The Property Buying Company (TBPC) is a professional cash-buying company, meaning they make instant offers to those who want to sell their property, and buy houses immediately with cash.
This provides an alternative to selling on the open market through estate agents, giving sellers the chance to close a sale in just a few weeks (sometimes less).
There’s a tradeoff – a cash offer from a property-buying company will be below the home’s market value, typically at around 75-80%. But for many people, this is worth it for a quick sale. As the sale is direct, there are no estate agency or conveyancing fees.
The company was established in the UK back in 2012, giving it a solid track record in the sell house fast industry.
While the business operates throughout England and Wales, its headquarters are in Wetherby, Leeds. The company directors are Jonathan Christie, Christopher Paul Dean and Karl Antony McArdle.
You can contact The Property Buying Company by phone on 0800 024 8444 or via their website.
The Property Buying Company has a set process to purchase properties from homeowners (known in the homebuying industry as “direct to vendor”).
We’ve broadly explained these steps below…
Kickstarting the process with The Property Buying Company is easy.
First, you need to submit an online enquiry form, which gives the firm some details about the property so they can make an initial offer.
The only information you have to enter is:
But the form also includes a questionnaire where you can enter other details, which helps the team make a more accurate evaluation – meaning you can move through their sales process as fast as possible.
Offers are based on data from the local market using data from HM Land Registry, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Rightmove including prices and average selling times.
The Property Buying Company claim they send out offers within 24 hours, which involves a member of the team contacting you with a no obligation cash offer.
However, this initial offer is only provisional. If you decide to continue the process, to create a more formal offer, a Regional Manager will visit your property to value it.
After this, The Property Buying Company offer a formal quote. If you decide to accept, this will kickstart the sales process.
Once you’ve agreed to make the sale, everything continues as it would during a standard home-selling process.
The main difference is that The Property Buying Company will instruct solicitors on your behalf and handle the administrative tasks, meaning there’s less work for you than when using an estate agent.
First, the solicitors will need to carry out legal work, including searches and a professional valuation. The Property Buying company will cover the solicitor fees involved.
Once this is complete, the offer will be formalised, the company will pay the fees, and you will exchange contracts to complete the sale.
The company says that houses take two to three weeks to sell on average, although this can be quicker in some cases.
Still on the fence about whether The Property Buying Company is right for you? We’ll break down both sides.
The Property Buying Company is a member of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB), an organisation dedicated to improving the cash house buyer industry. It requires all members to register with The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and commit to standards of fairness and transparency.
This gives it some additional credibility.
Many past customers have reported that the Property Buying Company provide a positive house sale experience.
When selling to property buying companies, a major plus is not having to deal with the usual hassle of the open market. You won’t be affected by what other people in the house-buying chain are doing, or prospective buyers pulling out of the process at the last minute.
It’s also a plus that the firm covers solicitors fees.
As a bonus, The Property Buying Company can help its clients to organise removals or find rental properties for an additional cost.
While it’s great that The Property Buying Company is a member of NAPB, it hasn’t covered all bases. It isn’t a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), another key regulator in the industry that many other cash buyers are part of.
As with any cash buyer, selling to The Property Buying Company means you won’t receive the full market value for your home.
As mentioned, there have been some negative reviews about this, and people complaining that they received even less than the standard home buying company offer of 75 to 80%.
Also, it isn’t clear whether The Property Buying Company uses its own money to purchase houses or if it relies on a third party instead. On their own website, the company claims to have cash reserves that allow them to buy a property quickly.
Yet some customer reviews suggest that the company essentially acts as an estate agent or broker, meaning they look for a third-party buyer before completing sales. Various customers blamed this for the delay they experienced.
It’s worth noting that the company has a separate sourcing arm of the business. Often, the Property Buying Company will exchange contracts on properties that don’t fit within the buying criteria and then be sold on to investors or via the Auction House Network for a profit.
Here, depending on your situation, it would often make sense to simply sell the property yourself via auction.
Evaluating a Property Buying Company review or two can help you reach a decision.
The Property Buying Company has an average rating of 4.7 (based on 2,562 reviews) on Trustpilot, putting it in the “excellent” category. Since this rating is across more than 2,100 reviews, it appears to be an accurate representation.
It also has a 4.1 rating on Google, with over 160 reviews in total.
Many customers reported that the company provided a great customer service team and said they felt supported throughout the process.
The complaints were mostly from customers who were disappointed with the cash offer they received. Some customers said that they received offers of 70% of the full market value or even lower, which is below the typical 80% mark. Others said they experienced delays or that their offer was reduced over time.
The company covers the usual costs involved in selling a house, including legal fees like conveyancing costs and valuation. Unless you want to use your own solicitor instead, in which case you’ll have to cover the costs yourself.
However, the tradeoff is that you won’t receive the full market value for your property. Instead, you’ll receive a cash offer that’s at least 80% below, which makes it worth the company’s while to purchase properties.
If you’re unsure whether The Property Buying Company is the right choice for you, the good news is that there are various other cash-buying companies in the industry that offer a similar service.
A few of these include:
If your priority is to secure a quick sale but you’re not sure whether you want to use property buyers to achieve this, an alternative option is to sell your house by auction instead. This will expose you to a wider pool of buyers, meaning you’re more likely to receive a price closer to the true market value of the property.
While the auction process is slower than working with a cash buyer, it’s generally faster than selling through an estate agent.
Overall, the Property Buying Company appears to be a credible company with reliable service thanks to its many years of experience and impressive reviews.
However, not all customers have been satisfied with their experience, so it’s worth exercising some caution and comparing your options before committing to using their services.
Depending on the type of property you have and your priorities, you may also want to consider alternative options, such as selling at auction.