Are all cash house buyers trustworthy?
Not all cash buyer property companies are responsible, honest and reliable like WeBuyAnyHome. There are a number of companies peddling buy your house for cash scams – but how can you spot a cash property buyer who may not be legitimate?
Accreditations
- Check whether they are registered members of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB)
- Check whether they fully regulated members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPO Scheme)
WeBuyAnyHome is a founding member of the NAPB, and is fully regulated by The Property Ombudsman.
Cash funds
- Ask the cash home buyer to provide evidence that they are purchasing the property with their own funds
- Request evidence that they are purchasing the property directly, without relying on third parties such as mortgage lenders
As the UK’s largest cash house buyer, WeBuyAnyHome has the funds to purchase your property directly, and don’t rely on any chains, or third-party lenders.
Market Value
- Be cautious if your cash buyer offers you market value for your property. It is not possible for a genuine cash property buying company to offer 90-100% of the market value of your home, and they will no doubt drop the offer later.
- If a cash house buyer claims they can offer you full market value, ask them how they make money as a company, and whether the offer of your property will likely be dropped.
At WeBuyAnyHome, we provide a genuine and realistic offer from the start. We make it clear to all our customers that we cannot pay market value, but that we can offer a certified sale with a completion date of your choosing.
Companies house
- Find them on Companies House – you’ll need their registered trading name, which you should be able to find in the Terms and Conditions on their website. Have a look at how long they have been trading.
- Find out who the directors are and do your research on them. Use Google, LinkedIn, and any other useful sites to learn more about their history.
- Find their offices and ask yourself: “do they look like an authentic company?”
WeBuyAnyHome are based in the heart of the City, London, and have been trading for 14+ years, making us not only the biggest cash house buyer, but also one of the longest running property cash buying companies in the UK.
Cash house buyer reviews
- Check their Trustpilot and Google Reviews. How many negative reviews are there?
- Be aware that other review sites (such as Feefo) only display customer reviews that the company has requested. These sites don’t show the whole story.
WeBuyAnyHome is rated “Excellent” on Trustpilot, and has 4.3/ 5 stars on Google Reviews.
Listing properties elsewhere
- Have any reviewers mentioned spotting their property on a property portal site, such as Rightmove or Zoopla?
- Search for your cash house buyer in Rightmove or Zoopla – if the company is listed on there, then they are not a genuine cash buyer purchasing your property directly, and cannot guarantee you a sale.
- Check property portals to ensure they aren’t advertising your property online. If they are, and your property is marketed for less than full market value, this will go on record and will devalue your property
At WeBuyAnyHome, we have the funds to purchase your property directly, and can provide evidence of this to any homeowner wishing to sell their property to us.
RICS Qualified Surveyors/Valuers
- To sell your property, a survey must be completed to ensure there are no undiscovered defects. Your cash home buyer should cover the cost of this.
- Only RICS qualified surveyors/ valuers should be used to assess your property. If this is not the case, your cash property buyer may be affiliated with an estate agent in order to conduct potentially biased valuations.
At WeBuyAnyHome, we only ever use independent, RICS qualified surveyors/ valuers to assess your property, to ensure complete transparency.
Check the contract
- Read through your contract to check if the company could apply any unfair penalties or restrictions on your home.
At WeBuyAnyHome, we have a very simple contract that clearly states our obligations to you.