Are you getting ready for a house sale or purchase? Whether you are a first time buyer about to step onto the property ladder, or a long-time house owner keen to cash-in, there are lots of challenges that you will need to navigate.
Unfortunately, when you sell your property on the open market, the process is not always straightforward. With changing economic conditions, inefficient estate agents, uncommunicative solicitors and all the dozens of other challenges… needless to say, lots of people are searching for an easier way.
We Buy Any Home is proud to have supported thousands of people across the UK to sell their property smoothly, quickly and for free. In the blog below, we’ve outlined some of the ‘pain points’ that are causing people to turn to us… as well as how we can make your life much easier.
Keep reading for a clear overview of today’s property market conditions.
Challenges facing buyers
Economic conditions have not been favourable to potential house buyers in recent years. Interest rates have more than doubled between 2022 to 2023, and this has had a severely negative affect on the affordability of a mortgage. People who purchased a property with a variable mortgage rate in early 2022 have likely seen their monthly repayments increase by several hundreds, if not more.
Related to this, banks are becoming stricter with their lending standards, which is shutting the door on plenty of potential buyers who would’ve been accepted in the past.
With the cost of living consistently going up in the UK, this also makes it much harder for an average citizen to save up a sizeable deposit. Most mortgage lenders ask for a minimum 10% deposit, and with the average UK property being valued at £291,044, this would require you to raise £29,104 in savings.
Throughout much of the past decade, the UK government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme made finding your way onto the housing ladder significantly easier. However, with this initiative terminated in March 2023, you may have to dedicate time to research alternative methods, such as shared ownership, guarantor mortgages, and ‘deposit unlock’.
First time buyers may need to contend with any lingering student debt, too. Mortgage lenders take this into account when deciding what you can afford, and with student debt continuing to rise, this is yet another financial factor that buyers need to navigate.
Challenges facing sellers
In many instances, landlords have found themselves hindered by new legislation introduced by the UK government. Laws surrounding cladding have become tighter, and Scotland has introduced rent caps which is decreasing the profitability of investing in the country. Perhaps just as significantly, the minimum EPC rating required to rent out a property will become ‘C’ from 2025 onwards, which prevents lots of landlords from being able to maintain their house as an extra source of income.
Demand for new houses across the country has decreased, too. The gap between average salary and a typical property price is growing ever wider, reducing the affordability of a house purchase for a typical citizen. This is forcing many homeowners to reduce their asking price, and therefore slashing their profits.
There are dozens of scenarios when selling your house can become even more complicated than usual. This might include sitting tenants that refuse to leave, or a decrease in property value meaning that you’d be selling the house at a loss.
On top of the above, plenty of homeowners consider the average time to sell a house to be far too long, at 25 weeks (almost half a year). This can be a major problem if you are in a hurry – for example, relocating due to work, to repair a broken house chain, or needing to sell to avoid repossession. Plenty of people are searching for a different method to sell a house for this precise reason.
Finding the right professionals to support you
Even if you identify the best route forwards as you continue with your property journey, identifying the right professionals to support you is no mean feat. Wherever you live, there will undoubtedly be dozens of estate agents, solicitors, and removal companies to choose from. Making the right decision can have an enormous impact on your house selling/buying experience.
When you approach a high street estate agency about selling your property, there are certain warning signs that you should always keep an eye out for. Your agency of choice should always have:
- No hidden costs
- Lots of positive reviews
- Clear communication
- Expertise in your local area
It isn’t always easy to find the right company, so asking trusted friends and family for a recommendation is worthwhile.
You should search for similar characteristics when selecting your solicitor and removal company, too. Transparency is key so you can manage your costs and ensure all timelines are met. Uncommunicative or inefficient solicitors are one of the biggest headaches anyone moving house could face, so make sure you speak to lots of different professionals before making a decision.
Keeping a close eye on your finances
It is important that you keep a close eye on your finances at every stage of the house selling process. Even when you find an outstanding estate agency, a friendly buyer, and a helpful solicitor, it may all be much too expensive for your liking. Finding the right balance between high quality service, while remaining as profitable as you would like, is essential.
Research suggests that a typical estate agent charges roughly 1.42% of your house sale for their services, and plenty of solicitors charge for their services in this way, too. Meanwhile, removal companies will be more concerned with the distance you are moving, and how many belongings you have.
By calculating all these financial details in advance, it gives you a benchmark for budgeting the amount you will have to spend. This helps to ensure that you aren’t blindsided and can identify any overly expensive quotations.
How we can help
If you want to sell your property quickly, smoothly and for free, then you are in the right place. We Buy Any Home is proud to be one of the UK’s most experienced, reputable and high-quality cash buyers.
Whatever your type of property, and whatever condition it is in, you can sell it to us for a lump sum of cash.
There are lots of reasons why you may need your house transaction to be completed within 7 days, and We Buy Any Home can support you with all of them. These include:
- Divorce
- Relocating
- Financial difficulties / debt
- Avoid repossession
- Downsizing
- Retirement
- Tenants living in-situ
- Property in bad condition
By using us to support you with your house transaction, you will also benefit from a realistic valuation, all funds in your account within 7 days, and no hidden costs or ‘locked in’ agreements.
You will be communicated with clearly and regularly every step of the way, and if you have any questions, we will always be happy to answer them. Most importantly, you will be able to avoid all the stressful and expensive challenges that come with selling your property on the open market.
For cash house buyers that you can trust, anywhere in the UK, get in touch with us today.
