Who are We Buy Any House
Manchester-based We Buy Any House claims to be one of the UK’s most trusted property buying companies. They say they can buy your house in as little as 3 days.
What services do We Buy Any House provide?
We Buy Any House claims to be able to buy any property, in any condition. They say they buy properties directly with their own cash funds, but many of their customer reviews mention We Buy Any House connecting them with a third-party buyer.
What is the buying process for We Buy Any House ?
On their website, We Buy Any House talk about a simple and straight-forward buying process that is similar to most other ‘quick sale’ companies.
Step 1: At the point of enquiry, they will gather a range of information about your property and the surrounding area.
Step 2: After some further research on your property, you will be presented with an ‘in principle’ cash offer. We Buy Any House suggest you may receive this offer in as little as an hour.
Step 3: If you’re happy with the ‘in principle’ offer, they will arrange a detailed assessment of your property and present you with a formal offer.
Step 4: If you accept We Buy Any House’s formal offer, you can then agree a sale completion date.
How much below market value do We Buy Any House offer?
It’s unclear how much We Buy Any House will offer for your property. An illustration on their website suggests they will pay around 85% of market value, but customer reviews suggest a lower offer. Customers have been told they can achieve up to 95% of market value with their assisted move/online estate agency route.
Pros & Cons of We Buy Any House
We Buy Any House - Positives
- UK-based company
- Members of Property Redress Scheme
We Buy Any House - Negatives
- We couldn’t find any reviews suggesting We Buy Any House had purchased their property directly with their own cash funds. Any company relying on mortgages, investors or third-party buyers will be unable to give any guarantees around price or completion timescale.
- Lack of company information publicly available, eg. company history and accounts – this is a red flag
- Not a member of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB)
- Negative company reviews mention promised prices not being achieved, offers being reduced, contracts tying homeowners in to selling with them (and being charged if they want to take their property off the market), and sales to third-party buyers being cancelled without consent if the company won’t make a big enough profit.
Is We Buy Any House legit? - Our verdict
The majority of We Buy Any House’s sales do not appear to be direct cash purchases. Any homeowner who uses the company to sell to investors or on the open market will have no guarantees regarding the price the property will sell for or how quickly the sale will complete. Whilst cash investors may be able to complete a sale more quickly than a buyer on the open market, there are no certainties with this route. This means there is unlikely to be any advantage to using them over a normal high street estate agent, as you will have none of the benefits of selling to a cash home buying company but will still be required to sell for less than market value.
Reviews on We Buy Any House are mixed. Whilst some of the customer reviews were complimentary, they largely referred to open market sales through We Buy Any House’s sister company – House Sales Direct. Several of the reviews mention being tied into using House Sales Direct/We Buy Any House with a contract and being asked to pay a fee to take your property off the market. This is another big red flag.
We usually recommend that homeowners check a company’s accounts to see whether they’re buying properties directly. Unfortunately, the company behind the We Buy Any House brand – Hawksmoor Equity Limited – was only incorporated in November 2022, and therefore there are no company accounts publicly available.
Are We Buy Any House any good?
It’s important to remember that the homebuying industry is unregulated. We Buy Any House reviews mention some worrying things, including tie-in contracts and offers being reduced. Although We Buy Any House claim to buy properties directly, their customer reviews suggest that at least some are sold to third-party buyers.
If you’re considering selling a property to We Buy Any House we would suggest doing your own independent research.
I was not made fully aware of get out clauses. Thought I had 14days cooling off and not told any difference.
Please ensure you check your contract before signing. The contract is with 2 companies, We Buy any House and House Sales Direct. One has a 14day cooling off period and the other does not. This allows them to put a restriction on your property which means if you change your mind or find a buyer you can not sell without paying We Buy Any House. Always take legal advise before signing any contracts.
They ignore your phone calls and emails, reduce the price of your house without permission and be warned you are in a year contract which they ask £1500 to get out of. Also a hidden clause is an option where this means if you buy out of the contract and try and sell with someone else they can sue you. Reading standards and property redress the government ombudsman are well aware of this company:
The reason this isn’t a 1 star review is that Wayne provided excellent customer service and called on time ect.
My house is a well presented 3 bed semi-detached new build in the catchment area of some of the best secondary schools in the country. The valuation is £180-£186k, but I was expecting a lower offer due to this company being cash buyers, speed of sale, deal with legal aspect ect. The offer I received was £105k which was a huge shock! I didn’t know what to say other than of course turn it down.
I wouldn’t recommend anyone sell their house to We buy any house unless you are about to have it repossessed!
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We Buy Any House customer reviews
We Buy Any House Reviews Trustpilot
Trustpilot Score: 4.4 / 5
We Buy Any House Trustpilot review score: On Trustpilot, We Buy Any House has a customer review score of 4.5/5. This score is based on 370 reviews. Whilst 75% of reviews are 5-star, it’s worth noting that 8% of reviewers gave the company just 1 star. The main criticism in customer reviews is a suggestion that We Buy Any House has been disingenuous in their initial offer. In most of these circumstances, it seems We Buy Any House is acting as a broker or estate agent, connecting homeowners with investors or selling the property on the open market. If the company isn’t buying your property with their own cash funds, they’re unable to offer homeowners any guarantees on either price or completion timescales.
Quick house sale companies buy properties at a discount in exchange for speed and certainty. If the company isn’t buying your property directly, they’re unable to offer either of those benefits. If the company connects you with a cash investor, the sale may be quicker than a sale on the open market, but there are no guarantees. One We Buy Any House review suggested their sale had taken more than 7 months to complete.
If a company is not buying your property directly, you’re usually better off listing your property with a high street estate agent on the open market. An open market sale will mean you’re able to appeal to the widest possible audience of prospective buyers and therefore achieve the best price.
We Buy Any House responded to 66% of negative reviews received in the last 12 months. They also requested the removal of 13 reviews in that time period. 5 of the requests were rejected by Trustpilot, the other 8 reviews were removed because Trustpilot couldn’t get a response from the reviewer.
We Buy Any House Reviews Google
Google Score: 0 / 5
We couldn’t find any We Buy Any House reviews on Google.
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Compare We Buy Any House with Quick Move Now
| Quick Move Now | We Buy Any House | |
|---|---|---|
| Established since | 1998 | They claim to have 15 years of experience, but there’s no mention of what year the company was established. Their parent company – Hawksmoor Equity Limited – was only incorporated in November 2022 |
| Annual turnover | £20.3 million | Not available – the parent company was only incorporated in November 2022 and therefore has not been required to publish their accounts yet |
| 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) | It says on their website that We Buy Any House is part of the Property Redress Scheme |
| Is the company registration number available on the website? | Yes | Yes |
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Frequently Asked Questions About We Buy Any House
We Buy Any House do not specify what level of offer they typically make. An illustration on their website suggests it might be around 80%, but customer reviews indicate that offers have been received at a significantly lower level.
They say they use ‘market-leading technology, trusted by mortgage lenders and banks’, but don’t give any more detail than that.
No, We Buy Any House say there are no fees or hidden costs when using their service.
Their website suggests that We Buy Any House cover your legal costs, but they don’t specify whether you’re required to use a recommended solicitor or whether you can choose your own.
We Buy Any House say they can buy in as little as 3 days.
It seems We Buy Any House does buy some properties directly, but customer reviews suggest they also act as a broker or online estate agent. Unless We Buy Any House is buying your property directly, they’ll be unable to offer you any certainty around speed or price.
The property buying industry is unregulated, but companies can voluntarily join professional organisations. We Buy Any House say they are part of the Property Redress Scheme.