Freephone 24/7 Call: 0800 068 4015
I'm a property expert that still remembers the days when having broadband was a selling point! My articles cover issues that homesellers face in the UK and answer the questions we're all asking. I've bought and sold properties and helped others do the same, so my writing comes from years of experience.
Read Full Bio >A genuine “we buy any house” company is a member of the NAPB, registered with The Property Ombudsman, can prove its funds, charges nothing upfront, and pays the offer it agreed with no last-minute reduction.
Key takeaways
- NAPB membership is the single fastest check. The National Association of Property Buyers, formed in 2013, is the only UK trade body for cash house buyers. Every member must also belong to The Property Ombudsman and follow a TPO-approved Code of Practice.
- The government points to the same list. The GOV.UK “How to sell a home” guidance tells sellers to use a firm that is a member of the NAPB, because members are signed up to the Ombudsman’s Code of Practice.
- A genuine buyer never asks you for money. No upfront fee, no admin fee, no cancellation charge and no lock-in contract, option agreement or RX1 Land Registry restriction.
- Expect roughly 80% to 85% of market value. That is the range the NAPB says genuine buyers work to. A promise of 100% of market value on a guaranteed fast sale is a warning sign, not a bargain.
- The sector is not FCA-regulated. No licence is required to advertise as a house buyer, so the checks below — and the paper trail behind them — are the only real protection a seller has.
What makes a “we buy any house” company genuine?
A genuine company buys your house with its own money, under a code of practice, at a price it commits to in writing. A fake one is usually a lead broker — a website that collects your details and sells them on — or a buyer with no funds who ties you into a contract and then renegotiates once you are committed. The five checks below separate the two, and every one of them can be done for free in under an hour.
The scale of the problem is why the checks matter. The Advisory, an independent watchdog that mystery-shops the quick-sale sector, states that 97% of advertised “we buy any house” companies fail its tests — a figure it published in its 2026 review. Most failures are not outright fraud; they are brokers and middlemen presenting themselves as principal buyers.
| Sign | How to verify it | Fails the check if… |
|---|---|---|
| 1. NAPB member and TPO registered | Find the firm on the NAPB members list and the TPO register — not just the logo on their site | The logo is displayed but the name is not on either register |
| 2. Proof of funds on request | Ask for a bank statement or a letter from their solicitor before you accept | They stall, or say funds are “subject to investor approval” |
| 3. No money upfront, no tie-in | Read the agreement for fees, exclusivity periods, option agreements and RX1 forms | Any fee is payable before completion, or you cannot walk away |
| 4. The offer holds to completion | Ask how the final figure is set and what would change it, in writing | The price drops late in the process without a survey reason |
| 5. A real, traceable, reviewed business | Check the company number at Companies House and read recent third-party reviews | PO Box only, no company number, or nothing but five-star reviews |
Sign 1: it is on the NAPB members list and the TPO register
This is the fastest check and the one that filters out most of the market. The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) was formed in 2013 and is the only UK trade body dedicated to cash house buyers. Membership is open only to firms that buy property themselves — not to brokers — and every member must also be registered with The Property Ombudsman and abide by a TPO-approved Code of Practice covering pricing transparency, written commitments and vulnerable customers.
The government agrees. The GOV.UK “How to sell a home” guidance tells homeowners considering an instant cash purchase to “use a firm that is a member of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB), as they are signed up to The Property Ombudsman’s Code of Practice.”
Check the register, not the logo. A badge on a website is an image file. Search the company’s registered name on the NAPB members page and the TPO register yourself. If the trading name differs from the registered name — which is common and not automatically suspicious — ask which legal entity is actually buying your house, then look that up.
The value of TPO registration is practical: it gives you a free, independent complaints route with binding decisions and awards of up to £25,000, without a solicitor and without going to court. If a company belongs to no redress scheme at all, your only remedy is litigation. Our guide to whether “we buy any house” companies are legit goes through the accreditation landscape in more depth.
Sign 2: it can show you proof of funds before you commit
A genuine cash buyer holds the money now. Ask for proof of funds — a recent bank statement or a letter from their solicitor confirming cleared funds — before you take the property off the market. A real buyer produces it in a day or two and expects the question. This is the check that exposes the most common failure in the sector: firms that advertise as buyers but are really lead generators, selling your details on to whoever will pay for them.
Three answers should stop you: “we’ll arrange funding once contracts are drafted”, “our investor is reviewing it”, and “we’ll place it with one of our buying partners”. Each one means the company cannot complete on its own balance sheet, so the seven-day timescale it advertised is not in its control. Ask the same question of every firm you approach — our list of the top 10 house buying companies in the UK is a reasonable starting shortlist.
Sign 3: it never asks for money upfront and does not tie you in
A genuine house buying company charges the seller nothing. No valuation fee, no admin fee, no survey fee, no “processing” fee and no cancellation charge if you change your mind. Legal costs are normally covered by the buyer. Any request for payment during the offer stage is a red flag, and the NAPB names it as one of the clearest.
Read the paperwork for the second half of this check. Three documents should make you pause before signing:
- A lock-in or exclusivity clause. This stops you selling to anyone else for a fixed period. A genuine buyer working to a 7-to-28-day timescale does not need months of exclusivity.
- An option agreement. This gives the company the right, but not the obligation, to buy — so it can walk away while you cannot. It is a tool for trading contracts, not for a straightforward purchase.
- An RX1 form. This is an HM Land Registry application to enter a restriction on your title, which can block you from dealing with your own property. The NAPB flags it as a warning signal in a quick-sale agreement.
If a document is put in front of you that you do not understand, the correct response is to have a solicitor read it — and a genuine buyer will wait while you do. Our breakdown of “we buy any house” fees sets out what should and should not appear on a completion statement.
Sign 4: the offer it makes is the offer you get on completion
The most damaging tactic in the sector is the late price drop, often called gazundering — reducing an agreed offer shortly before, or on, the day of completion, when the seller has already committed to a move and has the least room to refuse. The NAPB lists it as a recognised trick of scam operators, and it is the single most common complaint sellers raise about the sector.
Two questions test for it before you are exposed. First: how is the final figure arrived at? A genuine buyer bases it on a RICS-qualified survey or on independent local agent valuations, and will say so. Second: what circumstances would change it? A legitimate answer names specific, survey-driven findings — subsidence, an unsafe roof, a short lease. An answer that is vague, or that mentions “market conditions”, leaves the door open to a reduction for no reason.
Set your expectations at the start and a late drop is easier to spot. The NAPB puts genuine cash offers at roughly 80% to 85% of market value; we set out the maths behind that discount in our guide to how much below market value cash buyers offer and to how much “we buy any house” companies actually pay. A firm guaranteeing 100% of market value on a fast sale is either mispricing deliberately in order to reduce later, or is not buying the house itself.
Sign 5: it is a real, findable company with a believable review history
A genuine buyer will give you a full company name, a registered office address and a company number without being pushed. Put the number into Companies House and check three things: how long the company has traded, whether accounts are filed and up to date, and whether the directors are behind a string of dissolved property companies. A PO Box, a mobile number and a contact form are not a business address.
Then read the reviews properly. The NAPB’s own guidance warns that an unbroken wall of five-star reviews is itself suspicious: a company that has been trading for years will have a spread of ratings and some critical reviews with sensible replies. Look across Trustpilot, Google and Feefo rather than the testimonials curated on the company’s own website, and weight recent reviews most heavily. Our guide to spotting fake “we buy any house” reviews covers the patterns in detail.
Genuine buyer or scam: what the difference looks like
| What you see | Genuine company | Scam or broker |
|---|---|---|
| Accreditation | Listed on the NAPB members page and the TPO register | Logos on the website, no entry on either register |
| Funds | Bank statement or solicitor’s letter within days | “Our investor is reviewing it” |
| Cost to you | £0 — no fees, legal costs usually covered | Admin, valuation or cancellation fees |
| Paperwork | A plain sale agreement you can leave at any time | Lock-in clause, option agreement or RX1 restriction |
| The offer | 80%–85% of market value, held to completion | Near-market value, then cut days before completion |
| Identity | Company number, registered office, filed accounts | PO Box, contact form, no company number |
| Reviews | Years of mixed, recent third-party reviews | Hundreds of five-star reviews posted in weeks |
One point worth stating plainly: the quick house sale sector is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and no company can honestly claim to be “FCA regulated” for buying your house. A firm that says it is has already failed the test. Self-regulation through the NAPB and TPO is the protection that actually exists.
How Springbok Properties meets the five checks
Springbok Properties Ltd is registered at Companies House under company number 09045757, with a registered office at Suite 7n Chester Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, M32 0RS. We are regulated by The Property Ombudsman and are members of the National Association of Property Buyers, so the Code of Practice and the free redress route both apply to us.
On the rest: we charge sellers no fees and cover the legal costs, there is no tie-in period and you can walk away at any point before exchange, and our offers sit below full market value by design rather than being talked down later. If you want to run the same checks on us that this article recommends you run on anyone else, start with is Springbok Properties legit?, then compare the route itself against the alternative in cash buyer vs estate agent. If speed is the reason you are here, our sell house fast and cash house buyers UK pages explain the timescale, and how “we buy any house” works walks through the process step by step.
Frequently asked questions about genuine “we buy any house” companies
How do I know if a “we buy any house” company is genuine?
Check five things: that the firm appears on the NAPB members list and The Property Ombudsman register, that it can show proof of funds, that it charges nothing upfront and has no tie-in, that it explains how the final offer is set, and that its company number and reviews check out.
Are “we buy any house” companies regulated in the UK?
No. The quick house sale sector is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and no licence is needed to trade. Protection comes from voluntary self-regulation instead: NAPB membership and registration with The Property Ombudsman, whose Code of Practice members must follow.
Should a house buying company ever ask for money upfront?
No. A genuine buyer charges the seller nothing — no valuation, admin, survey or cancellation fee — and usually covers the legal costs too. The NAPB names any upfront payment request as a red flag, because a company that needs your money to proceed does not have its own.
How much do genuine “we buy any house” companies pay?
The NAPB puts genuine cash offers at around 80% to 85% of market value, reflecting the speed, certainty and the fact that the buyer carries the resale risk. A guarantee of 100% of market value on a fast sale is a warning sign rather than a better deal.
What should I do if a company drops its offer just before completion?
Ask for the reduction in writing with the survey evidence behind it, and remember you are not obliged to accept. If the company is an NAPB member or TPO registered, you can complain free to The Property Ombudsman, which issues binding decisions and awards of up to £25,000.
Written by Dan Green, Property Expert at Springbok Properties. Last updated 2 September 2026. Guidance is based on the NAPB Code of Practice, The Property Ombudsman and GOV.UK “How to sell a home” material current at that date; always run your own checks before agreeing a sale.
