Sell Your Home to a Cash Home Buying Company Without Being Scammed or Ripped Off
Get free guidance to find reputable cash buying companies without falling victim to scams and underhanded tactics that could rob you £1,000’s and waste months of your time.
“TheAdvisory drips in honest-to-goodness practical advice for todays house sellers” – The Independent
How the #1 Scam to Rob Vulnerable People in Quick Sale Situations Works
Over Promise on Their Initial Offer
Shady cash buying companies will make an unrealistic high offer and promise to get the money in your hands in a matter of days pending an official valuation.
Lock You Into an Option Contract
They'll push you to sign paperwork hoping you don't read the fine print that prevents you from selling to anyone else.
Use Delay and Stall Tactics
Using every delay and stall tactic in the book, these companies will drag out the process for months.
Drop Price at 11th Hour - When You Have No Choice But to Accept
At the last possible moment, these companies will cut you back savagely when you’re out of time and unable to do anything other than to accept.
a cash buying company tried to drop the price at the 11th hour
It Gets Worse:
Only a Handful of Quick Sale Companies Have the Cash on Hand to Buy Your Home
Despite their many promises to buy your home with cash, only a few companies actually have the cash on hand to buy your home and quickly solve any property related problem you’re facing.
Be aware that 99% of the companies out there are not ‘genuine’ cash buyers.
Although their websites may suggest otherwise, the vast majority of these firms are lead generators selling your personal details or brokers passing your details on to small-time investors.
They promise you the world to trick you into signing an option contract.
The option contract is needed to hold you in place (i.e. stop you being able to sell elsewhere) while a buyer and/or mortgage funding is secured. This makes the process risky and your sale far from guaranteed.
From our research, we estimate that in fact, over 70% of sales agreed to these types of buyers fail, because mortgage funding cannot be secured. In other words, a massive waste of your time.
The ‘Quick Sale’ Industry is NOT Regulated
The quick sale industry is NOT regulated. Anyone that claims differently is misleading you.
No one is effectively policing this space.
That’s how many shady companies are able to routinely take advantage of vulnerable people trying to cope with high-stress situations.
You Can Sell Your Home to a Cash Buying Company Without Getting Ripped Off - We'll Show You How
Protect yourself with the right knowledge and know exactly how to navigate the treacherous waters in dealing with cash buying companies.
We’ll guide you step-by-step to find reputable cash buying companies and how to get the highest cash offer.
Unofficially Monitoring the ‘Quick Sale’ Industry Since 2005
Hi,
I’m Gavin Brazg, the founder of TheAdvisory, the UK’s only dedicated independent consumer advice group for home sellers.
Since 2005, we’ve helped over 20,000 home sellers get the best outcome with practical advice and guidance.
When it comes to selling your home, we empower you with the truth so that you can make informed decisions and avoid being taken advantage of.
I’m a real person!
Find me on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin
Or read about me in your favourite newspaper
Even listen to recent interview with the Property Investors Blog
Gavin Brazg
Founder & CEO, TheAdvisory
The Sunday Times’s favourite house selling expert
How We Monitor Over 129 Cash Buying Companies to Help You Find the Honest Ones
Mystery Shop Quarterly
We mystery shop all the main cash house buying companies (and any new entrants) quarterly.
Verify Customer Feedback
We continually collect feedback and reviews (both positive & negative) from houses sellers using these companies – this keeps our finger on the pulse of who is (and isn’t) providing a fair service.
Verify Cash Funds
We verify that companies actually have the cash readily available to buy your home.
8 Rules to Protect Yourself from Scams
WALK AWAY IMMEDIATELY:
If a company asks for any upfront payment of any kind.
If a company cannot provide ‘proof of cash funds’ upon your request.
If a company will not provide contact details of recent clients (so you can ascertain customer service levels).
If a company claims to provide a guaranteed sale within 28 days for close to full market value.
If a company claims they (or the industry) are ‘regulated’.
If a company asks you to sign a ‘lock-in contract’, ‘option agreement’ or ‘RX1’ form - DO NOT SIGN!
If a company claims to have access to a network of property investors.
If a company claims to pay 90% - 100% of market value.
How Quickly Can These Companies Buy My House?
- A reputable and professional cash homebuyer will be able to buy your house and put cash in your bank account within 7 – 28 days.
- Many claim they can do this in 24 hrs but in reality, there are only one or two specialists that have the resources to make this happen.
- If you have the misfortune to end up dealing with a less than a genuine buyer, expect the process to be drawn out for months as they try to secure mortgage finance.
How Much Can I Expect to Get for My Property?
We’ve observed 1,000’s of quick sales and 99.99% of them have gone through at 75%-82% of a conservative estimate of open market value.
The shady companies will claim they pay ‘up to’ 85% or 90% of your home’s open market value.
Some even say they pay ‘up to’ 100%.
The words ‘up to’ are deliberately chosen to mislead.
Be wary of adverts like this:
If anyone makes a claim that sounds too good to be true…it is!
In fact, any offer above 82% should be treated with a certain amount of suspicion.
Anyone claiming to pay 85%, 90%, 95%, 100% is NOT offering a ‘guaranteed‘ cash purchase of your property.
They are offering to ‘sell’ your property (not to ‘buy’ it).
How to Get a Conservative Estimate for How Much Your Property is Worth?
The easiest way is to talk to a couple of local estate agents and ask them:
“If I give you 6 weeks to sell my house, what price could you definitely secure a buyer at?”
The question above encourages agents to give you a more considered estimate of open market value (as opposed to the usual deliberate overvaluation used to impress and win new clients).
Are There Any Other Costs to Expect?
The reputable firms we’ve identified in the market do not charge any fees, and most also pay your legal fees (although that is deducted from their offer price).
But beware…
There are a number of ‘we buy any home type companies’ that will make you a verbal offer, but then insist you pay an inflated price for their surveyor’s valuation (anywhere from £200 – £600) before they’ll put an offer in writing.
They will usually phrase it as a ‘refundable payment for valuation’ which sounds fine – it’s ‘refundable’ after all.
However, because the money is only refunded if you accept their offer, this system is wide open to abuse.
Companies can pocket a quick £200 by making you a strong verbal offer and then lowering it after you’ve paid for the valuation.
Do that a couple of times a day and you have a business that doesn’t even need to buy any property to be profitable.
Steer clear of any home buying service that asks for an upfront payment of any kind.
Get Free Recommendations for Reputable Cash Buying Companies
Get matched with home buying companies that are safe, easy to work with, and actually have the cash on hand to buy your home quickly.
How it works:
- Fill out the ‘get free recommendations’ form.
- You’ll get a personal email or phone call from me (Gavin Brazg) within 2 hours.
- You’ll get a list of reputable companies we’ve thoroughly vetted that don’t charge any fees, ask you to sign anything upfront, and will show you proof of funds to buy your home at a fair price.
- You’ll also get my personal step by step guide to negotiating a better deal from cash buyers sent to your inbox.
GET FREE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFE-TO-USE CASH BUYING COMPANIES
Just got off phone to a distraught vendor. Last minute offer reduction from £170-£109k from one of the UK's most prolific "fast cash for property" type companies. Just because no one is complaining to @TPOmb doesn't mean self-regulation is working. @katefaulkner @JayneDowle
— Gavin Brazg (@AdvisoryUK) May 24, 2019
