Sell Quick urges homesellers to be cautious

14 October, 2013

Important statement issued to consumers from the Sell Quick Legal Department in an attempt to help consumers avoid being misled when selling their property:

Sell Quick is one of the UK’s largest and most credible nationwide property buyers. We have helped hundreds of homesellers sell their properties in the last year, and offer flexible tailor-made solutions to suit you.

Our Concern Over Some Other Companies

We are concerned about the dubious methods employed by some companies and individuals in order to make maximum gains from your property. We recommend that you fully research all of the options available to you and that you ensure, when using the services of Sell Quick, that they best suit your needs. We also strongly recommend that you fully research all companies and operators to ensure that you are fully aware of any bad press associated with them.

Buying Below Market Value

Sell Quick buys properties below their full market value in exchange for a very swift, hassle-free solution at very competitive rates and with an unrivalled customer experience. Quick property buying companies offer below market value in order to make worthwhile investments or purchases. Be wary of any companies that do not clearly state that they buy at below your property’s full market value, and be cautious of any hidden costs thereafter.

Transparency

We firmly believe that the consumer should be protected from the more unscrupulous operators and therefore we only employ the most open and transparent practices when dealing with our homesellers. We are very keen to see the industry become regulated and are very committed to ensuring that you the consumer receive the best possible service when selling your property and are not misled in any way.

Beware of Up-Front Fees

Sell Quick is concerned about companies who may require money from the homeseller ‘up-front’ and offer no indication of how much below the full market value their offer will in fact be. Those companies who charge up-front valuation fees could very feasibly be making considerable gains from these fees alone – and ask yourself, why do we not charge for valuations? A company could become quite profitable alone on excessive valuation fees without any real intent on buying your property. (External valuations can on average cost comfortably less than £100 – why should you be paying anything, let alone largely inflated fees?)

Rent Back Alternative

In addition to debt and repossession rescue packages and urgent purchases being amongst our specialities, we have in the past also been very established in the ‘Rent Back’ field. We are now very keen to offer an outstanding alternative to Rent Back, whereby we can quickly buy your property. Please note: We do not provide Rent Back solutions for our customers. We offer an attractive alternative where you can quickly purchase your home in 7 days.

Equity Release Alternative

Sell Quick offer an alternative to traditional Equity Release, ideally suited to individuals who do not qualify due to being either too young or too heavily in debt. Please note, we do not offer financial advice only an alternative option for your consideration.

Guaranteed Firm Offers?

As a consumer it is vital that you are aware of companies making ‘guaranteed firm offers for your property, regardless of its location or condition’. It is very easy to make ridiculously low offers on any property – if you have paid heavily for a valuation fee up-front you may well be the one worse off in the long-run.

Use Independent RICS Surveyors

Sell Quick urges you to make sure, as we do, that any valuation on your property is confirmed by an independent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuer. Suspect valuations are often achieved when companies do not use the services of a RICS surveyor. Furthermore, Sell Quick urges you the consumer to ensure that any valuations are not paid for by you and involve both an internal and external survey. External valuations alone can be quite limited indeed and often will not reflect your property’s true value.

Selling in 7 Days

When companies offer a sale in 7 days please ensure you clarify this with them – many do not have the ability to deliver on this front. Sell Quick states this in relation to a sale being agreed and exchange of contracts being achievable within this timeframe – should all parties act swiftly enough this is more than achievable. A realistic timeframe for completion of your sale thereafter is a couple of weeks following exchange of contracts, though it is not unusual to exchange contracts and complete on the same day.

No Obligation Offers and Consultations

Sell Quick makes formal offers on your property and you are under no obligation to accept our offer. Our consultations and valuations are completely free from cost to you. Once your property’s value has been confirmed our offer to you is what you will receive, of course minus any secured lending you have against your property.

The Problem with Percentage Quotes

Please be wary of companies that quote percentages of full market value as a purchase price. They are sometimes deliberately being very misleading and often quote a higher percentage but against a much lower valuation. This is in order to simply gain a ‘foot in the door’ and perhaps subsequently provide a surprisingly low purchase price. We do not quote percentages. Consumers should ensure they receive a true figure as a quote rather than anything else.

The Significance of Meeting a Representative

Our homesellers are the most important part of our business and so it is extremely important for us to both meet and get to know each other and your property – beware of faceless companies that show no interest in you.

Small, Misleading and Non-Committal Companies/ Operators –

Sell Quick would like you to be aware of companies who use the Internet as their only form of advertising. Such companies do this in order to appear much larger than they actually are. Furthermore, we would also like to express our concern about companies that are not truly nationwide and offer little explanation and assurances in writing with regards to how they will operate now and in the future.

Sell Quick recommends that you obtain professional legal advice.

We are keen to hear of other examples of how consumers are being adversely dealt with by the less credible companies and operators. Our consultants gladly offer free advice and support where necessary. Please feel free to email your stories in confidence to us at unhappy.consumers@sell-quick.co.uk. Alternatively, you can call 0800 056 84 66 anytime to arrange to speak to one of our experts.