Selling a house fast - quick house sale companies

Selling your home usually takes a few months, but quick house sale companies can offer to sell your home in a week.

They do this by buying your house from you or finding a third-party buyer very quickly.

They pay cash for your property and usually buy for less than what you'd get from a regular sale.

Quick house sale companies can allow you to unlock cash in a hurry. Some companies can buy your house within days and pay all fees for you.

You might want to sell a property quickly to:

• avoid repossession, clear debts or sort out financial issues
• get rid of inherited property
• move for age or health related reasons
• sell because of divorce or separation
• relocate due to a change of job or to emigrate
• avoid issues making a property hard to sell, such as if it has a short lease or a high risk of flooding.

Think carefully about whether a quick sale is right for you, as you’ll often be selling the property for much less than its market value. 

Many quick house sale companies are unregulated, so you may find that some companies:

• offer much less than the property’s market value 
• don’t make their fees clear 
• claim that your property is worth much less than in reality 
• tie you to contracts and stop you from selling to anyone who makes a better offer 
• lower their offer just before you sign a deal. 

To answer this question, you need to think about why you’re selling and what’s important to you.

Before deciding to go ahead, make sure you’ve thought about your other options.

Think carefully about whether a quick house sale is the right choice for you. You might want to look at other options before using one of these services.

Before deciding whether to go ahead with a quick sale company, ask some local estate agents for a lower price that could get you a quick sale.

You might find the amount you need to drop the price by is less than the 25% discount a quick sale company would usually ask for.

Learn more about selling a house or flat in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If the reason you’re selling is because you can’t keep up with your mortgage payments, contact your lender to discuss your options.

Mortgage companies have to consider a request to change the way you pay your mortgage.

One of the things they might suggest is extending the term of your mortgage (the amount of time left to run on the mortgage) to reduce your monthly repayments.

If you decide you want to sell your property through a quick house sale company, use our checklist to make sure you're getting the right deal.

• Get valuations from three different estate agents. This will allow you to check if the offer made by a quick sale company is fair. 
• Get your own independent legal adviser. A quick sale company might want you to use their legal adviser, but they can’t make you. 

• Shop around. Not all quick sale companies are the same, so look at what each one can offer. 
• Consider using a quick sale company that’s a member of the National Association of Property Buyers. 
• Check that the provider is registered with TPOSOpens in a new window If they say they’ve signed up to a code of practice, or they’re regulated by an official body, check for yourself.

• It’s always worth negotiating the terms and price. 
  
• Get everything in writing. Ask them to email you over the details, as it could help you if they change their offer later on. 
• Take your time before making a decision. 
• Be honest. Giving incorrect information or leaving important things out might cause hold-ups further down the line. It could even mean you’re offered less.

• Read the agreement carefully before you sign and make sure you fully understand what you’re agreeing to. Get your legal adviser to explain anything you’re not clear about. 
• Avoid long tie-ins. A typical estate agent’s contract lasts 8-12 weeks. A quick sale contract should be shorter and there are companies which don’t insist on any kind of contract before sale. 
• If the company you’re using lowers their offer, ask why. If the survey’s findings are to blame, ask to see them. A fair business won’t hide them from you. 
• Wait until all the surveys and legal checks are done and you have a final offer in writing.  
  

At each stage of the process, make sure you have all the information you need and that you understand everything.

You might want to ask: 

• Who is buying the property? How is it being paid for, and can you see proof of funds?  
• How long will the sale take? Can they provide a guarantee, or is there anything that may cause a delay? 
• What are the fees and charges, both if the sale is completed and if it’s not? 
• What might cause the offer price to change and when would this happen?  
• Is the offer conditional? Is it ‘subject to survey and contract’ or anything else? 
• Are they a member of the National Association of Property BuyersOpens in a new window or registered with The Property OmbudsmanOpens in a new window