How can I avoid house-selling scams?
1. If the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is
2. Check their reputation before you commit
3. Are there Lockout agreements? If so, steer clear
4. Check they’re regulated with the Financil Conduct Authority.

When looking to sell a property, many people turn to sell house fast companies. The convenience of a fast sale is often a much more attractive proposition than that of a long, drawn-out process with traditional estate agents. The problem is, there are many unreputable fast house sale companies out there, and so it’s vital you take your time and put in adequate research before committing to one. Here, We Buy Any House have compiled a handful of questions to ask yourself before going forward with one of these companies and popular fast house sale scams to avoid.

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Questions to ask before choosing a fast house sale company

Is the quick house sale offer too good to be true?

If an offer has been made or a quote provided that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are some quick house sale companies that will give you an initial estimate offer that is well above the market value of your property. They do this to entice you into their service, and then when you’re in, drop their offer significantly.

How to avoid

Firstly, ask plenty of questions before moving forward. The more you know, the better informed you’ll be when it comes to making your final decision. A reputable company like ourselves won’t ask for contracts and will be a member of the Property Ombudsman. If there’s an obligation to proceed at any point it’s a sign that the company is not reputable. And remember; if the offer sounds too good to be true it’s probably because it is!

How reputable are they?

It sounds obvious but you should always explore the legitimacy of the company you’re looking to deal with. A good website is fairly inexpensive and shouldn’t be an indication of the business’ authority or honesty.

How to check

The best way to find out how reputable they are is to have open and frank conversations with the staff and to look in detail through their reviews.

How fast are they promising to sell your house?

If you’re exploring fast house sale companies you obviously want to sell your property as quickly as possible, but be cautious about the time frame that’s promised to you. Some untrustworthy companies may promise to sell your house in as little as a week- which is possible, but it certainly isn’t a promise they could keep time and time again.

How to avoid

A reputable company will be straight with you from the off. They should have partners with cash funds that will allow a quick sale, but there are many other factors at play when selling a home. We often advise that a sale can take as little as 14 days, but sometimes it is longer.

Lockout agreements

‘Lockout agreements’ are popular with fast house sale companies. They’re also known as ‘exclusivity agreements’, and in short bind you into only being able to work with one company. If you’re tricked into signing one the only way out is to pay thousands of pounds.

If any company asks you to sign such an agreement put the phone down and don’t speak to them again. No partner or affiliation with We Buy Any House will ever ask you to sign such an agreement.

Rentbacks and Unregulated Sales

Some fast house sale companies offer rentback schemes. This involves purchasing your property and renting it back to you. Simply put, ownership changes hands but you don’t need to move. It sounds good, right? You get a lump sum of cash and don’t need to move house. The problem is that it significantly reduces your power. The company could decide to sell the property on at any point and turf you out. The Financial Services Authority have now taken action and began regulating companies that offer such a scheme. If they aren’t a company registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, don’t go there.

A checklist to help you avoid fast house sale scams

Now that you have a better idea of the methods employed by fast house sale scam companies it’s important you take the time to ensure you’re speaking to a reputable company like We Buy Any House. We’ve put together a checklist you can use to ensure that you’re working with an honest quick house sale company;

• Reputation: Check online for reviews of the company. If they have a plethora of bad reviews, look elsewhere. Remember though, all companies whatever their reputation will have a few disgruntled customers. It’s the nature of business! So don’t be put off by one or two bad ones. You can check out our great customer reviews here.
• A genuine cash buyer?: Ask how the company plans on purchasing the property. How are they financing that purchase? Are they using a third party investor?
• Valuation policy: To avoid being caught out by lockout agreements or down valuations, request to see their valuation and sale policies in writing. This should help give you a clearer picture of how they operate.
• Affiliations: To help reinforce their legitimacy, check to see if the company is associated with any authoritative bodies. We Buy Any House are members of the Property Ombudsman.
• Exclusivity agreements: If the fast house sale company has any form of exclusivity agreement, walk away. It’ll be more trouble than it’s worth

Sell your house today with We Buy Any House

We Buy Any House are one of the nation’s most trusted fast house sale companies. We’ve developed that reputation by offering an honest and open service that gets the best deal possible for our customers. Don’t just take our word for it though, find out how we can help you sell your property quickly today.

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