If you’re a homeowner and you’re looking to sell your house or flat quickly, you might have heard about the option of contacting a quick homebuyer. These are companies that have cash resources upfront to buy properties, meaning they can cut out a lot of the complications of buying a home – such as getting a mortgage – and purchase it within just a few weeks.
That can be much speedier than the average timeline you might expect by selling using other methods. For example, property auctions can include several delays. You’ll have to wait a number of weeks after listing your home for sale before the auction takes place, and even if it sells then the buyer has about a month afterward to complete all of the remaining steps. And when you use an estate agent you might not get any offers for many months or even longer.
Those two methods of selling a property are also notorious for charging commission, which can reduce the total profit you can expect from selling your home.
Another perk of using a fast buyer is that they’re usually able to make offers on almost any type of freehold or leasehold property, and it doesn’t matter how old your home is, what condition it’s in, or what shape or size it might be. Here’s just some of the many different types of properties that fast buyers are able to purchase: homes with solar panels, dilapidated houses, flats with cladding, properties that lack Energy Performance Certificates, homes situated within potentially problematic areas such as flood zones, and houses suffering from widespread dry rot.
All of those advantages might make using a quick homebuyer seem like a good choice when selling your property. But how do you know that you can trust these businesses?
Warning signs to look out for when using a fast property buyer
Thankfully, there are some pretty simple, free and fast ways that you can verify whether a quick property buyer is a legitimate company or whether you should be wary about selling to them.
Selling your house or flat is a major decision and it’s crucial that you take the right steps to have complete peace of mind, and that you know you’re dealing with a trustworthy fast buyer like the London-based LDN Properties. Falling victim to a fraudulent cash buyer can result in any number of problems large and small, ranging from paying unnecessary fees through to being forced into an unfavourable contract.
One way to detect potential warning signs about a quick homebuyer is to enter a specific company’s name into an internet search. This can be a straightforward and speedy way to uncover any potential negative news articles or unfavourable client reviews written about the business that could guide you away from asking them to purchase your property.
You should also call or email fast buyers to ask them important questions about the sale of your home, because the answers that you receive can be a useful way to find out whether the company is to be trusted or if there’s reason for caution about selling your home to them. For example, ask the quick buyer whether they will charge you any fees. As described earlier, the honest companies never make sellers pay such costs, and any company that insists you pay expensive fees for buying your home is likely to be one that cannot be trusted.
Using a third party to check the validity of a quick homebuyer
Another reliable way that you can spot for a potential warning sign when considering the use of a quick homebuyer is to ask a company whether it is registered with a third party entity known as The Property Ombudsman (TPO). This organisation issues rules that are designed to guard homeowners against fraud in quick property buying industry, and any business that is a genuine registered member must adhere to those regulations.
Therefore, if a quick buyer is a member of TPO it should give you extra reassurance about selling your home to them. Contact companies and ask whether they belong to TPO, and if they either refuse to join or say they are registered but cannot prove so, this is a red flag.
To check the registration status of any quick homebuyer, visit TPO’s website and then click on the tab marked “Find a Member” and then enter the name of any company. If the business is genuinely registered with TPO then their full membership details should immediately appear, and if they are not registered then the results on the website should come up empty.
Taking some simple steps can ensure a smooth home sale
Using these tips provides a free and simple way for you to increase the chances of finding an honest and reliable quick homebuyer, and ensuring a smooth sale. It’s worth spending the short amount of time that it will take to follow these basic steps, because the benefit in terms of selling to a trustworthy buyer is more than worth the effort.
