We buy houses that need work. As they are.
Don’t paint anything. Don’t touch the kitchen. Don’t fix the boiler. Don’t pay for a new roof. We buy the house exactly as it is, and we factor the condition into the offer up front.
Get my free offer → or call 02920 001331
”Needs work” can mean a lot of things
We’ve bought all of these:
- A 1970s house with original kitchen and bathroom, hasn’t been touched in decades
- A property with damp running through three rooms
- A house mid-renovation when the owner ran out of money
- An ex-rental that’s been hammered and needs everything stripped out
- A flood-damaged ground floor
- A house with subsidence (yes, with a structural report)
- A property with a cracked roof that’s been letting in water for two winters
- A house someone started extending and stopped
- A property with knotweed (we know exactly how to handle that)
- A house that’s been empty for ten years and needs everything
We’re not put off. We’ve seen worse.
Why selling a “house that needs work” via an estate agent rarely works
Most estate agents won’t list a property below a certain condition because:
- Buyers can’t get a mortgage on a property that’s not “habitable” by the lender’s definition
- Buyers expect to pay near market value because the listing photos can’t hide the issues
- The chain collapses because the buyer’s surveyor flags the problems
- Even at “investor” pricing, buyers want a discount on a discount
You end up with a property listed for 6+ months, multiple fall-throughs, and the price drops 5-10% each time it goes back on the market.
We skip all that. The offer reflects the condition. We pay for the work after we own it.
What we do differently
We come and look. A 30-45 minute visit with one of us (Jason or David). Not a “valuer” subcontracted by a head office.
We don’t ask you to fix anything. Don’t paint over the damp. Don’t pretend the boiler works. We’d rather see it as it is.
We factor in the work in the offer. The number we give reflects the genuine cost of fixing the house. We don’t lowball you with a number that pretends the work is bigger than it is - that’s lazy and you’d just go to someone else.
The price doesn’t drop later. A common trick from national chains: offer high, then “after our specialists reviewed”, drop the price 10-15% just before exchange. We don’t do that. The number we agree at the visit is the number that hits your account.
We pay for the surveys. No homebuyer’s report needed. No specialist damp report at your cost. We commission what we need, we pay for it.
We pay both solicitors. Even on legally messy situations - missing title documents, unregistered land, shared access disputes - our solicitor can usually work it out.
A real example
A property in Caerphilly was inherited by three siblings in 2023. The father had been a hoarder. The house hadn’t been cleared in 30 years. Damp through two rooms. Roof leaking. Boiler dead. They couldn’t agree on what to do because nobody wanted to spend the £35-50k to bring it to “saleable on the open market” condition.
They rang us. We visited. Made an offer that was clearly below open-market value, but where everyone netted a clean amount each into their personal accounts within 21 days. No clearance to organise. No tradespeople to chase. No 6-month estate agent process while the house deteriorated further.
All three siblings signed off on it inside a week.
Things people ask us about properties needing work
My house has structural issues - will you still buy it? Yes, with a survey. We’ll commission an engineer’s report (we pay) and the offer reflects what the survey says. We’ve bought properties with subsidence, cracked walls, failed lintels, and dodgy extensions.
There’s Japanese knotweed in the garden. We know how to handle it. There’s a specific protocol (treatment plan, certified contractor, lender disclosure on resale). We’ve bought several knotweed properties.
The house has been empty for years. Fine. We’ve bought houses that have been empty for 12+ years. Empty doesn’t scare us - we just need the title to be clean.
There’s no working bathroom or kitchen. We don’t need those to make an offer. We see the layout, we factor in the cost of installing them.
It’s mid-renovation and we ran out of money. This is one of the most common situations. We can complete in 7-21 days and you can stop the bleed of holding costs.
My mortgage lender said the house is “uninhabitable” - will you still buy? Yes. We’re cash buyers - we don’t need a mortgage to complete. The “uninhabitable” rating that blocks regular buyers is irrelevant to us.
What it costs you
Nothing.
- No fees to us
- No estate agent commission (because we’re not an agent)
- We pay both solicitors
- We pay for any surveys we need
- We clear the property after completion at no cost
The agreed price hits your account. Full stop.
Get a free no-obligation offer
Fill in the form - takes 2 minutes.
Or call 02920 001331 between 8am and 8pm. Tell us the house needs work and we’ll fast-track the visit. We’re never put off by the condition.
