Springbok Properties is a professional buying company, meaning it gives homeowners an instant offer and guaranteed sale. On its website, Springbok Properties claims to be in the top 1% of home sales companies and to have worked with more than 16,700 sellers.
The company is based in Manchester and was founded in 2008 by CEO Shepherd Ncube.
Property buyers like Springbok exist because selling through the open market can be challenging for many property owners.
It often takes months for a sale to go through, and there’s no guarantee of the property selling at all (it’s estimated that 1 in 3 house sales collapse mid way). Difficulties can also occur due to other people in the chain, and dealing with estate agents can be an added hassle for many.
This is particularly challenging for those with “difficult” houses, such as those in undesirable locations or with complex issues requiring much renovation.
Others simply are in a rush to sell as quickly as possible because because they’ve already secured another property elsewhere. In these cases, selling a property directly to a firm like Springbok Properties may make more sense than working with an estate agent.
Selling your house to a cash buyer like Springbok Properties is a fairly simple process. Here’s what to expect.
First, you’ll need to contact Springbok Properties. You can do this by filling out the online form on their website with your name and contact number. After you have contacted Springbok, they will follow up with you (typically by phone).
At this stage, they’ll ask you for information and details about your house, which they will use to calculate your property’s market value. To do this, they’ll need info about the:
The representative will also ask how quickly you want to complete the sale, as Springbok Properties can be flexible on timeframes.
Once it has all the info needed about your house, Springbok Properties will send you your free valuation and cash offer. It will calculate this number based on software that compares the factors outlined above with current property market conditions and similar (comparable) properties in your area.
However, remember to have your price expectations in check. Like any property buying company, Springbok Properties will offer below market value (as it’s a profit making business).
As you will receive a no obligation cash offer, you can choose to reject if you don’t think it’s the best deal you can get.
Springbok Properties says that it takes just 21 days to sell property when you work with them. Alternatively, you can choose a date further in the future that works better with your schedule.
As a Springbok customer, they’ll handle most of the admin along the way (such as marketing and the necessary paperwork), which tends to make life easier than working with a local estate agent.
They will sometimes even pay legal fees but much will depend on how the property is purchased (i.e. directly through the company or through their investor database). It’s worth checking this out as conveyancing costs can be high.
The best part of a house sale is receiving your money after completion.
Once you exchange contracts, Springbok Properties will send the funds straight to your bank account.
There’s no fee until the house sale goes through, but Springbok will take a portion of the sale proceeds at the end of the process.
The prospect of a quick cash sale might seem tempting, but a buying company like Springbok isn’t right for everyone.
Springbok Properties is a member of The Property Ombudsman, which is dedicated to protecting consumer rights and investigating complaints. According to their website, the CEO has personally worked with the organisation.
It’s also part of the Federation of Small Businesses, the Trading Standards Institute, and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). This all lends the company further credibility.
The company was established way back in 2008 and claims to have worked with thousands of homesellers since then.
One of the biggest disadvantages of selling through Springbok is a drawback that comes with dealing with all property buying firms. Springbok Properties offers below market value for the properties it buys.
In most cases, this is the price to pay for a quick sale. So if you’re able to be more patient and/or you have a house that would appeal to a more mainstream audience, it may not be worth it.
Another major disadvantage is that it’s unclear whether Springbok Properties purchases houses with its own cash. The company isn’t transparent about this, and there also isn’t a clear property investors vehicle belonging to Springbok Properties on Companies House. As a result, they may be borrowing funds from elsewhere to buy their properties, which makes them inherently more risky to work with.
Below, we’ve outlined the pros and cons of selling through Springbok Properties…
Springbok Properties has a 4.3 rating on Trustpilot (based on over 3,500 reviews), which puts it in the “good” (but not “excellent”) category.
Many customers praised the excellent customer service they received and said the staff were friendly.
There is a 4.1 average review on Google for Springbok, across more than 1,400 reviews in total.
Springbok has its fair share of negative reviews too, with 10% of the Trustpilot reviews having just one star.
Some customers reported not receiving the best service, with some saying the house process took longer than it was supposed to or that prices got continually lowered over time.
Their website is not particularly clear, but Springbok Properties selling fees vary according to what type of service you go for.
Their Modern Method of Auction option, however, lies in the region of 2.5% + VAT of the achieved sales price.
Springbok Properties isn’t the only company in the market that will buy properties as a cash buyer.
Property Solvers, Goodmove, We Buy Any Home and National Homebuyers are other examples of property buying companies that provide a genuine cash offer to customers.
You could also opt for an auction. These are becoming an increasingly popular way to carry out property sales since they allow you to sell to a larger audience rather than a single cash buyer, giving you a chance to achieve a higher sales price. They are not as fast as working with a cash buyer but certainly better than using an estate agent in most cases.
Working with property buyers like Springbok can be a great way to secure a hassle free sale and avoid the potential issues that come with selling through estate agents. However, as the bad reviews show, you’re not guaranteed a good experience – or even a quick sale.
If you’re interested in selling your property through an auction instead, Property Auction News is the place to be for the latest news on the topic, including relevant policy updates.