Any condition · Any title problem · No repairs needed
Sell an unsellable house
Usually the house is fine. It is the mortgage that is the problem
Subsidence, spray foam, knotweed, a flying freehold, non-standard construction or a buyer whose lender simply said no. Enter your postcode below for a firm cash offer in under one hour. We are not borrowing, so none of it stops us.
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“I didn’t have much faith that the house would sell this time, especially after a failed attempt a few years ago with a different agent. I was proven wrong very quickly—they managed to secure an offer within a month!”
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The reframe
What makes a house “unsellable”?
Almost nothing is truly unsellable. What people mean by the word is unmortgageable, and those are very different problems. A house becomes unmortgageable when something about it falls outside a lender’s criteria, at which point buyers who need a mortgage, and that is most of them, cannot proceed even if they love the place.
That is worth saying plainly, because owners in this position often assume there is something shameful about their house. Usually there is not. A perfectly sound 1950s property built with a non-standard concrete system, or a flat above a takeaway, or a house whose loft was insulated with spray foam by a firm that promised it would save money, can all be excellent homes that a high street lender will not touch.
We buy with our own funds. No lender means no lending criteria, which is why the list below stops being a problem the moment a cash buyer is involved.
Your options
Two ways to sell a hard-to-sell house
Which route suits you depends on whether the problem is fundamental or cosmetic. A house that simply needs work can often still reach our investor network. One with a genuine legal or structural blocker usually needs us to buy it directly.
We buy it directly
Complete in 7 to 28 days
We purchase with our own funds and take the problem on ourselves. Structural issues, title defects and construction types that lenders decline are all things we deal with routinely.
Best suited for: houses a mortgage lender will not lend against at all.
- No survey result can stop us
- Title and legal defects accepted
- Nothing to repair, clear or fix
- Legal fees covered
- Full market value is not possible
Sell to our investor network
Usually 30 days or less
Our network of 60,000+ investors includes developers and refurbishment buyers who actively want properties that need work, because that is where their margin is.
Best suited for: houses that are simply tired or need refurbishment rather than being fundamentally unmortgageable.
- Buyers who want a project
- Condition is the attraction, not the obstacle
- Buyer commits with a £1,000 deposit
- Legal fees covered
- Takes longer than a direct purchase
Why us
We have bought all of these before
Structural movement and subsidence, past underpinning, Japanese knotweed, spray foam loft insulation, non-standard construction such as Airey, Cornish and Woolaway concrete or steel-framed and timber-framed houses, flying freeholds, unregistered title, missing building regulations approval, absent freeholders, short leases, cladding, fire and flood damage, contaminated land, mineshafts, properties with no working kitchen or bathroom, and houses above commercial premises.
None of that is unusual to us and none of it needs resolving before we buy. You will not be asked to obtain an indemnity policy, commission a structural report, treat the knotweed, remove the foam or track down a freeholder nobody has heard from in fifteen years. We take the property, and the problem, as they stand.
What is actually going on
Why the sale keeps falling through
On the open market
Selling to a cash buyer
The honest bit
What it costs to sell a problem property
Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation charge, no admin fee. We pay for the survey and we cover your legal costs, including the extra work a defective title usually generates.
What it costs is price. We pay up to 80% of market value on a direct purchase, and on a property with a genuine structural or legal problem that figure reflects the cost and risk of putting it right. Compare it against the price after three failed sales and two reductions, not against the original asking price.
You pay nothing to find out where you stand: the offer is free, in writing and carries no obligation. Read the full explanation.
Regulated and accredited
The usual culprits
What tends to make a house unmortgageable
If your sale keeps collapsing, it is almost always one of these. Knowing which one tells you whether it is worth fixing or worth selling as it stands.
Call us on 0330 004 0050 or email hello@bettermove.co.uk. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Structural movement or subsidence
Cracking, past underpinning or a history of movement. Even where it was fully repaired decades ago, the record alone can be enough for a lender to decline.
How we assess itNon-standard construction
Concrete system-built houses, steel or timber frame, prefabs and thatch. Structurally sound in many cases, and outside most high street lending policy.
Selling regardless of constructionSpray foam and knotweed
Two of the most common reasons a sale collapses today. Both are treatable and both routinely stop a mortgage in the meantime. Neither stops us.
Get an offer anywayTitle and legal defects
Flying freeholds, unregistered land, missing building regulations, restrictive covenants, boundary disputes or a freeholder nobody can trace.
Leasehold problemsUninhabitable or damaged
Fire or flood damage, no working kitchen or bathroom, or a part-finished renovation. Lenders require a habitable property. We do not.
Selling a property as-isGot questions?
Selling an unsellable house FAQs
These are the questions we are asked most by owners whose sale keeps falling through.
What is considered an “unsellable” house?
In practice it means unmortgageable: something about the property falls outside lenders’ criteria, so buyers who need finance cannot complete. Common causes are structural movement, non-standard construction, knotweed, spray foam insulation, short leases, title defects and uninhabitable condition.
Why would somebody buy my unsellable house?
Because the problem is a lending problem rather than a housing problem. We buy with our own funds, so criteria that stop a mortgage do not stop us, and investors buy these properties deliberately because the discount is where their return comes from.
What if my house has legal or title issues?
Flying freeholds, unregistered title, missing building regulations, restrictive covenants and absent freeholders are all things our solicitors handle regularly. You are not expected to resolve them or fund indemnity policies first.
Will you buy a house with subsidence or structural movement?
Yes, including properties with a history of underpinning. We pay for a full independent survey so that we understand what we are taking on, and the survey result does not become a reason to reduce the agreed price.
What about Japanese knotweed or spray foam insulation?
Both are extremely common reasons for a sale to collapse and neither prevents us buying. You do not need to arrange treatment, removal or a management plan before we complete.
How long will it take to sell my unsellable house?
As little as seven days on a direct purchase and typically 28 or fewer. Properties with title defects can take slightly longer because there is more legal work, and we will tell you at the outset if that applies.
Will I receive a fair offer?
We pay up to 80% of market value on a direct purchase and we tell you that plainly. The right comparison is what the property will actually achieve given the problem, not the asking price it carried before the problem was discovered.
Do I need to pay any upfront fees or commission?
No. No fees of any kind, ever, and we pay for the survey and the conveyancing. If any company asks you to pay up front to sell a problem property, treat that as a warning sign.
Do I need to make any repairs first?
No. We buy in any condition, including properties that are part-renovated, fire or flood damaged, or without a working kitchen or bathroom. You are not asked to clear, clean or fix anything.
Can I trust Bettermove to handle the sale?
We are members of the National Association of Property Buyers and registered with The Property Ombudsman, so there is an independent route for complaints. We will also show proof of funds on request, and we will tell you if we think you would do better fixing the problem and selling on the open market.
More ways we help
Whatever your situation, there is a route
A house that will not sell usually has a specific cause. These pages cover the situations we deal with most often.
Find out what your house is really worth
A free valuation, a survey at our cost, a firm offer in under one hour whatever the problem, and absolutely no obligation to accept it.
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