We Buy Any Home Vs Spring Move

Deciding which property-buying company to sell your home to can be tricky. You’ll probably begin your search online and come across lots of businesses that all appear to offer a great deal. It’s hard to tell them apart, let alone work out which ones will live up to the promises they make. Sadly many don’t.

Choosing the best service for you is important. To help you do that, we’ve put together a comparison of our service with one of our competitors, Spring Move.

How much do they charge?

Our service is completely free. But we will offer you slightly less than the market value for your home. In return, we will buy it quickly, in as little as seven days if necessary, so any costly mortgage payments you have will quickly stop.

Spring Move’s pricing structure is more complex. They charge a basic fee of 9% of the market value of your home and up to an additional 6% depending on the condition it is in and how easy it will be to resell. Their total fee is usually between 12% and 15%.

Are there any other costs?

We do not charge any fees, such as solicitor costs or estate agent commissions, or ask you to pay any taxes.

Spring Move also covers legal fees and estate agent commission. However, except in certain circumstances, they will ask you to pay the cost of the stamp duty that is due when they buy your home.

According to their website they will charge you the higher rates that are applied to homes that will not be a buyer’s main residence, a buy-to-let investment for example. This adds an additional 3% to the existing stamp duty which progressively rises as the value of the property increases.

So a property worth £100,000 would attract an additional charge of £3,000 on top of the fees mentioned above. You can check current stamp duty rates on the government website.

At We Buy Any Home, we will never charge you for the stamp duty we are eligible to pay.

Which company is the most established?

We started operating in the UK in 2013 and are the largest home buying company in the country. Spring Move entered the market in 2020, but had previously been trading under the name National Property Trade since 2007.

One good way to measure how established a company is and to ensure it is a genuine cash buyer, using its own funds, is to look at how many homes it has bought recently. We purchased more than 200 properties from Jan – Oct 2020 which is considerably more than the majority of house buying companies.

Part of what makes our service so effective is our knowledge of the nuances of the housing market in each region of the UK, and our ability to purchase a property no matter what the challenges.

Which has the best customer reviews?

The quality and number of independent customer reviews are reliable ways of assessing how good a company is to work with. On Trustpilot we have a rating of 4.6 from more than 550 reviews. With 92% of reviewers rating our service as excellent or great. By contrast Spring Move has a rating of 4.4 from just 48 reviews on Trustpilot, with 87% of reviewers rating the service in the highest two categories.

Do you offer a cash advance?

We can provide you with a cash advance to help you out of a difficult financial situation. On the agreed completion date you will then receive all the remaining funds you are due from the sale.

Spring Move offers an assisted sales service that is provided by a partner company and tied to the resale of your property. This includes a cash advance. The partner company will give you a percentage of the equity you have in your home, and pass on the rest once the property has been sold on the open market.

That means there is no guarantee when you will receive the full amount, because they are relying on somebody wanting to buy your home.

We only ever buy homes with our own cash, which means the sale isn’t subject to the unpredictability of the housing market or a chain of housing transactions. When you work with us you know exactly when your sale will complete and when all your funds will be in your account. This applies whether you’re getting a cash advance or not.

Can you continue living in your home?

Yes, we aim to shape our process around your needs. That’s why we offer a licence to occupy if you need one. This allows you to stay in your home rent-free for an agreed period of time after we’ve bought it, giving you a little breathing space to organise your next move.

Spring Move also allows you to stay on if necessary, but only for a maximum of 14 days according to its website.

Do you buy homes in any condition?

We’re happy to purchase your home no matter what condition it is in, as is Spring Move. One thing that sets us apart is our willingness to purchase properties with cladding issues.

On apartment buildings where cladding doesn’t meet minimum fire safety standards, owners have been left with homes they can’t sell and the prospect of large replacement bills. For them, a homebuyer who will consider their property is a welcome option. But it is not a service that features on Spring Move’s website.

Why work with us?

We know how tricky it is to tell the difference between home-buying companies. What we offer is a long track record of moving sales along quickly and taking care of our customers.

We understand the ins and outs of the process and all the emotional and practical challenges you’ll be facing, because we’ve helped people through it so many times. In other words, you’re in safe hands with us.

Our reputation is built on being trustworthy, reliable and free to use. We won’t exaggerate what we’ll pay for your home to get your business and we will stick with the price, completion date and conditions we agree with you.

If you’d like to chat about how we can help you, please get in touch.