How to check that you are dealing with a legitimate cash house buyer

Google cash house buyer and your screen will be swamped with options, all claiming to offer the best price for your home and the fastest service for your sale. Unfortunately, a lot of these companies are not what they claim to be, and many are not even close.

Clearly, pin sticking at random is not the answer, and nor is simply picking the highest price. If an offer seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is. So how do you go about sorting out the wheat from the chaff, the reputable from the reprehensible? And how do you navigate the shark-infested waters of cash home sales, when chances are you’ve never sold a house for cash before?

Simple – you let the Guru guide you on your path.

how to check that you are dealing with a legitimate cash house buyer

There’s a lot at stake, so you need to choose carefully

Choosing the right company to purchase your property can feel like a daunting task. You may already be under pressure in your finances or your relationship to need a quick sale in the first place. You may have just lost a loved one or need to relocate fast for work. The last thing you need is the added worry of choosing the wrong cash buyer. After all, you are talking about a transaction worth, on average, over a quarter of a million pounds.

Get it right, and you’ll get a discounted price on your property in return for a simple, straightforward and hassle-free sale. Get it wrong and you could end up getting far less than you thought, in a transaction that takes far longer than you need it to. Worse still, you could get tied up in a contract that costs you a fortune if you dare to change your mind or question their service.

Further Reading: Should you sign a contract with a cash house buyer?

It can feel like a lot, but don’t sweat it, because the Guru is here to help you. If you’re prepared to spend a bit of time doing some due diligence, you can easily avoid becoming yet another victim of a cash buying company that is only in it for themselves. At the end of the day, there are good companies out there, and with the Guru’s guidance, you can make sure that you’re speaking to the right ones, and avoiding the wrong ‘uns.

Are they an established house buying company?

First things first, you need to check that the company is legit. Fortunately, you can do this quickly and easily online. Just look for the company registration number, which you should find in the footer at the bottom of their website. Copy and paste this into Google and it will quickly bring up the company’s details as registered with Companies’ House.

(If they haven’t got a company number, then stop right there. This is the most basic level of legitimacy, and if they don’t even have that, then they really aren’t worth dealing with.)

Click on the overview of the company and check when they were set up (or ‘incorporated’). If they claim to be an established, experienced cash buying company, buying lots of properties every month, but in reality, they were only set up a few weeks ago, then this is an immediate red flag. Of course, everyone has to start somewhere, but that doesn’t mean you have to be their guinea pig.

Experience is everything in the property game, and the longer they have been established, the more reliable and trustworthy they are likely to be.

Do they have funds and a track record of purchases?

If they pass the legitimacy test, then the next thing to look at is their filing history. How long has the company been trading? Do they have consistent company accounts that show cash as capital and reserves? Are there charges that have been registered showing that the company is trading property and being active.

It should quickly become clear who are the well-funded property buyers and who are the cashless con men.

There are far too many wannabe property moguls out there – flash Harrys who see cash home buying as an easy way to make a fast buck. It’s easy for anyone to set up a slick looking website, using a clever combination of the words ‘fast’, ‘cash’, ‘house’ and ‘sale’ to attract Google searches. There’s absolutely nothing to stop these wide-boys from making whatever claims they like.

While they may have that have bought a property or two at some point, this simply doesn’t compare with the established, reputable companies who have spent years learning their trade and refining their service.

Are they registered with industry bodies?

One of the biggest problems with the fast cash house buying industry is the lack of formal regulation. This is why so many of the wide-boys are attracted to it in the first place. The good news is that although the industry is not currently subject to government regulation there are a couple of organisations that house buying companies can join to demonstrate that they are serious about their service. Of course, membership of these bodies doesn’t guarantee that the company is legit or works to a high standard, but on the other hand, if a company hasn’t voluntarily joined, then you have to ask yourself why.

There are two main bodies to look out for when choosing a cash house buyer:

The Property Ombudsman

The basic redress scheme within the cash house buying sector is the Property Ombudsman. This is a government-approved, not for profit organisation that provides independent redress in disputes between consumers and property agents.

In other words, the ombudsman is someone to turn to if you feel you are not being treated right by your registered cash house buyer. If your chosen company is not registered with the ombudsman, then you will have to deal with any disputes yourself. Good luck with that!

The National Association of Property Buyers

To address the lack of regulation and oversight of the cash house buying industry, a number of the most reputable companies got together to form the National Association of Property Buyers or NAPB to police themselves. Together, the members of the NAPB worked closely with The Property Ombudsman to create a code of practice to raise standards in the industry, improving services, protecting customers and generally enhancing the reputation of cash buying companies as a whole.

To find out more about the NAPB and what membership actually means check out our article here.

Warning: You won’t be surprised to learn that shady companies are not above shady tricks to make themselves look good. Never blindly trust a logo on a website as proof of membership, because anyone can cut and paste this. Always check the official organisation listings at https://www.tpos.co.uk/find-a-member and https://napb.co.uk/members/ to be sure that the company are actually members.

What do their reviews say (and are they genuine?)

You probably read the reviews when you’re buying a toaster or choosing a hotel, but surprisingly this useful resource is often overlooked by people looking for “Companies That Buy Houses for Cash”. Just clicking the top results, and taking everything they say on their website as gospel, is blind faith at best. You need to know how other home sellers have been treated and how the company is rated overall.

Always click on the negative reviews first, as this will often paint the truest picture of how a company operates. Anyone can pack their own website with fake glowing reviews to try to drown out the negatives, but you can be sure that the negative reviews are genuine.

Of course, you can’t please all of the people, all of the time, as the saying goes, so some negative reviews are only to be expected. After all, nobody’s perfect. The key is to see how the company responds to criticism and complaints. If it’s just a generic reply, or no response at all, then this shows a worrying lack of accountability. On the other hand, if the company genuinely engages with the customer, and wants to put things right, then this is a big plus. It shows that they care about their reputation and demonstrates real integrity, even if they have messed up in the first place.

Of course, independent reviews, such as Trustpilot or Feefo, are going to be far better than feedback quoted on a company’s website. There’s no chance for the company to pick the best, and reviewers tend to be more open and honest on an independent site.

On Trustpilot, you can check the ‘company activity’ to see if they have attempted to get bad reviews removed. In some ways it adds a certain level of integrity if a company doesn’t try to do this, but instead tries to engage with unhappy customers to improve their service.

Guru diligence is due diligence

Guru diligence is essential when choosing a cash house buyer, and it could save you from the sharks. Rushing into the trap of a generous offer, or simply going with the first flash company that can sweet talk you into signing with them, is incredibly dangerous, especially when there are tens of thousands of pounds at stake. So take a breath and use the Guru’s wisdom to guide you on your path.

Choosing carefully may take a little longer, but only fools rush in. With the Guru by your side, you can still move quickly past the chancers, and vastly improve your own chances of getting the deal you want in the timescale that you need.

Further Reading: 7 Steps to avoid getting scammed by a cash house buyer

The Guru has shared some essential tips in this article, but if you’re still unsure about which companies you can trust, then check out more of the Guru’s wise words in our list of top-rated cash house buyers by clicking the button below.

See our list of top rated cash buyers

Cash House Buyer Guru

How to check that you are dealing with a legitimate cash house buyer

There’s a lot at stake, so you need to choose carefully

Are they an established house buying company?

Do they have funds and a track record of purchases?

Are they registered with industry bodies?

The Property Ombudsman

The National Association of Property Buyers

What do their reviews say (and are they genuine?)

Guru diligence is due diligence

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted house sale”

Top Cash Sale Guides

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