Any condition · No repairs needed · No work to fund
Sell a house in poor condition
We buy houses that need work, exactly as they stand
Damp, damage, a full renovation job, or a house nobody has touched in years. We buy property in any condition, with no repairs to fund, no redecorating and no work to arrange first. Enter your postcode below for a firm offer in under one hour.
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“The whole experience was brilliant… I can’t fault any member of their staff all very helpful. They guide you all the way. My property was in need of a lot of work, it was marketed very well.”
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Rated excellent
What Bettermove customers say about us
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The basics
Can you sell a house in poor condition?
Yes, and you do not have to fix anything first. Every property has a buyer at some price, and condition changes the price rather than the possibility. What makes it feel like a barrier is that the open market is built around buyers who need a mortgage, and lenders make condition their business.
So the pattern is familiar. A house that needs work attracts fewer viewings, the offers that arrive are cautious, and the survey is where things come apart. A buyer who was enthusiastic in March asks for money off in May, or their lender holds back part of the loan until the work is done, and the sale falls over. Plenty of sellers go through that more than once before they change approach.
There is a second market that never sees any of this. Cash buyers, renovators and investors buy condition on purpose, because the work is where their return comes from. They are not frightened by a survey, they price the job instead of guessing at it, and they do not need a lender’s permission. That is who we are, and who our network is.
Your options
Two ways to sell a house that needs work
Both take the property exactly as it stands. Neither asks you to spend a penny on it first, and neither charges you a fee.
We buy it directly
Complete in 7 to 28 days
We buy with our own funds and survey at our own cost. The condition is priced in openly at the start rather than used to renegotiate at the end, and nothing needs fixing, redecorating or putting right before we complete.
Best suited for: houses that need substantial work, and sellers who want it dealt with in one go.
- No repairs, no redecorating, no work
- The price does not move after the survey
- Complete in as little as 7 days
- Legal fees covered
- Full market value is not possible
Sell to our investor network
Usually 30 days or less
Our network includes renovators and investors who buy condition deliberately. They are not put off by the work, they cost it accurately, and a property that struggles on the open market often does well in front of them.
Best suited for: properties where the work is contained, and sellers who want the strongest price the condition allows.
- Buyers who want the project
- Priced on the work, not on fear of it
- Buyer commits with a deposit
- Legal fees covered
- Takes longer than a direct purchase
Before you spend anything
Why fixing it first rarely pays you back
The instinct is to put the house right before selling it, and it is usually the wrong one. Money spent on a house you are leaving is money you may never see again, and the jobs that matter most here are the ones nobody can price accurately in advance. Damp, roofing, movement, rewiring, fire and flood damage: the quote only becomes a real number once somebody opens up a wall.
And while the work goes on, the house is still yours. You are paying the mortgage, the council tax, the insurance and the standing charges on a property you have already decided to leave, and you are managing trades on it in your own time. That is the part that never appears in anybody’s estimate, and on a long job it can quietly cost more than the work itself.
So get the number first. A valuation from us is free, commits you to nothing, and tells you exactly what your house is worth exactly as it stands today, before you spend a pound on it. If the figure works, we can complete in as little as seven days with nothing repaired, nothing cleaned and nothing put right. If it does not, you have lost nothing but an hour.
What changes
Listing it as it stands, or selling it as it is
On the open market
Selling it to us
The honest bit
What it costs to sell a house in poor condition
Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation charge, no survey cost and no admin fee, and we pay for the conveyancing.
What it costs is price. On a direct purchase we pay up to 80% of market value, and where the property needs substantial work the offer reflects the real cost of doing it. We would rather show you that arithmetic, the value once finished less the cost and risk of finishing it, than bury it inside one flat number.
Through our investor network, properties where the work is contained typically achieve up to 93%. Either way you are told which percentage of market value the offer represents before anything proceeds. Read the full explanation.
Regulated and accredited
Properties we buy
The condition we see most often
If yours is on this list, it is a house we have bought before.
Call us on 0330 004 0050 or email hello@bettermove.co.uk. This page is general information and not advice on your particular property.
It needs a full renovation
Kitchen, bathroom, wiring, heating, windows, the lot. We buy houses that need everything doing and we cost the work honestly rather than using it as leverage.
How a direct sale worksDamp, rot or movement
The problems that frighten buyers and stop lenders. Tell us what you know and what you do not, and our survey establishes the rest at our cost.
If a lender has refused itFire or flood damaged
Insurance settled or still running, restored or untouched. We buy damaged property and handle the restoration ourselves afterwards.
How quickly we can moveEmpty, neglected or hoarded
A house left standing for years, or one that has quietly filled up over time. It does need emptying before completion, but it does not need repairing or making presentable first.
If it came through an estateA rental handed back in a state
Tenants gone, damage left behind, and a property you do not want to refurbish simply to let it again. We buy it as it stands.
Selling a rental propertyGot questions?
Selling a house in poor condition FAQs
The questions sellers ask us most when the property needs work.
Do I need to repair anything before you buy?
No, nothing at all. We buy the property exactly as it stands, and whatever it needs is ours to do after completion. You are never asked to fund work on a house you are selling.
Do I need to clear the house first?
Yes. The property needs to be empty on completion, so furniture, belongings and rubbish have to be removed. What it does not need is repairing, redecorating or making presentable in any way. That is the distinction: we buy houses in poor condition, not houses full of contents. If clearing it is a big job, tell us at the start so it can be built into the timetable rather than becoming a problem near completion.
Will the price drop after the survey?
Not with us. We give you an offer in under one hour and confirm it with our own survey, at our cost. Once it is confirmed the figure is what we complete on. Late renegotiation over condition is the specific thing this route exists to avoid.
How do you value a house in poor condition?
On what it would be worth once the work is done, less the cost of doing it and the risk of what gets found along the way. We show you both halves of that sum rather than presenting one number and asking you to trust it.
What if I do not know how bad the problems are?
That is normal and it is not a problem. Tell us what you know, say plainly what you do not, and our survey establishes the rest. The cost of finding out is ours.
Will a mortgage lender refuse a house in this condition?
Often, and that is the usual reason these properties stall on the open market. If a lender has already refused yours, or the issue is the lease, the construction or the cladding rather than the condition, our page on unmortgageable property covers that situation specifically.
Do you buy fire and flood damaged property?
Yes, whether the insurance claim is settled or still running and whether or not any restoration has been done. Tell us the insurance position early, because it affects the paperwork rather than whether we will buy.
Do you buy derelict or uninhabitable houses?
Yes. A property nobody could live in today is still a property, and it is precisely what a large part of our investor network is looking for.
Can I sell one that is mid-renovation?
Yes, and it is more common than you would think. Projects stall for all sorts of reasons. We buy them part-finished and take on the rest, and you do not need to finish anything off before we look.
How quickly can it complete?
As little as seven days on a direct purchase and typically 28 or fewer. The condition of the property does not slow the legal work down.
What does it cost?
Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation charge, no survey cost, and we cover the conveyancing. Up to 80% of market value on a direct purchase and up to 93% through our investor network, stated plainly before anything proceeds.
More ways we help
Whatever the problem, there is a route
Condition is rarely the only thing going on. These pages cover the situations that most often sit alongside it.
Find out what your house is worth as it stands
A free valuation, a survey at our cost, a firm offer in under one hour whatever condition it is in, and absolutely no obligation to accept it.
Video library
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