Quick Sale Agents Slammed

While the thought of selling your home quickly appeals to many people, you need to sell your home for a suitable price. Your next move is likely dependent on generating a certain level of income in selling your home. Homeowners that sell their property for too low a fee will often find themselves in trouble later.

Therefore, while companies that promise to sell homes quickly sound of benefit, many homeowners are placing themselves and their loved ones at risk. This is the focus of a programme on BBC Radio, which focuses on quick-sale firms. These firms are allegedly responsible for many homeowners missing out on thousands of pounds.

Trading Standards are investigating these cases

The programme states Trading Standards officers across the country have witnessed dozens of cases where people have lost out on tens of thousands of pounds, wiped from the market value of their property.

The Radio 4 Money Box programme states; "Some homeowners will accept a lower offer price to secure a speedy sale, and many firms provide a good service." The programme also says Trading Standards have a few of these businesses in their sights right now.

Many of these quick-sale firms promise to sell a home within seven or 14 days. However, the investigation has uncovered many cases where the offer price of the property has been reduced, at times significantly, and many times without the property owner being aware of this change.

The programme cited the case involved Marianne Phillips, where she claims the agreed price for her home was 250,000 pounds. However, Marianne claims the company lowered the asking price by 20,000; and did so without her approval or permission.

Marianne spoke to the programme, saying; "No way did I ever give my approval for that, I was absolutely devastated. It's a lot of money to reduce a house by without ever getting in touch with the person who owns it. The equity I've built up in the house, they have just potentially wiped a lot of that out by reducing it by twenty thousand pound. It could have quite a dramatic effect on my future."

These changes can devastate people

The radio programme spoke with Lee Reynolds, a lawyer with expertise in this area, and he said; "Dropping the price of someone's house is a potential breach of what's called Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations. That's punishable by up to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. If it was done knowingly or recklessly it's still a potential breach."

Mark Hayward is the Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, and he spoke to the BBC about the safest way to secure an estate agent who would put the client first. He said; "I would warn people to make sure they've read the small print and to not be pushed into any price they are not comfortable with, your house is your biggest asset, don't be rushed into making any decision."

At Innovate, we are an independent estate agent, and we are pleased to say we have developed a strong reputation in the West Midlands. If you are keen to sell your home, we are pleased to arrange a property valuation for you. For complete peace of mind when it comes to selling your home, choose a local agent you can trust, and we are here to help you.

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