WeBuyAnyHouse Scam
Discussion
paulwirral said:
Have the WBAH outfit maybe purchased or scammed their way into what was called an " option " back in my day . Pay a deposit and have some sort of title to the property for a certain amount of time ? I'm no expert, obviously , but it used to be the norm on commercial property when the developer would be expecting a long term planning decision
I think this is the case but i'm not certain. It certainly prevents a sale to a private individualDeep Thought said:
It seems what they do is offer a very quick 7 day sale (or similar) and offer below market value on the basis that WBAH have buyers ready to pay (and WBAH get the difference).
The seller then signs the paperwork for the sale but this includes some sort of clause allowing the WBAH 6(?) months to actually complete the sale. This gives WBAH the opportunity to advertise and sell the house at market value and take a very handsome "commission" of the difference between market value and their offer price.
I think this is the case and there are clauses within which prevent the seller from selling elsewhere. It's not clear how long this is for though.The seller then signs the paperwork for the sale but this includes some sort of clause allowing the WBAH 6(?) months to actually complete the sale. This gives WBAH the opportunity to advertise and sell the house at market value and take a very handsome "commission" of the difference between market value and their offer price.
bennno said:
Deep Thought said:
It seems what they do is offer a very quick 7 day sale (or similar) and offer below market value on the basis that WBAH have buyers ready to pay (and WBAH get the difference).
The seller then signs the paperwork for the sale but this includes some sort of clause allowing the WBAH 6(?) months to actually complete the sale. This gives WBAH the opportunity to advertise and sell the house at market value and take a very handsome "commission" of the difference between market value and their offer price.
Another variation seems to be they offer to buy at close to market value, but hold out and hold out until the last minute then change their offer price to maybe 25% less and rely on the seller having no choice but to sell at that point.
The scenario the O/P is describing seems to be the former though.
WBAH must exchange on the house at an agreed price surely? Why else would you accept their price give them months to advertise it.The seller then signs the paperwork for the sale but this includes some sort of clause allowing the WBAH 6(?) months to actually complete the sale. This gives WBAH the opportunity to advertise and sell the house at market value and take a very handsome "commission" of the difference between market value and their offer price.
Another variation seems to be they offer to buy at close to market value, but hold out and hold out until the last minute then change their offer price to maybe 25% less and rely on the seller having no choice but to sell at that point.
The scenario the O/P is describing seems to be the former though.
Say the house is worth £250,000. They offer £210,000 but with the promise of a speedy completion. The seller signs up. They advertise it at £250,000. Your contract with them is for £210,000 so you have no say over what WBAH accept over and above that.
Candellara said:
I think this is the case and there are clauses within which prevent the seller from selling elsewhere. It's not clear how long this is for though.
Sounds very unfair. Considering they are older and therefore vulnerable as well, they should have had all pertinent facts fully explained to them, which i doubt they did.Deep Thought said:
Say the house is worth £250,000. They offer £210,000 but with the promise of a speedy completion. The seller signs up. They advertise it at £250,000. Your contract with them is for £210,000 so you have no say over what WBAH accept over and above that.
Yes, but i think that the seller has a choice to accept or not accept the offers provided by WBAHSo, i think the situation will be that they either accept any forthcoming offers from WBAH and take the under valued amount or dismiss any offers or viewings from them until they can extricate themselves from the agreement and then just market the house with a local agent at the typical 1% selling rate
Candellara said:
Yes, but i think that the seller has a choice to accept or not accept the offers provided by WBAH
So, i think the situation will be that they either accept any forthcoming offers from WBAH and take the under valued amount or dismiss any offers or viewings from them until they can extricate themselves from the agreement and then just market the house with a local agent at the typical 1% selling rate
they really need legal advice, i'm sure any lawyer could poke holes in there terms.So, i think the situation will be that they either accept any forthcoming offers from WBAH and take the under valued amount or dismiss any offers or viewings from them until they can extricate themselves from the agreement and then just market the house with a local agent at the typical 1% selling rate
Shocking really, i cant believe people like this exist.
I mean if they were actually buying it themselves for x amount and then selling themselves for more then fair enough. You want a quick sale, they buy it etc.
But this sounds like sale or return where they aren't actually buying it at all, but your then tied in.
Very very slippery and makes me feel sad for anyone who isn't switched on enough to realise that.
I imagine the money they make is enormous. 40k here, 50k there a few times a week with very little outlay.......slippery f
kers.
I mean if they were actually buying it themselves for x amount and then selling themselves for more then fair enough. You want a quick sale, they buy it etc.
But this sounds like sale or return where they aren't actually buying it at all, but your then tied in.
Very very slippery and makes me feel sad for anyone who isn't switched on enough to realise that.
I imagine the money they make is enormous. 40k here, 50k there a few times a week with very little outlay.......slippery f
kers.
m3jappa said:
Shocking really, i cant believe people like this exist.
I mean if they were actually buying it themselves for x amount and then selling themselves for more then fair enough. You want a quick sale, they buy it etc.
But this sounds like sale or return where they aren't actually buying it at all, but your then tied in.
Very very slippery and makes me feel sad for anyone who isn't switched on enough to realise that.
I imagine the money they make is enormous. 40k here, 50k there a few times a week with very little outlay.......slippery fkers.
Yep, not a scam but i do feel very sorry for anyone that gets suckered into these sort of arrangements.I mean if they were actually buying it themselves for x amount and then selling themselves for more then fair enough. You want a quick sale, they buy it etc.
But this sounds like sale or return where they aren't actually buying it at all, but your then tied in.
Very very slippery and makes me feel sad for anyone who isn't switched on enough to realise that.
I imagine the money they make is enormous. 40k here, 50k there a few times a week with very little outlay.......slippery f
kers.They no doubt prey on the vulnerable and bloody vultures is the best way of describing them. Truly shocking that there isn't some sort of protection against this sort of underhand behaviour all wrapped up in fine print of t's and c's
Deep Thought said:
I think the premise is that they "expect" to get a buyer within say, 7 days, but there is an out in the contractual wording that doesnt commit them to that. People dont read the fine print, so only after they've signed and the sale doesnt immediately go through do they realise what they've signed up to.
Say the house is worth £250,000. They offer £210,000 but with the promise of a speedy completion. The seller signs up. They advertise it at £250,000. Your contract with them is for £210,000 so you have no say over what WBAH accept over and above that.
Probably something like this, although I expect that WBAH have legally committed to buying the house within a given time frame, and appear to have started marketing the house before they actually own it. Say the house is worth £250,000. They offer £210,000 but with the promise of a speedy completion. The seller signs up. They advertise it at £250,000. Your contract with them is for £210,000 so you have no say over what WBAH accept over and above that.
I doubt WBAH are simply working as marketing agents, or have an option on the property.
EDIT - the company is connected with a property investment company called Urbane Brix, and if someone could be bothered to go through the accounts no doubt that WBAH uses investors money from Urbane Brix to finance the properties and transfers them to the Urbane Brix portfolio which is then managed to provide a return to investors. Some properties may go back on the market, most would end up as BTL I expect.
EDIT 2 - Ahhh, okay, so they seem to offer 2 services. A "fast service" whereby WBAH buy the house using cash and complete quickly, but take a big discount to the open market price, and a "slower service" whereby WBAH act as an agent or middle man, using a database of investors from the company Urbane Brix and open market offers. The second option gets you closer to market value but takes longer, and it appears that WBAH have 6 months to find a buyer at which time you are under contract with them to sell them the house at the agreed price, irrespective of whatever price they achieve. To extradite yourself from their contract costs £500 or so, but they are members of The Property Ombudsman if you want to take your complaint higher.
Edited by Condi on Sunday 25th October 15:38
Condi said:
To extradite yourself from their contract costs £500 or so, but they are members of The Property Ombudsman if you want to take your complaint higher.
Interesting. I'd happily pay the Vendor to extradite. Where did you find this information?Edited by Condi on Sunday 25th October 15:38
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff