Property sales: Alternative solutions

Buy or sell your house quickly, without a mortgage!

Today’s property market place is a difficult one. Banks are operating with very tight lending criteria, prices have, in some cases, plummeted, and both buying and selling a house can be a real challenge.

We operate a number of innovative solutions for buying and selling property. Some of our solutions by-pass the need for a mortgage completely, and we are often able to buy, and sell, property at a good price where traditional methods have failed.

Management options

What is a management option?

To put it simply, a management option is a different way of selling your property. This type of arrangement is not new and has been tried and tested in the UK for over 15 years. Its use is becoming more widespread in London and the South of England, but is only now becoming better known in the North.

A management option has 2 main features: a management agreement on your property and an option to purchase that property during or at the end of that agreement.

The management agreement

During the period of the management agreement, typically 3 to 7 years, you can walk away from all responsibility for your property. We will be responsible for all aspects of running and maintenance:

We pay you a monthly income for the whole period of the management agreement, irrespective of whether or not there are tenants in the property.
We have full landlord obligations for any occupying tenants.
We are financially responsible for maintaining your property; we may even decorate and improve it (with your consent).
If there is a mortgage on the property, we will make the payments on your behalf.
We are responsible for insurance.

The option

In addition to the management agreement, we intend to purchase your property. We can make this purchase during, or at the end of, our period of responsibility. We will agree at the start a price that is acceptable to you, and this will be based on your asking price. This arrangement of being able to buy a property in the future, at a pre-agreed price, is called an option.

How do I know if it is the right solution for me?

If you need all the cash out of your property straight away, then this solution is not for you. If you only need some release of equity, however, then it may be possible to restructure the finance secured on your property to allow this to happen. To explore this further, you would need to speak to your lender or mortgage broker.

The main advantage with a management option is that, in most cases, you can walk away from responsibility for your property in 3 to 4 weeks. During the period of the agreement we pay you a monthly income, typically 60-80% of what a family would pay to live there. Unlike the normal rental situation, however, you are free from: responsibility for managing tenants; organising and paying for the maintenance of your property; and the problems of rental voids. We are legally obliged to pay you the agreed monthly payments, whether or not the property is occupied.

If you have come to us through one of our partner estate agents, then they will be involved though out the whole process, from initial discussions through to the signing of the agreement, much as they would in a normal sale. In addition to this we pay their commission on your behalf. We also pay £600 towards your legal fees, which will usually be enough to settle your solicitor’s fees in full.You remain the legal owner of the property throughout the time of the agreement, until such time as the property is sold.

Next steps

If you would like to know more about whether a management option is suitable for your individual situation, then the first thing to do is to arrange a meeting with one of our consultants. If you have come to us through one of our partner estate agents then you should get in touch with them. A meeting can be arranged either at their offices or in your home.
If it becomes clear that this is the right solution for you, you will appoint a solicitor to legally represent you, as you would in a normal sale. Your solicitor will then work with our solicitor to draw up the terms of the agreement so that all parties are happy. The agreement is then signed and responsibility for the property becomes ours.

Case-study examples

Cash purchase

Turn your property into cash in less than 7 days!

In cases where a property needs to be sold quickly, and all the money out straight away, we have a network of property investors with cash funds. This type of solution will not usually pay full market value for your property, but the whole process can be completed in a matter of days.
If you are considering a cash sale then please seek independent financial advice first. If this is still the best course of action for you, then please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss your options.

Buying without a mortgage

Rent to own!

For those who would like to own their own home, but have had difficulty obtaining the necessary finance, we have a number of properties for sale by ‘rent to own’. Put simply, this is a way of buying a house while you occupy and rent it. You pay an initial deposit, usually only a few thousand, and then the rent includes payment instalments towards the agreed purchase price of the property. It is basically similar to a mortgage, but instead of paying interest and capital, you pay rent and capital. You don’t need to approach any banks and the deposit is much smaller.

If you would like to explore this further, then please contact us.

Creative Solutions for selling and renting your property in these difficult times.