We Buy Any House: Reviews & How It Works

If you need to sell your house quickly, using a company like Good Move or similar services like We Buy Any House may be the right choice. There are lots of ‘we buy any home’ style companies online, and while most of them – like Good Move and other NABP approved companies – are legitimate, some are looking to scam people.

What is a ‘we buy any house’ company?

In short, these are companies in the quick house sale or cash buyer industries. There are two trading companies – We Buy Any House and We Buy Any Home – that use the phrase as their branding, but generally a ‘we buy any house’ company describes any business that will purchase your property for a cash, often with a quick turnaround.

A property buying company like Good Move is one of these. We offer a quick sale method to sell your house for cash. We like to advise our customers with thorough detail of the process, outlining how it works from the first initial conversation and supporting them throughout the process.

Why would I use a ‘we buy any house’ company?

For many house owners, selling in the traditional method via an estate agent works just fine – but there are situations when selling your house quickly via a ‘we buy any home’ company may be preferable. If you’re looking for a cash house buyer, Good Move may be the better option.

In general, a high street estate agent will take months to sell your home, with plenty of complications and delays possible if you’re in a chain. As of September 2024, the sales process is expected to take around 25 weeks, on average, that’s nearly 6 months. With a ‘we buy any house’ company you’ll be looking at weeks or days in comparison. At Good Move, we pride ourselves on our average sale time of 2 weeks, to get you moving as quickly as you need to.

Here are just a few reasons why people choose to use a ‘we buy any home’ service:

You want to sell without a chain
You’ve been caught in a long chain, or had a sale fall through previously
You’ve had your house on the market for a long time without a sale
You need to stop a repossession
You’d prefer to avoid estate agents fees, viewings and timescales

Advantages and disadvantages of using a ‘we buy any house’ company?

These are the main advantages of using ‘we buy any house’ companies:

Ease. ‘We buy any home’ companies typically only require you to fill in an online form and then await a free, no-obligation cash offer on your property. With Good Move, this offer arrives within 24 hours.
No hidden fees or house chains. When selling your home through a traditional estate agent, costs can escalate rapidly as everyone involved in your transaction claims payment for their part in the process. That’s not the case with a ‘we buy any house’ company, because the buyer covers all of the costs involved in the sale, with none of the complications caused by house chains and middlemen.
Speed. When selling to a ‘we buy any home’ company the entire sale is usually completed within well under a month – 21 days or less in the case of Good Move.
Less stress. ‘We buy any home’ companies will buy your home regardless of condition or location, so you don’t need to spend months decorating and making your house beautiful before you make a sale – although the offer is likely to vary depending on the condition and location of your property.

There are some disadvantages though, here are some to be aware of:

Reduced offer. Typically, you receive no higher than 85% of the market value of your property. If you’re looking to get the highest possible price for your property, you will want to look at different methods to sell your home.
Gazumping. This is where a company will agree to buy a house for a price, only to reduce the price just before completion, leaving you in a difficult situation. Some companies operate complex fee structures, luring customers in with the offer of a ‘no fee’ sale but then charging them anyway by reducing the offer.
A ‘sole agency’ policy. If a ‘we buy any house’ company you are thinking of selling to operates this type of policy, they will prevent you from accepting offers from elsewhere and you could lead miss out on a better deal.
Lack of trust. Always gather information and read reviews of the company you’re thinking of working with, and check they are a member of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). This offers you access to independent redress in the event of a dispute.

What areas of the UK do ‘we buy any house’ companies operate in?

Many of the larger, more established ‘we buy any house’ companies operate all over the country. Good Move has completed fast, stress-free property purchases in Portsmouth and Southampton in the south, all the way up to Sunderland, Newcastle and Hartlepool in the north. We also operate in both England and Wales, with properties successfully purchased in Cardiff and Swansea.

So even if your property is tucked away in some quiet corner of York, nestled near the centre of Northampton, or in the leafy suburbs of Leicester, you’ll be able to take advantage of a quick, easy house sale through a ‘we buy any home’ company working in your area.

Choosing a ‘We buy any home’ company

There are lots of ‘we buy any house’ companies out there – many of which are genuine and legitimate. However, as with any industry, there are some disreputable companies out there, or even scam websites posing as legitimate companies. Read reviews of these companies here – it’s important to do some research into any company through which you choose to sell your property. Although it’s tempting, do not simply go with the firm that offers you the best valuation.

How much below the market value are they offering?

Generally, a ‘we buy any house’ company will facilitate a speedy sale – sometimes within days – but you should expect to receive less than the market value because of this. While all of our services are designed to make selling your house quick, easy, and efficient, some ‘buy any property’ businesses might seem too good to be true. If a quick house sale company is offering you 100% of the market value, this could be a red flag that the business is not legitimate.

Are they NABP approved and regulated?

Any company looking to buy your home should absolutely be a member of the NAPB (National Association of Property Buyers) and the Property Ombudsman as a minimum. Good Move are the most regulated property buyers operating in the ‘Quick House Sale’ industry, regulated by the NAPB but also by the RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), the Property Ombudsman, and the Approved Code of Trading Standards.

We Buy Any House reviews

Most reputable ‘we buy any house’ companies will use a trusted partner review site, like TrustPilot, Feefo or Reviews.co.uk. Look for verified reviews, where a review needs to be linked to an email address or account in order to be posted – our ratings on Trustpilot are entirely public, and we’re proud to boast a 4.8 star rating.

Are the reviews up to date?

If the only reviews you can find are out of date, or there’s a noticeable dip in the rating the company has been given, it could indicate issues. The benefit of a ‘we will buy your home’ company is speed, so if there is a lack of reviews for a consistent period it could suggest that there are some issues behind the scenes causing a lack of business.

Do the reviews seem legitimate?

Some trusted review sites will have processes to stop falsified reviews, but it’s still worth looking out for. Repeated reviews are a red flag, as are lots of reviews using identical wording. With any house selling company, and especially ‘we buy any house’ style companies, reviews are very important to build trust with potential sellers, so a disreputable business might try to artificially boost their rating to attract new clients.

The term ‘we buy and house company’ is generally used to find a company like ourselves. When doing your research you are going to come across 2 companies using the ‘We buy and house’ term as their brand name., which to some people can seem odd. Below we will give an overview of We Buy Any House and We Buy Any Home, along with a bit of a comparison with ourselves to help you make the right choice.

Webuyanyhouse.co.uk

Webuyanyhouse.co.uk are a member of The Property Ombudsman and cover the cost of all legal and valuation fees, so you don’t have to worry about additional costs. They use RICS certified surveyors and Hometrack software to ensure their valuations are fair and ethical.

How much below the market value does webuyanyhouse.co.uk pay for your home?

Webuyanyhouse.co.uk offers up to 90 per cent of your property’s market value. They will also purchase any property regardless of location or condition. They don’t charge any fees for their services, as they cover the cost of all legal and valuation fees themselves. You could receive a formal cash offer in just 24 hours and have the money in your account in as little as seven days – although they do state they will work to a timescale that suits you.

The positives of Webuyanyhouse.co.uk include:

A quick sale; receiving funds in your account in as little as seven days.
They’re registered with The Property Ombudsman, and have lots of 5-star reviews, giving you peace of mind.
They cover the cost of all legal and valuation fees, so you don’t have to.
Their phone lines are open 24/7, so you can get in touch with them whenever you have a question.

And the negatives:

Webuyanyhouse.co.uk aren’t recognised by the NAPB; a major trust issue.
They don’t have as many reviews as their competitors.
You won’t receive your property’s full market value – although their offer of up to 90% is higher than many of their competitors.

Webuyanyhome.com

Webuyanyhome.com are a London-based company which purchases properties in both England and Wales for cash, regardless of the condition they are in. Similar to ourselves and Webuyanyhouse.co.uk, they are a member of the NAPB and they are also registered with The Property Ombudsman. They don’t mention how much the ceiling is against market value but expect around 80% to 85%.

5 steps to tell if a ‘We buy any house’ company is a scam

To make things simple, here are our top five tips when you’re looking at ‘we buy any home’ companies online:

Are they approved and regulated by the NAPB and TPOS as a minimum?
Do they have reviews from genuine customers?
Do those reviews seem legitimate and up to date?
Are their reviews hosted on their site, as well as on third party sites?
Does their offering seem reasonable – not too good to be true?

If you’re looking to sell your house quickly for cash, make sure you use a legitimate company, like Good Move. We buy any house, anywhere in the UK, regardless of value or condition, and we can turn your sale around quickly. Get in touch with us today for your free cash offer, and find out how we can help you to sell your house.

How do we compare to other ‘we buy any house’ companies

Good Move is regulated by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which is a claim very few ‘we buy any home’ companies can make. The RICS ensures the validity of our credentials, providing our customers with peace of mind that they will receive the service as advertised.

To help you ascertain the difference between Good Move and other ‘we buy any house’ companies, we have a house buyer reviews page on our website that goes into detail on what you can expect from each company. You can see our handy table that outlines the key differences between different companies, and find out information like which is the fastest, which have no fees and more.

One of Good Move’s key selling points is that we will purchase a property regardless of its condition. While the condition of the property may affect the price we offer for it, the fact that we will buy houses in any condition sets us apart from a lot of other firms. Why not visit our Good Move reviews page to read what previous customers have made of our service?

Comments left in our recent reviews include:

I was really pleased with the service I received. My property sold for the price I wanted and despite it being a busy time with the stamp duty exemption ending, the sale went through fairly quickly.” – Anastasia Betts

They responded same day. The offer price was not enough for me but there was no pressure at all to proceed. The advice they gave me was fantastic and reassuring. If you are needing to sell fast and can take a lower than market offer then these guys are great.” – Michelle Lees

Good Move have all been so helpful and understanding of my needs. They advised and kept me informed through each stage, and have acted with utmost professionalism, and because of this I would not hesitate to recommend Good Move as agent to sell a property.” – J Ross

FAQs

Does Good Move have professional indemnity insurance?

We carry professional indemnity insurance to provide our customers with peace of mind throughout the process of selling their property with us. Should an error occur during competition of the property that causes you financial or reputational loss, you can rest assured that it will be covered by our professional indemnity insurance policy.

Can Good Move’s solicitor provide recent evidence of house sales?

Always look for evidence of a ‘we buy any house’ company’s experience before using them. Should you wish to see evidence of Good Move’s recent sales, we can put you in touch with our solicitors who will provide TR1 forms and completion statements from our recent purchases.

Is Good Move a cash buyer or is the company reliant on a mortgage?

Good Move is a cash buyer, meaning we make sure we have sufficient funds to purchase every property for which we make an offer. There is no property chain and no mortgage lender, which means sales to Good Move are less likely to fall through.

Does Good Move purchase properties or act as a broker to investors?

Good Move purchases properties rather than acting as a broker. In some cases, we may elect to transfer the property to a third party, and if this is the case the seller will always be informed in writing. Transfers of this nature do not affect the seller’s rights under the agreed contract.

Does Good Move really buy any house?

Provided we can agree on a price, Good Move will buy any property you wish to sell. We are regulated by independent bodies including the RICS and NAPB, which allows us the freedom to operate as a cash buyer for anyone seeking a quick sale of their house.

Can I still sell my property with Good Move even if it’s currently listed?

Yes, you can fill in our online form for a cash offer even if your property is currently on the market. Once you enter into an agreement with Good Move, we will ask for the property to be taken off the market. This is just to ensure that once we have entered into costs, we don’t run the risk of the seller withdrawing from a sale.

I’ve changed my mind and don’t want to sell my house with a ‘we buy any house’ company, what do I do now?

If you choose to sell your home with Good Move, you have 14 days from when you enter into a contract with us to change your mind – and we don’t ask for you to provide us with any reason. If that happens, we won’t seek any costs from you and you would be released from your contract with us.

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