Who are Smoothsale
SmoothSale are a Leeds-based property company. They claim to be able to offer a guaranteed cash sale in a timescale to suit you.
What services do Smoothsale provide?
SmoothSale say they are trusted property buyers who offer a fast sale solution.
What is the buying process for Smoothsale?
SmoothSale outline a 3-step process.
Step 1: Fill out their online form or call their team to tell them about your property. They say they will be able to give you a cash offer over the phone and in writing (although it appears that it is just an indicative offer at this point. After valuation, the offer will be confirmed.)
Step 2: They will run a basic check whilst you complete some paperwork. They will also instruct a solicitor for you. At this point, a valuation company will visit your property and the final offer will be confirmed.
Step 3: If you’re happy to proceed, they will exchange contracts at this point and ask you to pick your completion date.
If you’re not happy with their cash offer, SmoothSale also offer something they call an ‘investor marketing service’.
How much below market value do Smoothsale offer?
We couldn’t find any information about how much below market value an offer from SmoothSale would be.
You can expect any genuine cash home-buying company to pay around 17-20% below market value.
Pros & Cons of Smoothsale
Smoothsale - Positives
- UK-based company.
- Members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB).
- Positive customer reviews.
Smoothsale - Negatives
- Looking at smoothSale’s company accounts on Companies House, it doesn’t look like they have the cash available to buy properties directly. Instead, it appears they purchase properties using external funding from a company called Schneider Property Finance Limited. This type of secured lending may have an impact on the speed of your sale and the price you achieve.
- Questions over GDPR compliance – one customer review claims their details were passed on to third-party companies without their consent.
- Questions over the professionalism of the staff used to conduct viewings – one customer review claims the staff member took her small child with her when showing a prospective buyer around and gave out false information to viewers.
Is Smoothsale legit? - Our verdict
SmoothSale are members of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) and The Property Ombudsman (TPO), which is a good sign, and they have a large number of positive customer reviews. The real question with SmoothSale is what service they’re providing and what the benefits are to homeowners.
The selling process SmoothSale outline on their website mentions homeowners completing “some simple paperwork”. It’s not clear from their website what this paperwork is, but homeowners should be cautious of signing anything other than the usual property transaction contracts. Other contracts or agreements can be a red flag for quick sale companies. Any company buying your property with their own cash funds will have no need to tie you in with any sort of contract.
From their website, it appears SmoothSale can either buy your property directly or offer an assisted sale/estate agency service. Their accounts suggest the majority of the properties they purchase are funded by a third-party finance company: Schneider Property Finance Limited.
When a property-buying company uses third-party funding, it may have an impact on how quickly they are able to purchase your property. This is because there are likely to be extra processes that need to be completed before the funds can be released. It may also mean the company is less likely to be able to make guarantees around completion dates or purchase prices. Third-party finance will usually come in the form of a secured loan (this can be seen as a ‘charge’ in the company accounts filing on Companies House). This means the finance company will have to approve the secured loan and ensure the property has sufficient value that they will receive their money back should they be forced to repossess and sell the property, should the the property-buying company default on their loan.
The benefits of using a genuine cash home-buying company are the speed and certainty they offer. In exchange for a below market value offer, you achieve a quick and guaranteed property sale on a date of your choice. Unless a company is purchasing your property directly, they’re unlikely to be able to offer any benefit over a normal open market sale via a high street estate agent.
Are SmoothSale any good?
SmoothSale’s positive customer reviews would suggest that they have a number of happy customers, but if they’re buying with third-party finance, they’ll be unable to offer the same level of certainty and speed offered by companies buying directly with their own cash funds.
Despite filling in the on-line form with ALL details including the price of our property, (the website does not mention a price limit… even when you fill your property price in) AND having a telephone conversation with one of their ‘Property Specialists’ followed by an email saying the following….. Enclosing your Cash offer…. I am pleased to be able to offer you a cash price of £xxxxxx when we rang back to accept we were told that the necessary forms would be emailed in 3 or 4 mins. 24 hours later, nothing had arrived. Phoned again, the two people I had dealt with by then were not available, yet another person would ring me …. he did.claimed to be the MD after saying one of the Directors. To tell me the first person had made a mistake… he was quite new and they did not buy property at our price level. ….this new person according to LinkedIn had been there almost 18 months! So having raised our hopes, and given us confidence to start talking to a vendors agent for our next property, we were just told the above and that was it! Sorry…nothing else. After a heated conversation we were offered ‘a few hundred pounds’ by way of apology, as long as we didn’t leave a bad review. I would never touch this company again. No confidence in them whatsoever.
Not at all impressed. Huge hype at the start of the relationship. 99% of our properties are sold within a month. We need exclusivity so please terminate the relationship with your estate agents. Started the exclusive relationship with Smoothsale and not even a single enquiry.
While the company has good points, there are also some negatives. I had a property evaluation for an inherited property, and the initial estimate was fair, given the quick sale aspect. The following up, communication and the final offer were anything but fair. In addition, paperwork was sent to the incorrect addresses despite the instructions being clear.
I asked to be included in the conversations. Although all promises were made, I was excluded and ignored each time I asked for an update despite the agreement from all parties, including the executor.
The valuation occurred, and I feel they offered a significant lowball. How can you offer one initial estimate to offer a value below 40% initially quoted for sale? I know I was honest in my conversation with them about the property, and we had even cleared it and cleaned it for them, which would have made it easier for a developer/buyer, and that was not factored in. In addition, why would you cite prices from 2022 in your justification for a low value when it’s 2025? Even the independent evaluation disagreed that the offer should be so low. Also, some of the justifications for the lowball were irrelevant, speaking as someone who has lived in the area previously, e.g. aeroplane noise, a private airfield infrequently used and unheard due to ocean and wind noise. The house was not in such a poor state of repair, nor were there walls falling down, etc, to justify such a reduction in price from the initial estimate.
I feel they could have been fairer or much more realistic in their initial offer rather than quoting old statistics. I will say there is an option to cancel a contract going forward, which is a bonus once the initial and final offers change. I recognize that this is a business and needs to make profit but you are also dealing with people some in difficult times of life that would allow for advantage to be taken. Please be aware going into this agreement they may not be as helpful as you hope they will be.
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Smoothsale customer reviews
Smoothsale Reviews Trustpilot
Trustpilot Score: 4.7 / 5
The vast majority of reviews are very positive, but there are a few aspects of some of the more negative reviews that concern us. A few different customer reviews question the existence of the ‘network of investors’ SmoothSale suggest they have access to if you choose not to accept their ‘cash’ offer. Although having a range of services on offer may seem convenient to homeowners looking for a quick sale, unless a company is buying your property directly with their own cash funds, they will be unable to offer you any guarantees around speed or how much you will achieve. One customer review suggests their property was supposed to be sent out to investors but was instead just put on one of the popular property portals at a reduced price.
If a company is unable to purchase your property directly, it’s likely that you’ll be better off selling your property in the usual way, on the open market with a high street estate agent. This will ensure you’re able to achieve the best price possible. The only reason to sell at a reduced price is in exchange for a quick sale. If you’re selling via the main online property portals, you’re unlikely to sell any quicker than via a traditional estate agent.
Other worrying issues raised in SmoothSale’s Trustpilot reviews include customer information being passed on to third parties without the homeowner’s consent, purchase prices being reduced at the last minute, unprofessional staff conducting viewings, and dishonesty about the position of prospective buyers
Smoothsale Reviews Google
Google Score: 4.7 / 5
Their Google reviews are very similar to their Trustpilot reviews. The majority of them are very positive, but it’s important to read all their reviews to get a balanced idea of what it’s like to sell a property with them.
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Compare Smoothsale with Quick Move Now
| Quick Move Now | Smoothsale | |
|---|---|---|
| Established since | 1998 | SmoothSale is a trading name of PLH Capital Ltd. According to companies House, PLH Capital Ltd was incorporated in January 2021. |
| Annual turnover | £20.3 million | As a small company, PLH Capital Ltd (the company SmoothSale is a trading name of) does not have to publish their annual turnover. |
| Members of any professional associations or redress schemes? | Yes, Quick Move Now are members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) | Yes, SmoothSale/PLH Capital Ltd are members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). |
| Is the company registration number available on the website? | Yes | Yes |
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Frequently Asked Questions About Smoothsale
We could not find any information on what level of offer you can expect to receive from SmoothSale.
SmoothSale say they use a ‘qualified valuation company’ who will arrange for two local estate agents to value the property.
SmoothSale claim there are no fees or hidden costs associated with using their property buying service.
Yes, SmoothSale say they cover your legal costs.
SmoothSale say they can buy your property in as little as 7 days.
SmoothSale say they buy properties directly. It appears they doing this using a third-party finance provider.
The property buying industry is unregulated, but companies can join voluntary professional organisations and redress schemes. SmoothSale is a member of both The Property Ombudsman and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB), which is a positive sign.