National Homebuyers is proud to have helped many hundreds of people in the past year sell their property quickly. We recommend that you research what options are available to you and that you ensure using National Homebuyers suits your requirements.

As the leaders in our field, we are cautious about some dubious tactics some companies and individuals are employing to ensure they maximise profit from your property.

National Homebuyers cannot stress the importance of ensuring that if you are having your property valued, this is carried out by an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuer. Accept no imitations or excuses on this matter. National Homebuyers is the only company in the UK which ensures all external valuations compiled are from genuine valuation agents with the accreditation and qualifications required by RICS.

We believe that the consumer should be protected from unscrupulous operators, as such, National Homebuyers is working with the Advertising Standards Authority, Trading Standards and the national press and media to call for regulation in our industry. We are committed to developing an ongoing strategy to ensure that consumers are not misled and are receiving the best possible service when selling their property.

[22nd September 2006]: National Homebuyers Legal Department has issued the following statement to consumers, to help them ensure they are not 'hoodwinked' or misguided into an inappropriate property sale:

- Fast purchase property companies offer below the market value in order to derive profit. Should you see any advertising or marketing messages without this fact stated, you should be cautious over proceeding. We advise consumers that this may be as late as the day of exchange, meaning that the consumer has been pressurised into agreeing a sale at an unacceptable price. National Homebuyers' marketing, advertising, literature, correspondence and telephone conversations clearly state that offers will be below market value in order to achieve a quick, hassle free sale. Our offers are a formal offer to purchase and you are under no obligation to accept our offer.

- The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a professional body regulating property professionals and surveyors of all types. In order to gain a professional value on each property, we recommend you use a company that uses a RICS Surveyor. Any company not employing the services of a RICS surveyor means their valuations are not carried out by anyone qualified to research and calculate property values. National Homebuyers only uses RICS qualified Chartered Surveyors to attain a genuine value on each property. Like a mortgage company, National Homebuyers charges a fee to cover the costs of any surveys and research.

- Be aware of companies offering unlikely completion dates. Our legal departments have been made aware of companies offering to complete 'today' or 'within 7 days'. This statement is unlikely to be genuine. By the nature of the complexity of the property industry, these claims are highly unlikely to be true in every case. Each property is different and some will require further legal work than others. National Homebuyers has the financial and legal resources to complete on the same day as we are able to work to your timescale. However as we accept you and your legal representative are unlikely to be ready to complete in such a short timescale, we are conscious of not misguiding the customer by making any similar superfluous advertising statements.

- Guideline prices are given by some companies as to how much they will pay for your property. We advise that these are likely to be used as a sales tactic. In reality, you are unlikely to receive this amount as a formal offer. National Homebuyers requires a professional and independent survey on each property. We will not provide any indication of offers to purchase to avoid misleading the consumer into a transaction.

- The statement 'no valuation fees' has caused some concern to some customers, as whereas there may be no valuation fees, there may be 'incurred charges' later in the sales process, which add up to a disproportionate amount of money. National Homebuyers advises you should investigate all charges and fees before entering into any correspondence. We also advise that following our initial Valuation fee to assess your property, our legal terms and conditions guarantee that no further charges will be made.

- Some companies may also state the percentage below market value they will offer. For the reasons stated above, we advise you investigate this claim thoroughly.

- Ensure that you will receive a guaranteed offer to purchase. In investigation, we have found that some companies fail to stipulate that they are unable (or unwilling) to purchase properties in certain locations or certain conditions i.e., House Association, ex-Council, where there is no right of access, where there are outstanding building regulation or planning permission requirements, sheltered accommodation (where age is restricted) or where there are restrictive covenants. National Homebuyers guarantees to offer on every property surveyed, regardless of its condition or location.

- Avoid any correspondence with any company that employs a 'sales team'. We feel that you should not be cajoled or encouraged into any agreement regarding the sale of your property. National Homebuyers will make one courtesy call to you after you make an initial enquiry, but we believe the decision and reasons for your decision should be left to you.

- Finally, we would highlight our concern over companies that use the internet are their main (or only) marketing and sales tool. National Homebuyers invest millions of pounds in national press, television and radio advertisements. The internet is a cheap way of making a business look larger and more successful than it actually is. We recommend you read the article from the Mail on Sunday (below) concerning a company working mostly within the M25 corridor for further clarification.

Mail on Sunday (2.4MB, JPEG)
Mail on Sunday (91KB, PDF)

As with any industry, we advise you treat with caution any company employing derisive tactics in order to gain business.

If you are concerned over the way you have been treated by any property company, are worried about tactics employed by companies or the progress of your offer with any company, our experts are happy to assist you with advice at no cost and provide support, if required. You can email us your stories in confidence by clicking here or ask for a Homesellers Expert to call you back, again in confidence, on 0870 067 3848.

We also recommend that you gain professional legal advice.

Click below to download the National Homebuyers press release:

Homesellers Beware (200KB, PDF)