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Frequently Asked Questions

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We understand that selling your property can be stressful, especially if you need to sell fast and discreetly. You might have questions about why selling your house fast with House Buyer Bureau is the better option for you than selling on the open market. Below, we’ve compiled the questions that our friendly customer service team and house cash buyers receive on a daily basis. If your question isn’t listed below, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

How does selling with House Buyer Bureau work?

Selling your house fast with House Buyer Bureau is designed to be as hassle-free as possible. In three simple steps, you can sell your house, regardless of its condition, and the entire process can be done in as little as 7 days. It starts with a free cash offer, calculated based on where your property is and some other details, such as its condition and how many bedrooms it has. If you’re happy to proceed, we’ll give you a free house valuation and make a formal offer. Then, if you’re happy to sell your house, we’ll draw up the paperwork and take care of all the formalities before signing on the dotted line and transferring your cash to your bank account.

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Will someone come out from your company? Can I really sell from my sofa?

Over the past 10 years, we’ve honed our processes to make it as easy as possible for you to sell your house — even remotely. All we’ll need are some photos and perhaps videos of the property you wish to sell. This means you really can sell from your sofa — all you need to do is pick up the phone. Sometimes we may need to arrange to have your property inspected to check its condition – but if we do then we’ll make sure we do it quickly and at a time that is convenient to you.

How much does working with House Buyer Bureau cost?

Working with House Buyer Bureau comes at no cost to you. We won’t charge you for your valuation or survey and we won’t tie you into a contract.The only time you’ll have to sign is if you decide to accept our formal offer and sell your house to us. There are no catches, and no hidden costs or unexpected extras. We do buy below market value, but we are transparent about our offer at every step of the process. You are not committed to the sale until contracts are exchanged and can walk away at any time before that point.

A: Call us or complete our short online form, and we’ll get back to you within 24-hours with an initial offer. We only need a few pieces of information about your property to calculate an offer. Unlike many quick house sale companies, we won’t make a high offer and chip away at it as the sale progresses. We will only ever change our offer if the survey flags significant issues that we didn't know about before.
A: We are open about the fact that we buy below market value. How much below market value we pay will depend on the location of your property and the price bracket it falls into. We generally require a discount of 15% to 20% on the market value, or between £15,000 and £20,000 if the house value is less than £100,000. It’s a discount most of our customers are happy to accept for the convenience of selling quickly and discreetly. When you eliminate the costs of selling on the open market, such as legal fees, estate agency fees, bills and mortgage payments, our customers are often surprised that the final price is not much less than what they’d get after waiting at least six months to sell traditionally — and all with a lot less stress.
A: It's a fair question. We say we'll pay 80% to 85%, but of what? As a quick sale company, we make our money on the difference between what we pay to buy a property and what we earn selling it. As we have to sell all the properties we buy, the “value” we set on your property is based on what we, and an independent surveyor, think the property could sell for on the market with 90 days of marketing — taking into account everything we've learned about the property and the local market. We then offer you 80% to 85% of that valuation to sell it to us quickly, for cash. It makes no sense for us to undervalue your property as you are far less likely to accept our offer. Unfortunately, we can't afford to offer more than this as we have to cover all the buying and selling costs involved and aim to make a modest profit.
A: Yes! The reason we ask if you've made any improvements, such as installing a new kitchen or adding an extension, is that these factors can affect the value of your property, and the only way we know about these things is because you tell us!
A: No genuine property buying company will offer you 90%. If you have received such an offer, check the fine print to make sure that you’re not being tied into a contract. Some companies will reduce the offer later in the process, knowing that you are contractually bound to continue with the sale. Others will significantly undervalue your property to make the offer percentage look good. In either case, you're likely to lose out. As most cash house buyers work similarly, we understand the costs involved in buying and selling property. It isn't viable to cover the costs of the process and make a profit when buying at a discount of only 10%. If you have received an offer from another company, contact us to get a second offer for comparison. We're confident that we will provide you with the best combination of price and service.
A: There are several different types of valuation tools in the market, and all of them are doing different things. All models rely on comparing your property or postcode with other similar properties to estimate value. Sometimes, they also give you a “confidence” score that tells you how accurate the valuation is likely to be. This is because the valuation isn't specific to your property, which means it can be anything from deadly accurate to tens of thousand pounds wrong (in either direction!). Added to this, if an estate agent is valuing the property, then they tend to overvalue to win an instruction (only to suggest a few weeks later that you should reduce the asking price). Our valuation will be specific to your property, based on a combination of the available market data, the property-specific information you give us and the feedback from the independent survey. And it will be a valuation based on a firm offer to buy the property quickly and for cash now, rather than an estimate of what it might sell for at some point in the future.
A: If you contact us for an initial cash offer, this will be valid for 28 days. After this time, you are welcome to come back to us and request a new offer. Requesting an initial cash offer does not oblige you to make any further commitment. As with a traditional sale, you can change your mind any time before contracts are exchanged. If you choose not to accept our offer, we won’t badger you with sales emails, but we might check in from time to time to see if we can be of any help (if you give us permission to do so).
A: We can complete your sale in as little as seven days or whatever time scale suits you. With House Buyer Bureau, you call the shots. If you accept our initial offer, we’ll arrange for a survey to be conducted on your property and take care of all the paperwork. Some house buying companies are not genuine cash buyers at all — they will need to obtain financing to buy your house, or they may pass your details on to a third-party buyer, which often results in delays. House Buyer Bureau is a genuine cash buyer, and we are happy to provide evidence to show we have the funds to buy your house fast.
A: If you choose to accept our initial offer, we promise to uphold our end of the deal and complete the sale. Unlike selling on the open market, there is no risk of property chain problems or the buyer (us) changing their mind. We will do an independent RICS survey to check the property’s condition. If this throws up something significant that we didn’t previously know about then we may need to amend our offer, but we will talk to you about this. If you aren’t happy with our revised offer then you’ll be under no pressure to proceed with the sale. We won’t walk away from buying your house.
A: Of course. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous cash buyers and brokers who will deflate your house’s value to mislead you into thinking you’re getting a higher percentage. At House Buyer Bureau, we do not do this. We will be open and honest with you at every stage of the process, and you are in control at all times.
A: In light of developments over the past year, we have honed our process to enable us to complete house sales entirely remotely. Yes, you really can sell your home in as little as seven days from the comfort of your sofa! All we need is some photos of the property you want to sell. Occasionally, we'll need to visit your home to check its condition, but we’ll always do our best to work around your schedule.
A: We will make an offer on your home regardless of its history, location or condition — we’ve even purchased a house where the neighbouring property had fallen into the sea! One of the benefits of selling to us is you don't need to invest any cash in repairing or “presenting” your property. There are very few properties we won't make an offer on. We don't buy park homes, and we don't buy in parts of rural Scotland and Northern Ireland — but apart from that, we will make an offer on most properties.
A. Yes. We’re very interested in buying ex-rental properties. The buy-to-let market is not as favourable to landlords as it once was, and many owners are looking to sell their rental properties. Bear in mind though that we do usually want the property to be vacant when we buy it, so if you have a sitting tenant this is something to talk to us about. Please get in touch to discuss your specific requirements.
A: You will need a legal professional to advise you and manage the paperwork of the sale. We have developed a network of solicitors who specialise in the quick house sale market and know the importance of speed and quality. All our customers are invited to use a solicitor recommended by us, and we’ll foot the bill. If you prefer to choose a solicitor, we will contribute £600 towards their fees.
A: No. There is no fee for selling to us. House Buyer Bureau makes its money by purchasing properties at a slight discount and selling them for a profit. We pride ourselves on being completely transparent about how we work and what we pay. Furthermore, you will save money on estate agents and legal fees — costs that can quickly escalate when selling on the open market.
A: The best quick house sale companies might ask you to sign a commitment form to enable them to get the legal and survey work done, but they won’t require their customers to sign a contract. An “in principle” or a “formal” offer should not tie you into the sale. As with a “traditional” on market transaction, the seller is free to walk away at any point before the exchange of contracts. Beware! Some companies will try to lock you into a contract that prevents you from changing your mind, for example, giving them exclusive rights to sell your property for a fixed period. This tactic is often used by firms that need time to raise the necessary funds to buy your home. If this is the case, the sale of your property is unlikely to be “quick”, but you’ll be trapped by the contract and unable to take your business elsewhere for faster service — some firms charge thousands of pounds for breach of contract if a customer tries to sell with another company.
A: There is no reason why you can't still sell. Your solicitor will take care of any outstanding finance attached to your home as part of the sale. They will then contact your mortgage company (and any other lenders with a charge on your home) to get settlement figures from them. Your solicitor will pay these companies directly from the proceeds of the sale and transfer the remainder into your bank account.
A: Yes. A quick house sale can be a great way to stop the repossession of your home and release the equity. Selling to House Buyer Bureau is a quick and discreet way to move on and start afresh elsewhere.
A: Ideally, we'd like your property to be empty when we buy it, but we do understand that this isn't always possible. If you can't empty it, just let us know, and we'll arrange a house clearance company to come after you've moved out. There is no fee for this, but we will need to pass on the cost of the company we use.
A: Yes! Our customers choose a quick house sale for different reasons. A confidential sale is important to many of them. Whether you’re keen to avoid neighbourhood gossip or want to avoid passers-by nosing around your property, selling to House Buyer Bureau is a simple way to achieve a discreet sale. There is no need to market your property or host viewings. We have the funds to buy from you directly — we won’t pass your details on to a third-party purchaser. This means you can enjoy a fast and private house sale.
A: House Buyer Bureau is a member of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). The Advisory also recommends us. The quick house sale market is currently unregulated, but you can seek redress from TPO and the NAPB if needed. We’re proud of our reputation as one of the best quick house sale companies in the UK and fiercely protective of our impressive Feefo and Trustpilot ratings. We do not engage in dodgy sales tactics or unethical practices. Our team of property professionals will work with you to achieve the outcome you need.
A: We’d love to hear from you, whether you’re ready to request a cash offer or you’d like to ask further questions. Fill in our short online contact form, email or call us on 0800 028 2800

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