Frequently asked questions

Questions you should ask your self and the company you’re dealing with:

 

1. What accreditation does the company have?
2. What reviews do they have?
3. How long have they been established?
4. Do they have funds?
5. What are they going to do with my data?
6. What can I do if something goes wrong?

 

1. What accreditation does the company have?

There are a few industry standards you would expect to see most quick property buyers be apart of:

First and foremost they should be apart of  The Property Ombudsman, which means you have a form of redress if anything goes wrong.

The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) is a conglomerate of like-minded quick property buyers who wanted to change the industry for the better, creating best practices and adhering to them.

You might see others in memberships like anti-money laundering and such which is good and can boost legitimacy but is not necessarily related to the property industry or at least a trust signal if they can buy your property.

2. What reviews do they have?

This is perhaps the hardest thing to find out, in current climates, it’s possible to buy reviews and so it’s worth looking deeper than just a face value. For example, how many reviews does each person reviewing have? are they reviewing around the world? These could be an indication of a scam. There are companies like Trust pilot, Feefo that screen reviews to ensure they are legitimate customers. It is also worth looking at how often and how recently reviews have been given.

3. How long have they been established?

An easy one to miss but always worth taking a quick look, when was the company established? A new company can be perfectly legitimate but might just need a bit more scrutiny. Older companies tend to have the benefit of experience and knowledge as well as the safety of knowing many other customers have been helped by them.

4. Do they have funds?

Now, this is a bit of an oxymoron,  –  a cash buying company not having cash?! However, many in fact do not! This is a common reason for ‘last minute’ changes in offers (something we do not do here at HouseBuyFast). The dirty secret here is sometimes the company will sell your data to other companies that do have money, normally the highest paying not necessarily the best or most honest.  This does lead to the next question on data.

5. What are they going to do with my data?

Many sites do not have the ability to buy your house for cash, shocking we know! So how do they deal with your enquiry? Well, it gets sold to a company that can deal with it. Many legitimate companies will not do this but you should check things like the privacy policy to see what is happening, and terms and conditions and if they have an up to date GDPR policy.

6. What can I do if something goes wrong?

Something went wrong and now what? Well, it can happen to anyone so don’t panic! First, have you tried reaching out to the company direct? Sometimes miscommunication can easily be rectified by a quick conversation. If communication breaks down you can talk to The Property Ombudsman to raise a complaint and/or talk to the NAPB if it’s related to a member.

You shouldn’t be afraid to ask anyone you are dealing with any of the above and be wary if they cannot or won’t answer.

If this is not the answer you were looking for? Contact us and ask us directly either by email or phone.