The Options Available to You For a Quick Property Sale

There are many reasons why someone might want to sell their home quickly in the U.K. Often it can be a solution to rising debts and fears of repossession, other times it can be to free up equity for travel, quick resolution of a divorce or newly inherited property.

Whatever the reason you want to move there are a few options available to you.
Sale via an estate agent.

Contact 3 or 4 estate agents to gather an idea of the market value of the property, pick an estate agent, get surveys completed, put on the property on the market, present the house at viewings, negotiate and finally accept an offer. 3 or 4 months of paper work later and you're sold! Around six months in total, if all runs smoothly and quickly. Great But... What happens if you don't want to wait 6 months? Or if it doesn't all run smoothly? Or if your buyer's buyer pulls out?

If you are in a rush to sell, it seems a normal estate agent sale is too slow with too many variables. So what are the other options?

Auction

Selling at auction is a much quicker way to sell, often completing within 2 months. This can be a wonderful way to sell a property that is highly sought after and the best outcome is a bidding war between two or more parties. However, there are a few downsides with this route. Firstly when you put your house up for auction you are obliged to allow any potential buyer (and surveyors on behalf of buyers) to view the house, so expect a busy few weeks. Secondly and perhaps more significantly it is a risk. It is more expensive than going through an estate agent with the possibility of not selling at all (but still paying the fees) or achieving a very disappointing final price. Seek unbiased and sound advice when considering this option. You want to have a good idea of market price and what you may get for your property before you approach the auction house.

Sell to an Investment Buyer?

There are companies popping up all over the place offering to buy your home quickly, are they worth looking into or is it all a big scam? While it is true that there are some companies who have popped up the first moment the word 'recession' appeared there are also well established investment property buyers who buy with cash, quickly. How do you tell the difference?
Check out when the company was set up. Ring them, can you have a direct number or is it a call centre? Do they listen to your situation or are they just trying to tick boxes? And most importantly, are they FSA regulated? (Financial Services Authority.) Companies will normally pay between 65-75% of the current market value for the property.

Once you find a company you like, what can you expect?

During your first phone call the property specialist will take down details of your property. They will then ring you back a few hours later with a rough offer and arrange to come and meet with you and view the property as soon as you'd like (normally within 48 hours.) During the visit, they will make you a concrete offer and if you accept, will exchange contracts with you then and there. At this point you will have a certificate of sale which is enough to stop repossession or hold debt collectors at bay. It will take a week to complete (some companies will complete in 48 hours if you need them too.) The company will pay off the debts secured on the property and then give you everything else. Hurrah!

With all of these options who you are dealing with is the key to how stressful or stress free the process is so do your research and choose wisely. You want to sell to or with someone who cares about helping you find the right solution rather than just counting their commission.