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‍"Quick-Sale Questions" Checklist

1. Your Pre-Call Preparation (Questions for you to answer personally)

This is probably the most important part.

To get the most out of these calls it's really important to think about what you really want.

And that comes down to two main things:

• Price, and
• Timeframes.

Q1: What price do I need to really make this work? 

As you likely know by this point, house-buying companies provide you with a quick, simple and certain home sale.

The compromise you make is that you accept a lower price for your property.

So before you speak with them, you should think about the lowest price you really need in order for this to work for you.

What's your bottom line price, where any figure below it just wouldn't make sense for you? 

This is one of the most important things you can do to help determine if this is the right option for you.

If others are involved in the decision (for example a partner, or a sibling or anyone else), try and find the time to chat with them and find a price you're both on the same page with.

Getting a "ballpark offer"

During the call, the house-buying company will give you a "ballpark offer" - a rough indication of what a formal offer would likely be.

If you're clear on what price you need, you'll know whether this is something you can potentially move forward with, or if there's no use moving forward.

Either way, having a clear idea of the price you want to achieve will help you get to the right decision for you, and to get there more quickly.

Q2: When do I want my sale to complete?

"Completion" of a sale is when it officially goes through. It's when the money hits your account and you hand the keys over.

One of the best selling points of using a house-buying company is that you get to choose when that happens.

So have a think about your ideal date.

Do you want it done as soon as possible? (They can usually complete in as little as two weeks)

Or do you need it in six weeks, when your onward purchase is ready to move into? 

Either way, having a clear idea on your desired timeframes - as well as your price - will be helpful for your initial conversation.

Summary Box: 

2. Questions About Price

Your Objective:

Discover how much you’ll get by selling to the house-buying company, and confirm that you won't have any fees to pay.

Q1. How much will you offer me? 

On your first call, the house-buying company won't make you a "formal offer".

To make a formal offer, they go through an in-depth process that involves a great deal of research, and so it takes a couple of days.

But they will be able to give you a "ballpark offer" on the first call. This is a rough indication of what a price from them might look like.

It tends to be fairly accurate in most cases. The idea of giving you this "rough" price is to help you quickly determine whether or not this is a path that could work for you.

If the ballpark price is just too low then you'll know there's no use going any further.

But if the rough figure is something you can potentially work with, they'll start work on making you a formal offer.

Price is the biggest compromise you make when selling to a house-buying company, so this is the most important thing to come away from the conversation with - an idea of what they'll actually pay.

Q2. How will you value my property? 

Selling your home is one of the biggest financial decisions we ever make.

And the price we get for our sale depends on the valuation of the property.

So it's completely fair for you to want to understand the company's valuation process, and how they'll produce your offer.

In most instances, they'll be able to value your property without viewing it in person. (There's so much data available online and there are so many tools they can use, that they don't need to visit most properties in-person anymore).

As long as you have some relatively up-to-date photos of the property, they should be able to value the property remotely.

Will they undervalue my home? 

One thing I always like to address here is that many home sellers have a pre-conception that a house-buying company will want to undervalue their property.

In my experience - especially with a genuine company like the ones we recommend - this isn't really the case.

The reason for this is they know that the more they can offer fyou or your home, the more likely you are to accept.

And so if they undervalue your property and make you a really low offer, they'll just end up doing less business.

Overall, they'll be worse off.

On the flip-side, they don't want to overvalue properties either.

If they overvalue homes they'll make lots of really high offers and do lots of business... but it won't be very profitable.

And so when it comes to the valuation, the thing they're really trying to do is figure out what the property is actually going to sell for on the open market. What is it really worth?

When they've established that figure, they'll produce the best offer they can for you subject to all the costs they incur as a business, and the profit they aim to make.

So in short, in my experience, a genuine house-buying company will not undervalue your home... it's actually not in their interest to.

Q3: Is your offer guaranteed? (Ask for a copy of it)

The house-buying company I recommend provide a guarantee when they make their offer.

In a nutshell, it states that once they've made their it won't change.

This is really important because one of the main tactics other house-buying companies use is to make one offer now (a price that you're happy with and willing to accept)...

... And then drop that offer later. They'll usually drop it at the last minute so you have fewer alternatives, and are more likely to accept.

Unfortunately, even home sellers who think they'd never accept an offer in that position do end up accepting it.

Thankfully, my recommended house-buying company don't work that way. (Otherwise I wouldn't recommend them!) 

Asking this question about their guarantee will prompt them to explain it in more detail, which will give you extra peace-of-mind if you accept their offer and start moving through their process.

It'll also prompt them to highlight any potential issues they see with the purchase of your property.

Summary Box: 

3. Questions About Timeframes

Your Objective:

Find out how quickly you'll have an offer, how quickly they can buy your home, and more.

Q1. If I accept your offer, how quickly can you buy my home? 

Obviously one of the major reasons you're here and about to speak with a house-buying company is because they can buy your home from you quickly!

The service basically exists because it's so difficult and stressful and such a lengthy process to sell with an estate agent.

(According to Zoopla, the average home sale takes 25 weeks from start to finish. This is only the average!... which means it takes even longer for an unlucky half of home sellers.)

So one of your big questions should be about how quickly they're able to buy your home.

In most cases they're able to buy in as little as 2 weeks.

But it can be slightly longer in some situations. For example, if you're selling a leasehold property then the management company may take an extra few days to send the information they need.

Or if you're in a very rural area, it may take a few more days to get a surveyor out to sign-off the property.

Once they've had a quick look at your property, ask how quickly they're likely to be able to buy from you.

Chances are this is going to fit comfortably into your desired timeframes, but it's worth having this conversation up-front and asking why.

Q2. How long will it take to produce your formal offer? 

The house-buying companies we recommend go through a fairly lengthy process in order to make a formal offer on any property.

Thankfully, they've got a highly experienced team so they're able to work through this process quite quickly.

It usually takes around 48 hours to receive a formal offer from them.

It can be quicker in some instances, but it can be slightly longer too. (For example, around public holidays, or when valuing properties that are very unique or very rural).

It's worth checking how long you'll have to wait to receive their offer. As much as anything, this just helps you feel more involved and in control of the process.

Q3. How long will it take to get a survey? 

Once you've accepted the house-buying company's offer they'll get a survey done.

This isn't about picking holes in your property, or looking for reasons to come back and reduce their offer.

It's about being diligent and making sure there are no major undisclosed issues with the property.

It's very rare that something comes up on a survey that affects the offer.

But because that slim chance is there, it's always nice to get the survey out of the way.

Sometimes surveys can take place within the first few days of you accepting an offer, sometimes it's a slightly longer wait. It depends how quickly solicitors sort the initial paperwork, and what the availability of surveyors is like in your area.

So it's worth asking the question about how soon a survey could take place.

It's very unlikely to make a difference to the price or to your ultimate completion date, but it's just a nice-to-know.

Summary Box: 

So hopefully by now you know how much you’ll get  by selling to a house-buying company, and how quickly it can all go through.

But for most home sellers you'll probably also find it useful to learn about how the process will actually unfold if you do decide to accept their offer and start moving forward.

So let’s get into the final section.

4. Questions About Their Process (How It Works)

Your Objective:

Understand the sale process. The more you know, the less there is to worry about. Having a good overview of the whole process can give you a feeling of control, which can help make it even less stressful overall.

Q1. If I accept your offer... what happens next? 

There's no need to over-complicate this section... just ask this question!

They'll cover solicitors, solicitor paperwork, moving day, and more.

It's a really straightforward process and most of the work falls on them. There's very little you actually need to do once you accept the offer.

The reason I encourage you to ask this question is – like I said above – the more you know, the more you'll feel in control. And that'll make the process even less stressful, and seem even easier.

One of the reasons I recommend the house-buying company I do is because they’ll take the time to answer these questions for you.

They want you to be comfortable with the decision you’re making, and ready for what comes next.

So take all the time you need to build your understanding of the process.

Below I've listed all the questions in one place. Hit the download version to get your 1-page PDF downloadable version.

Finally, good luck with the conversation! I hope the service ends up doing everything you want it to, and that you get a price you're happy with.

Either way, I'll be here throughout to continue guiding you through your sale, towards the outcome you want.

Good luck and talk soon,

Matt.
Co-Founder, HomeSellingExpert.co.uk
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