What's the deal with those ropey-looking "houses bought for cash" signs you see tied to traffic lights?

Posted by No_Atmosphere8146@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 11 comments

How come they've got house-buying money, to hand but they don't have graphic-design money or proper-billboard money?

Are they real? Anybody ever used one? I assume they offer you pennies on the pound so I can't imagine what dire straits you'd have to be in to resort to using them.

The whole thing just seems very odd and below board.

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Logical_Hat_47@reddit

Why don't they bother trying to look slicker? Is it one of those Nigerian Prince things where they only want the stupid, vulnerable or desperate to respond?

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Boboshady@reddit

Exactly this - they're aiming specifically at the most vulnerable so they can bleed them dry for every possible penny off their house. The Nigerian prince thing...not so much :)

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ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

OP marked this as the best answer, given by /u/Boboshady.

They're legit, but in the dodgiest way possible. They don't bother with flash advertising because they're not trying to appeal to 'normal' people, they're advertising to desperate people who need to sell their house ASAP.

With this in mind, something that would put any sane person off is actually to their benefit - they make their money absolutely abusing people who have no other option, so people who can afford to negotiate, and hold out for the best price, are a waste of time to these guys.

From the get-go, they want the most desperate of people so they can get an absolute bargain, and that starts with advertising that literally screams "this is not your normal house selling process".

The 'cash' element is another part of that. Ultimately, you get paid in the same way you do selling your house the 'normal' way - money ends up in your bank. But 'cash' is quick, alternative, different from the channels that are not an option for whatever reason.

So all combined it's a deliberate attempt to attract the right kind of seller - one they'll be able to low-ball with an initial offer, and then continue to reduce that offer for anything and everything, throughout the process, until they end up agreeing on a stupidly low price that the seller is too desperate to refuse.

Sure, you'll sell your house quick, but at a significantly lower price than if you could put it on the market and wait.

^(What is this?)

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They're legit, but in the dodgiest way possible. They don't bother with flash advertising because they're not trying to appeal to 'normal' people, they're advertising to desperate people who need to sell their house ASAP.

With this in mind, something that would put any sane person off is actually to their benefit - they make their money absolutely abusing people who have no other option, so people who can afford to negotiate, and hold out for the best price, are a waste of time to these guys.

From the get-go, they want the most desperate of people so they can get an absolute bargain, and that starts with advertising that literally screams "this is not your normal house selling process".

The 'cash' element is another part of that. Ultimately, you get paid in the same way you do selling your house the 'normal' way - money ends up in your bank. But 'cash' is quick, alternative, different from the channels that are not an option for whatever reason.

So all combined it's a deliberate attempt to attract the right kind of seller - one they'll be able to low-ball with an initial offer, and then continue to reduce that offer for anything and everything, throughout the process, until they end up agreeing on a stupidly low price that the seller is too desperate to refuse.

Sure, you'll sell your house quick, but at a significantly lower price than if you could put it on the market and wait.

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No_Atmosphere8146@reddit (OP)

This strikes me as the correct !answer. I hadn't considered that the ropiness was part of their client vetting process.

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