find a buyer within 7 days. So you end up with £100k instead of £80k.

horsewithnoname

better off putting it in a proper auction

MysteryMe

Have you put it on the market or are you just anticipating potential problems? You might be better off selling at a slight discount then potentially being shafted by those buy your house companies, especially if your house is in good order.

Chief_of_Staffy

The only way these companies make money is by buying it for lower than you could sell it for privately. So you'll always make a loss.

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82118501#Comment_82118501

And that would be a traditional auction, not this "Modern Method of Auction" - The only winners with the latter is the selling agent and really puts a lot of people off even having a look.

If you want to see what theses We Buy Any House type outfits are like, go and have a read of the TrustPilot reviews, ignoring the four & five star ones. Also note that they are not averse to threatening legal action to suppress any negative discussion of their activities.

eddddy

horsewithnoname said

better off putting it in a proper auction

If the house is mortgageable, you'd probably take a big hit on price selling by auction.

It's only really cash buyers (investors, developers, etc) who buy at auction. And auctions won't work for a buyer with a chain. So you'd be shutting out a lot of potential buyers.

If you need a quick sale it might be better to go for an "Sale by Informal Tender" with an estate agent. It will be cheaper, it can sometimes be quicker than an auction, and you might get a much better price.

In simple terms, the estate agent would list the property for a fixed period (e.g. 2 or 3 weeks), with a 'realistic' guide price (e.g. £100k to £130k), and invite offers with a closing date.

After the closing date, you can consider all the offers, and decide which one (if any) you want to go with.

You might still get offers from the cash buyers, as well as BTL investors needing a mortgage, and owner/occupiers needing a mortgage - with or without a chain below them.

You can tell the estate agent to make it clear to interested people that there is a history of neighbour disputes, so they can ask questions, adjust their offer accordingly, or walk away without offering, if they want.

horsewithnoname

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82118741#Comment_82118741

yeah a proper auction

horsewithnoname

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82118765#Comment_82118765

rather a proper auction than one of the house buying companies