Things to Watch When Selling a House for Cash

Whether you are selling to a house-buying company or a private buyer for cash, it can be easy to get carried away with the thought of making a decent profit in a short space of time. However, it’s important to stay grounded when the opportunity presents itself and keep an eye out for red flags that someone may be trying to scam you.

So, what should you watch for when selling a house for cash?

In this blog, we’re going to list a few of the more important points that you should be aware of before you sell you home for cash.

Hidden Fees

This is an issue that can often occur with less reputable house buying companies across the country. Whilst relatively rare, the company will take on the sale of the house but will demand payments for in-house services that had not been previously mentioned. This can also include being forced to use certain solicitors/conveyancers to complete the sale who already work for the company.

While you can take a company to court, most people are not in a position to pay costly legal fees. Furthermore, the company in question will be able to block the sale of the home until the case is sorted.

No Visit

Believe it or not, there are some investors out there to whom the cost of a house is small potatoes, and therefore they are happy to purchase a home without seeing it in person. While many of these individuals will have an independent third party come and check the property before purchasing, it is fair to say that a private cash buyer isn’t always up to no good.

Suspicious Payments

An individual capable of making a payment in cash will be able to do so through the proper channels. If you hear alarm bells when they mention the possibility of paying via cheque, crypto-currency or similar, be sure to make further enquiries and contact a financial advisor. Additionally, any payment of over £8,800 must be reported to the relevant authorities in case it is the result of criminal activities such as money laundering. If you take the cash without asking questions, you could lose your house.

Reputation

Many of the companies who work as cash-buyers will have a paper-trail. You can easily search a company’s reputation online by browsing review sites, or even investigating forum sites that a related to the topic. As there are some unscrupulous businessmen around, you can also check the company director registration and see if they have previously owned a similar business that had a bad reputation.

False Valuations

One of the most common ways for cash buyers to scam a seller is to provide a false valuation. This means that they will value your home way below its market worth with the intention of making a larger profit. They will often ‘recommend’ a third-party surveyor to make the valuation seem more honest.

You can easily dispel fake valuations by asking a trusted surveyor to do a ‘drive-by’ valuation, or simply by finding comparable properties in the same area that have sold recently and comparing the values presented.

In short, selling a house for cash is a great way to sell a home fast – especially if you need to move across the country. But it is important to always be mindful of those who seek to make a quick buck at your expense.

Are you interested in selling your house for cash? Why not ask National Homebuyers for advice, as we buy any house. Call 08000 443 911 or request a call back to find out how much you could get for your property before it’s too late.