When it comes to the word ‘quickly’ then you should think about the average time it is taking an estate agent to find you a buyer. It is several months in most parts of the country. Some property has been on the market for much longer than that, it has been reduced in price several times and still no buyer. It is because the market is just so difficult. It has recovered in some areas but it still lacks the volume of buyers and the much stricter criteria the mortgage companies are now applying in approving loans means that volume will not return any time soon.
All is not bad news however because there are now online companies buying property directly from the owners; there is no chain involved and completion is generally done within two weeks.
It implies that estate agents need to act but they cannot unless they are getting prospective buyers coming through their front door or registering online. Increasingly people are resigning themselves to renting because of the large deposits the mortgage companies seem to be demanding as a buffer to negative equity becoming more widespread.
A nationwide buyer
The obvious advantages of dealing with a nationwide purchaser are worth looking at:
- There are no fees involved, either commission to an agent, valuation or legal fees
- You will not face any advertising costs
- You will never be part of a chain that fails if any of the links are broken
Estate Agent issues
The estate agents look to be on fairly weak ground. They have had the field to themselves and in the good times have profited greatly from demand for housing and fairly relaxed mortgage lending criteria. Some lenders even used to offer 100% mortgages hence the buyer actually had no investment in the property. The logic was that property prices were rising steadily and a property would be worth several percentage points more in a year.
Today’s environment is unlikely to change. Property has always been an excellent investment but that is not necessarily in the short term. Those people able to finance their current mortgage will see their property’s value return to the peak that was five years ago and go on. Those who bought at that peak must realise that they now have negative equity.
Speed whatever your reasons
If that applies to you and you want to sell, it will be at a loss, but it can be done quickly and no more mortgage repayments will need to be made. If you want to sell because you can see the opportunity of getting a bargain elsewhere you can do it quickly. If you are moving out of the region for employment reasons or even emigrating, you can do it quickly.
If you have a house that you want to sell quickly you need to shop around and find the best deals. If you look closely at an online buyer and think about what it is offering you can be sold, cash in hand within the month and ready to move on in your chosen direction.
