What Does 'Assisted Move' Actually Mean? Helping you Move More Easily
If you are buying a new house then you may be looking at ways to make the move simpler. Many of the larger new home developers know this process can be stressful, expensive and time-consuming, so they offer incentives and help to sell schemes to help make the process easier for homebuyers.
If you have been to view any show homes and have a housing estate in mind, then the developer may have suggested something to you called an assisted sale scheme (or assisted move).
In this article, we look at what this is and how it could be helpful for you when considering an off-plan property.
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by Robert Jones, Founder of Property Investments UK
With two decades in UK property, Rob has been investing in buy-to-let since 2005, and uses property data to develop tools for property market analysis.
What is an Assisted Move Scheme?
The aim of assisted move is to help make buying a new house easier and quicker by assisting with the sale of your existing house.
Assisted moves are offered by new house builders or developers. They are intended for those who want to buy a new build house from them but have an existing house they need to sell first.
Assisted move schemes are a kind of assisted sale or expedited sale scheme. Think of it as a consultant working to help sell your property for you and taking away some of the admin.
They don't actually buy your house, but instead act as a supporting system to help speed up the process, take away the hassle and provide introductions to local estate agents who can act quickly for your sale.
They are known by various brand names including Smooth Move by Linden Homes, Help to Sell by Redrom, Easymover by Taylor Wimpey and Movemaker by Barratt Homes.
When it comes to completion day and buying your new house, 'assisted move' doesn’t actually mean you get any assistance with your physical house moving on moving day, unfortunately.
It is simply a help-to-sell scheme to aid the process around the selling of your property to enable your purchase of the new build, likely off-plan property.
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How Does Assisted Move Work?
How assisted move works varies from house builder to house builder, but here’s briefly how most schemes work:
- You find a new build house you wish to buy. This could be a house that is already built or one that is yet to be built and is available to buy off-plan.
- You will need to explore how to raise finance, so you are confident you have the funds to buy and then sign a reservation agreement and pay a reservation fee at some point.
- The assisted move builder or developer instructs local estate agents to value your existing home. They will usually ask two or three agents to value your house and then calculate an average valuation. The asking price for your house will be a price at which your house should sell quickly.
- If you agree to the price the developer will instruct the estate agents to put your house up for sale for you. You’ll make your house available for prospective buyers to view in the normal way.
- With assisted move schemes the developer or builder will normally pay your estate agent’s fees for you.
- The developer will deal with the estate agent and deal with any negotiations with potential buyers.
- When your house sells the sale goes through in the normal way. The developer will help to deal with any problems, liaise with solicitors and conveyancers and manage the chain if there is one.
You’ll need a solicitor or conveyancer to help with the exchange and completion process, as with any house sale and purchase. As soon as the sale of your old house and the purchase of your new house completes you’ll be able to move.
Why Developers and Builders Offer Assisted Move
While house builders offer an assisted move scheme to make things easy for house buyers, assisted move also benefits them.
When a new-build house or plot is sold on an assisted move scheme the buyer is more committed and the sale is generally less likely to fall through. The sale may go through more quickly meaning the developer will receive the money to recoup their investment sooner too.
How Long Does an Assisted Move Take?
The idea of assisted move is that it should make moving house quicker than it would otherwise be. Most assisted move schemes suggest that an assisted move sale will take around 4-8 weeks. It varies from scheme to scheme, however.
This is an improvement compared to the average time to sell. Selling a house through an estate agent can take 180 days (average) from going on the market to finding a buyer, according to the latest stats from home.co.uk. This can be even longer in areas where house prices are static, capital growth is slow, and buyer demand is weak as people wait for an improvement in the local housing market.
With assisted move, there is no guarantee that you will be able to move within 4-8 weeks. There is no guarantee of a sale and therefore there is no guarantee it will be any quicker.
The actual time will depend on finding a buyer who is willing to buy your house and who is able to move quickly, and the reason why these sales are often achieved quicker is through competitive pricing, with estate agents marketing the property at a price to sell fast, to encourage as much interest and viewings as early in the process as possible.
Is Assisted Move the Same as Part Exchange?
When you part-exchange your house for a new house the new house developer or builder effectively buys your house for a fixed price. Since that means your house is sold right away you can buy your new house right away and move in as soon as the sale completes. You do not get stuck in a buying chain.
Assisted move is not the same as part exchange. With assisted move, you still need to find a buyer who will pay the asking price and who will complete the sale.
Assisted move schemes do not buy your house. They simply aim to streamline the process and speed it up.
Help to Sell - The Advantages
There are a number of possible advantages of assisted move:
- You agree the likely selling price of your house at the outset, so you know you can afford your new house.
- You can reserve your new house at an agreed price and secure your plot even though you have not yet sold your house.
- You can usually use assisted move if your old house is worth less than your new house or if it is worth more, ie. if you are downsizing. Downsizing usually isn’t possible with part exchange.
- You do not have to negotiate with potential buyers.
- You do not have to pay the estate agent’s fees. This could save several thousands of pounds.
Help to Sell - The Disadvantages
If you are considering an assisted move there are a few possible snags you should be aware of:
- Assisted move is not necessarily available on every new house development nor on every plot in a development. It may only be available on selected plots.
- If you buy with an assisted move scheme you may not be able to take advantage of any other incentives, discounts or offers.
- With assisted move, if the developer is doing a deal on the new build for you, then the developer may decide what price your house can be sold at, not you. As assisted move properties are usually priced to sell there is the possibility you could get a higher price for your house if you don’t use assisted move.
- With assisted move, you lose some control over the process of selling your house. The developer will likely decide if it sells or not and to who. In some schemes, you are not contractually obliged to take a specific price for your home, but if you don't sell by a specific time you are likely to lose the reservation on your new home.
- If having agreed to an assisted move, you change your mind and back out you may lose your reservation fee. You may also have to pay the estate agent’s fee.
- If your home does not sell on the assisted move scheme the developer can ask you to reduce the price or they can cancel the arrangement. You will lose the new house you have reserved.
- The developer or builder may try to get you to use their recommended mortgage broker or their recommended solicitor to do the conveyancing, which may not be the best for you. Especially if you have a specific concern about your affordability and may not pass a mortgage stress test for a high street lender and may need more tailored finance options. (You do not have to use them, however.)
- If you have already asked an estate agent to sell your house you may not be able to use assisted move since you will already have given that agent the right to sell your house and receive a commission.
- Assisted move cannot be used with Help to Buy schemes since Help to Buy is currently only available to first-time buyers.
Is Assisted Move a Good Idea?
If you are looking to buy a new house you should think very carefully about whether assisted move is right for you or not.
Assisted move may seem like it will make your house move simpler and less stressful. Yet, there will still be a lot of work to do as with any house move, and you should still carry out the necessary due diligence when buying a house as you would normally do.
If the home you are considering buying has just completed being built, then you may wish to carry out a new build snagging survey to make sure there are no build defects before you pay a reservation fee.
If you want to move quickly assisted move may help you move more quickly but you can still get stuck in a chain.
Terms and conditions apply to all assisted move schemes and these vary from house builder to house builder. Always check exactly what is involved before signing up for an assisted move scheme.
If you are considering assisted move it may be a good idea to compare it with other methods of selling your house (like selling a house at auction).
Ask several estate agents for a valuation and so find out what price you could obtain by selling it in a more conventional way. Find out what price you could get for your house by selling it to a house-buying company. Consider the pros and cons of each method before deciding what is best for you.
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