Who are National Homebuyers
Sussex-based National Homebuyer began as a property investment company. They would buy undesirable properties, carry out renovations, and then resell them on the open market.
In the early 2000s, the company decided to develop a customer-facing service for UK homeowners. The company has been operating as National Homebuyers since 2006.
What services do National Homebuyers provide?
According to their website, National Homebuyers will buy any house and promise to make an offer for your property, regardless of condition or location.
They claim to buy every property directly.
What is the buying process for National Homebuyers?
National Homebuyers follow a similar process to most other ‘quick sale’ companies.
Step 1: At the point of enquiry, they will gather a range of information about your property and the surrounding area.
Step 2: After some further research on your property, you will be presented with a cash offer. You will usually receive this within around 7 days of initial contact.
Step 3: You have 14 days to accept National Homebuyers’ offer. If you do choose to accept it, National Homebuyers will instruct a survey of your property. They say you can expect the sale process to take around 4 weeks.
How much below market value do National Homebuyers offer?
It’s unclear what you should expect when it comes to National Homebuyers prices. They don’t appear to provide any direct information on this topic on their website, instead saying they will make the best offer they can for each property.
Their promise to buy any property means that their level of discount is likely to differ. Less desirable properties will undoubtedly have a larger discount applied.
Pros & Cons of National Homebuyers
National Homebuyers - Positives
- UK-based company
- Customer service team receive positive customer reviews
- Well-established company
National Homebuyers - Negatives
- Several customer reviews mention offer being lowered at the last minute
- It seems their initial offer is made before any internal inspection – this means offers are likely to be less accurate and more vulnerable to reductions after survey
- Don’t appear to be members of any redress schemes such as The Property Ombudsman (TPO) or National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB)
Is National Homebuyers legit? - Our verdict
National Homebuyers’ company accounts indicate that they are a genuine house buying company that purchases properties with their own cash funds.
The biggest criticism they face from customers who have used their service is around them lowering their cash offer throughout the sale process. One customer reported having their offer dropped from 80% of the company’s valuation figure to 45% on the day they were due to exchange contracts.
National Homebuyers don’t appear to do any internal property inspection until after their cash offer has been accepted. This means their initial offer is based on two factors: general market trends in the area and the homeowner’s subjective assessment of the property’s condition. What is ‘average condition’ to one homeowner may be ‘poor condition’ or ‘good condition’ to another. With this in mind, customer reviews suggesting offers are frequently lowered after inspection should come as little surprise. This, however, has the potential to leave homeowners with a great deal of uncertainty around budgeting for their onward plans and eliminates one of the main benefits of using a cash home buying company.
National Homebuyers Watchdog appearance
National Homebuyers did appear on Watchdog (a BBC consumer affairs programme) in the mid-2000s, accused of some rather unscrupulous tactics. Whilst their customer reviews suggest they now have some very happy customers, tales of them reducing their offers throughout the sale process will ring alarm bells for many homeowners considering using their service.
Are National homebuyers any good?
It’s important to remember that the homebuying industry is unregulated. National Homebuyers pass one of the big cash homebuying company assessments, in that they purchase properties with their own cash funds, but a lack of transparency and certainty about how much they pay for property is something homeowners should consider.
AVOID THIS COMPANY, they are very kind and helpful on the phone but last minute they will drop the price on you even if you have done everything they have asked for including spending around £5,000 on my property to help the sale.
I’ve had a call this morning they are trying to drop there offer by over £60,000 making the purchase of the next property unachievable.
****** Update ******
Regards to your reply, your surveyor was happy with everything and I provided everything you asked for so I don’t agree with your response.
**** Yes it is the 3rd review as you kept trying to remove them, people need to know ***
*** Yes we have had to go on the market £130,000 less than before (still more than you offered) for a quick sale to not lose our next house, thanks to how we where treated by you*** update we sold the house within 24hrs at this price on the open market, should have just been on the open market all along ***
Victoria is helpful on the phone, but as per all other reviews AVOID! as they drop the price at the very last minute with no reasonable explanation! Dropping the price by over 60k! Forced us to a position where we were no longer able to move house.
Please read all reviews and take their word for it 😀. We gave this company the benefit of the doubt but clearly it uses the same tactics for everyone. Avoid!
Happy with the original offer made and confirmed by email after survey completed. 3 days before exchange and completion they called to say house prices had gone down (I saw no evidence of this online) and reduced my offer by £15,000. I was so upset but we had to proceed as so near to the move itself. The mortgage was in place so had to use savings. Be wary of this when considering using this company. On the plus side, Elizabeth who dealt with my case was brilliant. Very helpful and understanding. She understood my feelings on the reduced offer and worked with me to find a mutual resolution. Thank you Elizabeth.
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National Homebuyers customer reviews
National Homebuyers Reviews Trustpilot
Trustpilot Score: 4.0 / 5
National Homebuyers Trustpilot review score: On Trustpilot, National Homebuyers have a customer review score of 4.3/5. This score is based on 490 reviews. Whilst 76% of reviews are 5-star, it’s worth noting that 13% of reviewers gave the company just 1 star. The main criticisms in customer reviews are around claims that National Homebuyers have been disingenuous in their marketing by implying they may be able to make an offer near the customer’s asking price. Several customers also suggest they have had their cash offer decreased at the last minute.
National Homebuyers have responded to 97% of negative reviews left in the last 12 months. They have also requested the removal of 30 reviews in the same time period. Trustpilot rejected 25 of those requests, 4 reviews were removed because Trustpilot couldn’t get a response from the reviewer, and 1 was removed after being found to be in breach of Trustpilot guidelines.
National Homebuyers Reviews Google
Google Score: 3.9 / 5
National Homebuyers Google review score: On Google, National Homebuyers have a customer score of 4.3/5. This is based on 180 reviews. Again, the main criticism appears to be around a lack of clarity, and perhaps intentional misleading regarding how much lower than market value they pay for properties.
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Compare National Homebuyers with Quick Move Now
| Quick Move Now | National Homebuyers | |
|---|---|---|
| Established since | 1998 | 2004 |
| Annual turnover | £20.3 million | £22 million across company group – it’s unclear how much of this has come from the direct buying and selling of properties. |
| Members of any professional associations or redress schemes? | Yes, Quick Move Now are members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) | No, it doesn’t look like National Homebuyers are part of any professional body or redress scheme. |
| Is the company registration number available on the website? | Yes | Yes |
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Frequently Asked Questions About National Homebuyers
We couldn’t find any information about the level of offer National Homebuyers typically offer. They say they assess each property individually and do not apply standard discounts.
National Homebuyers say they undertake extensive market research and speak to local estate agents and surveyors in your area to ascertain an accurate market value for your property. They say that once you have accepted their offer, they will send a representative round to the property to ensure the information they have is accurate.
National Homebuyers’ website says they do not charge any fees for their service.
National Homebuyers say they will contribute up to £1,000 towards legal fees upon completion, as long as you exchange contracts within 30 days of acceptance of their offer. With a typical sale time of 4 weeks, it’s unclear what percentage of sales will fall inside that 30-day window.
National Homebuyers say you can realistically expect the entire process to take around 4 weeks, as long as there aren’t any hold-ups in the process.
National Homebuyers claim to be direct cash buyers.
The property buying industry is unregulated, but companies can choose to become voluntary members of professional organisations. We could not find any evidence of National Homebuyers being members of any such organisations.