The Property Buying Company Review: How They Compare to Bettermove

Who are The Property Buying Company?

The Property Buying Company (widely referred to as TPBC) are a cash house buying company based in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, founded in 2012 by Jonathan Christie and Karl McArdle. They are one of the more prominent names in the UK quick sale sector and have raised significant external funding, including a reported 10.5 million funding solution with Reward Finance Group to support expansion.

They are members of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) and registered with The Property Ombudsman (TPO), the two primary regulatory standards in this industry. They position themselves as a direct cash buyer, stating they purchase homes using their own cash funds without relying on property chains or mortgage loans.

They operate a 24/7 support line and market their service across England and Wales only. They do not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The Property Buying Company: Key facts & figures

Data sourced from The Property Buying Company website, Trustpilot, and Companies House. Last verified July 2026.

How The Property Buying Company works

Their process follows six steps, drawn from their own website:

Step 1: Get in touch

Contact them by phone, WhatsApp, or online form. A negotiator will discuss your circumstances and gather details about the property.

Step 2: Needs assessment

A team member establishes your requirements and learns about the property in more detail - timeline, condition, circumstances.

Step 3: Research and pricing

They carry out research to establish a price. Unlike some cash buyers, they do not always commission an independent RICS survey before making an initial offer - worth noting when assessing the reliability of any early figure.

Step 4: Property advertised

They advertise your property on their own website and, in some cases, on Rightmove. This step signals that in certain cases the sale route may involve their buyer network rather than a direct cash purchase - important to clarify at the outset.

Step 5: Sales management

Their team manage the sales process on your behalf, handling negotiations and progressing the sale.

Step 6: Completion

Their sales progression team manages the transaction through to completion. They cover legal fees and completion can be achieved in as little as seven days, though the typical timeline is longer for most sales.

Pros & cons of using The Property Buying Company

What customers say about The Property Buying Company

Across their Trustpilot profile, the themes in The Property Buying Company’s feedback are broadly consistent and reflect a company that delivers well for sellers who go in with realistic expectations about price.

Where customers are positive

The most frequently praised aspect is individual staff members. Reviewers regularly name specific team members by name and describe them as professional, empathetic, and not pushy. This is especially consistent in sales involving difficult circumstances such as probate or relationship breakdown, where sellers appreciate a measured and patient approach. The clarity of the process and the certainty of knowing a sale is proceeding are also recurring themes, with many positive reviewers contrasting the experience favourably against the uncertainty of a traditional estate agent sale.

Sellers who had previously experienced failed chains or lengthy estate agent processes tend to rate the experience particularly highly, with several citing the absence of last-minute complications and the final payment matching the agreed amount exactly.

Where customers are critical

The most common source of dissatisfaction is the gap between the initial offer and the formal offer after any survey or due diligence. A number of reviewers describe the final figure coming in notably lower than they had anticipated based on early conversations, leaving some feeling the process had not been fully transparent about the likelihood of a revised figure at a later stage.

A smaller number of reviews describe feeling tied into the process through what they understood to be a contract or cancellation terms, and a few reference their property being marketed on the open market rather than purchased directly. These accounts represent a minority of total reviews but appear consistently enough in the critical feedback to be worth noting.

What the overall picture suggests

With over 2,600 Trustpilot reviews at 4.5, The Property Buying Company have a substantial and broadly positive feedback base. The 5% one-star rate is modest relative to the total volume, and the positives in their reviews are consistent and credible - centred on specific staff members and process clarity rather than generic praise. The recurring pattern around offer reductions and the company’s practice of requesting review removals from Trustpilot (22 requests in 12 months, with 11 rejected by the platform) are factors some sellers may wish to research independently. Overall the picture is of a company that performs well for sellers who go in with clear expectations, but where the detail of the terms is worth understanding before committing.

The above summaries reflect the themes and sentiment of publicly available customer feedback on Trustpilot as of July 2026. They are editorial interpretations, not direct quotations. Reviews remain the property of their respective authors and Trustpilot.

The Property Buying Company vs Bettermove

Both companies are NAPB members with no seller fees and a strong Trustpilot presence. The meaningful differences are in offer levels, geographic coverage, and the sale routes available.

Data sourced from company websites and Trustpilot. Last verified July 2026. Please verify independently before proceeding. Fields marked 'Not stated' reflect information not published by the company at the time of writing.

Bettermove’s verdict

The Property Buying Company are a legitimate, well-regulated business with a genuine track record. Their NAPB membership, 14-year history, and strong Trustpilot volume place them at the more credible end of the quick sale sector. For sellers in England or Wales who need a fast, straightforward sale and are comfortable with an offer around 80% of market value, they are a reasonable option worth getting a quote from.

The areas worth understanding before committing are consistent with what their feedback reveals. Initial offers are indicative and can be revised- sellers should go in with clear expectations about what the formal offer may look like following any due diligence. Some customer accounts describe pre-completion contracts and cancellation terms, which are worth clarifying before agreeing to proceed. These concerns are not representative of the majority of experiences, but they appear often enough to merit attention.

Sellers comparing The Property Buying Company with Bettermove will find that Bettermove's buyer network route offers the potential to achieve a higher percentage of market value than TPBC's typical 80%. Bettermove also offers a chain-mending service for estate agents, which The Property Buying Company does not clearly offer in the same way as a service. For sellers who want to compare options before committing, getting a free offer from Bettermove alongside any TPBC quote takes minutes and costs nothing.

This page is an independent comparative analysis based on publicly available data, customer review themes, and information sourced from company websites, Trustpilot, and Companies House. Bettermove is not affiliated with The Property Buying Company. Nothing on this page constitutes financial or legal advice. All figures should be independently verified before making any property-related decision.