What Is The Fastest Way To Sell My House?

The situation that the UK housing market currently finds itself in is unique. There are a matter of days left before Phase One of  the stamp duty holiday comes to an end,  and thousands of people are still hoping to sell their homes and buy new ones before the end of June in order to take advantage of the generous tax relief. We haven’t seen anything like this before. 

It’s such an important deadline due to the fact that the saving on offer is significant (up to £15,000) and if the deadline is missed, even by a day, it goes out of the window. 

This means that demand is now incredibly high and is causing significant backlogs and delays. People are going to miss the stamp duty deadline. 

The traditional path to sale is too slow, too unpredictable, and currently far too busy. The people who need to sell their current homes in order to buy new homes cannot move quickly enough. 

Worse still, we’re now seeing a 30% fall-through rate as sales take so long that they’re falling apart before completion.

As such, a lot of sellers are looking for alternative routes to sale. We’ve written before about the merits of property auctions and how they offer a good chance of a quick, frictionless sale but also come with their fair share of risk. 

Today, we’re going to look at something else, something most commonly referred to as fast-sale platforms, perhaps the most guaranteed route to a rapid house sale. 

What are fast-sale platforms?

Fast-sale platforms are provided by companies who will buy your home from you with great speed and certainty, helping you avoid the traditionally elongated sales process. The UK’s most prominent fast-sale platform is YesHomebuyers.com.

YesHomebuyers will make an offer to buy your home. This offer will be competitive yet slightly less than your home is likely to sell for on the open market. This slight price difference is the price you pay for security and speed.

If you choose to accept their offer (there is no obligation to do so, and no cost if you decline it), you can then choose the exact date on which you would like to complete the sale. 

This means that you can time the sale perfectly with the availability of your new home, so, even though you’re getting a fast sale, it will never be so fast that you’re left homeless before your new place is ready. 

Today, speed beats price

In normal times and with the clock on your side, it’s usually worth trying your luck on the open market because that’s where you’re going to get the highest price for your home. But if speed is your main priority, YesHomebuyers can guarantee it, making an offer within just 48hrs which will be just slightly less than you might achieve through a traditional sale. 

Matthew Cooper, Founder & Managing Director of Yes Homebuyers, says:

“The property market is under extraordinary strain – a huge influx of buyers inspired by the stamp duty holiday means selling timelines are becoming riddled with delays because there is too much work for the industry to handle quickly.

“And while there are a number of steps you can take to increase your chances of a faster sale on the open market, such as organising your paperwork in advance, constantly pestering your agent and conveyancer to move quickly, etc, these things only help so much – often it’s not enough. 

“The open market is archaic. Its selling process is backwards. And if you’re in a chain, your sale can be thwarted by another sale 100 miles away by people you’ve never even met. This doesn’t only delay your sale, it can cost you money, too.

“That’s why platforms like YesHomebuyers are growing in popularity: it’s long been believed that money is the most important aspect of a sale, but this Covid pandemic and stamp duty holiday prove that, today, time is of the essence. Today, speed of sale beats price.”