Nested guides: Chapter 1 - How to sell your house fast
Why sell your house fast
People need to sell fast for a range of reasons including the good (birth, new school, new job) and the bad (death, divorce, debt).
When selling, people typically have two priorities. First, how much will they get. Most people’s house is their most valuable asset and a priority when selling it is to achieve the highest possible price to give them the most money. Second, certainty that the transaction will go ahead and not take unduly long. A third of agreed sales fall through and therefore people are careful over who they accept bids from, often choosing a lower offer from a cash-buyer over a higher offer from a buyer in a chain due to the increased likelihood that the sale will go ahead without a hitch.
This becomes even more important when people have a pressing reason to move on a particular time frame. The kind of situations where people need to sell their house fast include:
- Found your dream home - You have found your dream home but you are trapped in a chain and therefore in a weak buying position (some estate agents won’t even let you view until you’re under offer!) The quicker you can sell the better, as you will strengthen your buying position and make the seller more likely to accept your offer over others.
- Relocation for new job or school - You need to relocate for a new job or to be in a particular area for the start of the new school year. You need to move asap and risk having to pay the mortgage on one house whilst paying rent on another if you can’t sell on time.
- New baby - The property you’re in isn’t suitable for a baby and you need to move before the big day. Worse still, moving house is bad enough at the best of times (often cited as third behind death and divorce as the most stressful life events!) let alone with a little one in tow.
- Death - You have inherited a probate property which you don’t wish to move into. The property condition will worsen the longer it is left whilst you are incurring fees for building insurance and solicitor’s fees. Additionally, in many cases the rest of the estate cannot be released until the property is sold.
- Divorce - A relationship has broken down and you are either stuck living together in the same property or paying for two properties as one of you has moved into rented accommodation. Both want to move on with your lives and the sooner you can sell the quicker you can do that.
- Debt - You have built up debts which need to be paid off and interest fees are racking up. A quick house sale can be used to avoid repossession, clear debts or sort out financial problems.
Age or health related reasons - You may need to move for age or health related reasons, for instance you may be moving into a care home and need to release funds to pay your care home fees. - Unable to sell - If you have been trying to sell for some time and traditional estate agents have failed you, you may wish to try an alternative approach. Particularly if the property is a financial investment which you wish to exit.
In each of these examples the advantage from being able to sell more quickly must be weighed against the potential reduction in sale price. As a result these different situations can lend themselves to different options. We give an overview of the different options and in which situations you might consider them in the how to sell your house fast section of this guide.
Nested
We believe that it should be possible to sell your property quickly without compromising on price. We give homeowners a guaranteed sale price for their property from day 1. We will either sell your property for more within 90 days or give you the cash ourselves. Click here to find out more if you think we can help you.
How to sell your house fast
If you are in a position where you need to sell quickly there are a number of ways to do so. Which of these you consider will be dependent on how pressing your need is, what kind of property you are selling and where:
- Estate agent - If yours is a relatively liquid property and you only need to get under offer quickly, as opposed to actually receiving the cash, you can use a traditional estate agent and let them know that you need to move quickly. They will advise you to reduce the price to a level where they are confident they can find buyers quickly.
Pros - They should be able to get you under offer relatively quickly.
Cons - You will still be a chain-buyer from the perspective of your next purchase. Additionally ⅓ of agreed offers fall through meaning that you could easily find yourselves back in the same position. Also agents may begin to view you as a “motivated seller” and not seek to get you the best possible bid. - Part exchange - If you are buying a new build property most large home builders offer part exchange services in order to reduce their concentration of risk. They will give you a guaranteed sum for your house which they subtract from the value of the house you are buying.
Pros - You will know exactly how much you will have and you can sell your existing house stress-free.
Cons - Typically only available when you’ve buying new build property. Also, it can be hard to know if you’re getting a good deal or not as scheme providers will tweak both the price of the house you are buying and the one you are selling in order to make the deal work for themselves. - Auction - Sell your property to the highest bidder on the day at a property auction. Typically costs 2.5% plus auction entry / marketing fee of £500 and buyers admin fee of £750. You set a reserve price. If a buyer exceeds it they will pay a deposit of 10% immediately and the remainder within 28 days. Well attended by property developers so this can be a good method for quickly selling unmodernised properties requiring a lot of work.
Pros - If you exceed the reserve the transaction is almost certain to go ahead within 28 days.
Cons - Your property may not be suitable for the buyers in the room meaning you’ll achieve a lower price. You also don’t know exactly how much you will get and will have to pay the auction entry fee even if your property doesn’t sell above the reserve. - Home buyer - Think webuyanyhouse or similar. They will give you a cash offer on your property within 7 days. Offers are typically open for 30 days and you should allow another 14-28 days once you’ve accepted the offer to have the cash in your bank account.
Pros - You will know exactly how much you will have.
Cons - They typically only pay 70-80% of what your house is worth. - Assisted sale - Some home buyers offer an alternative process where you leave your mortgage finance in place and they take over the mortgage payments until they sell the property. This allows them to make use of your existing leverage in the property to get RoI and as a result they can offer you slightly more than with their standard cash offer. For example, if they made an offer of £85k on your property and you had a £50k mortgage outstanding they would immediately pay you £35k and assume the debt liability themselves.
Pros - You will get access to some of the equity in your property quickly.
Cons - Typically you will receive 80-85% of what your property is actually worth. - Nested guaranteed sale - We make a guaranteed offer on your property day one. We then sell for more within 90 days or we will give you the cash.
Pros - You are guaranteed a fair price from day one and don’t have to compromise on sale price.
Cons - You will have to wait 90 days to receive the cash.
This guide includes tips on how to speed up your house sale as well as an overview of the quick house sale industry.
Nested
We believe that it should be possible to sell your property quickly without compromising on price. We give homeowners a guaranteed sale price for their property from day 1. We will either sell your property for more within 90 days or give you the cash ourselves. Click here to find out more if you think we can help you.
