Is it Possible to Sell a House Immediately?
If you want to sell your property (house or apartment) quickly there are ways you can sell it immediately rather than the traditional 'estate agency route'. While traditional estate agencies often take 5-6 months to complete a sale, several alternative methods can help you sell much quicker.
Here we will look at the different ways which are most likely to be successful to get a fast house sale for you.
Is it Possible to Sell a House in 24 Hours?
The average property sale takes 185 days from the day it is marketed to the day of completion.
So is selling a property in 24 hours really realistic? Can this immediate sale be achieved in the UK.
Well there is absolutely nothing to say that it needs to take such a long time to sell your house. However 24 hours is on the extreme end. There are different parts of the process to selling your house, including:
- Listing for sale
- Finding a buyer
- Agreeing the sale price
- Memorandum of sale
- Conveyancing
- Surveys
- Searches
- Exchange
- Completion
It is not likely to get all of those completed immediately for a traditional property sale with a traditional estate agent.
So if speed is the most critical factor for you, you will have to consider alternate options.
Especially if you are a property investor and selling a buy-to-let, if your property has a sitting tenant or you are selling a specialist property portfolio, this can take additional time.
The fastest way is to sell with vacant possession as it reduces the complexity for the property buyer.
So to achieve an immediate sale, it may mean selling to an investor property buyer via a specialist investment selling agent, or selling to a quick property buying company.
These types of buyers can act fast, have the cash funds available (so don't require a mortgage) and are willing to often miss steps like surveys, instead willing to do their own quick property inspections, enabling a much faster property sale.
That being said. Even with this buyer, the quickest sale we have seen from enquiry to completion has been 72 hours (3 days) and that was on a standard property.
So if your property is not standard or has issues like subsidence, wet rot, dry rot, asbestos or others, then a sale can take longer whilst you negotiate a solution to these with the new buyer.
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What you Need to Sell your House Immediately
Other than, obviously, a house to sell there are three things you need to sell your house immediately:
- You need a motivated seller... Which is hopefully you. That is someone with a house to sell who wants to move fast, sell it immediately and get cash as quickly as possible.
- You need a motivated buyer... That is someone who wants to buy quickly, who can work quickly, and with access to the legal and other resources needed to get a fast sale. Also, someone who has the financial resources to buy immediately and the experience of doing so and willing to take a risk in moving this quick and therefore maybe not having the time for full property due-diligence.
- An experienced property conveyancing solicitor... Even if you have the first two. If you choose the wrong solicitor (conveyancer) to help you sell your property. If they are too busy or not experienced in acting on quick property sales, then this alone can delay you. The last thing you want is to go with a solicitor because they were simply the cheapest and 6 months later you haven't got anywhere near a completion. Unfortunately we have seen this happen. This guide from Property Mark can help guide you on choosing your conveyancer.
The Pros and Cons of Selling your House Immediately
There are lots of advantages to selling your house immediately if you need a quick sale.
Benefits of Selling Quickly
First and foremost you don’t need to wait, you receive the cash immediately. You don’t need to deal with estate agents, get your house ready for viewings, conduct lots of viewings (with many people who aren’t serious about buying), negotiate and wait for the deal to go through. With a fast sale, it often doesn’t matter if your property has problems, such as a short lease or if it is unmortgageable.
The longer a house sale takes the less likely it actually is to complete. So an immediate house sale is pretty much a guaranteed house sale too.
Downsides and Risks of Selling Quickly
There are some drawbacks to consider if you are looking to sell your house immediately. One is that you will need to be willing to move fast, very fast. If you find an investor buyer quickly and they are ready to go, you will want to make that count, so it's important you have everything ready to move house quickly if that happens.
Another is that immediate house sales are normally on a best-price-for-fast-sale basis. Realistically when you see it from the buyers side, they are taking alot of risk and they will likely not offer you the highest or best price for your property.
The sale will therefore be at a discount to market value.
How much is negotiable, but you can except to see offers of around 30%+ discount for very very fast sales. The buyers for these properties are usually property traders. They will buy it and then look to sell it again in the future. In order for that to financially work for them, when they consider all of the buying costs, selling costs, and risk of changes to the property market and house prices in between the time they buy and the time the sell, you can see why the offers are low.
So if price is your main concern in your property (house or apartment) sale, then consider a traditional sale.
If speed is your main concern then be ready to receive low offers and make sure you have a figure in mind that still works for you financially.
The Best Ways to Sell Your House Quickly
Here we will look at the different ways to sell your house and at which ways are the most likely to get the fastest sale.
Selling Through an Estate Agent
When you sell your house using an estate agent you’ll probably want to contact several estate agents before you decide which to use. You’ll have to wait for them all to value your house and then choose one to sell it. You’ll need to wait for them to market your house, then wait for possible buyers to find out about it and (hopefully) view it. You may have to wait many weeks or months to find someone who wants to buy it and who makes a serious offer.
Even then, you’ll probably become involved in a chain. You’ll need to wait for the person who is buying your house to sell their house before you can actually sell it. That’s likely to be several months at least.
Likelihood of selling immediately using an estate agent: Pretty unlikely!
Selling Using an Auction Sale
Selling your house at auction is sometimes thought of as a way to sell your house fast, but this is not necessarily the case. You’ll need to allow time to find a suitable auction house, time for them to market it and then wait for the next sale to come around. Most auction houses only have an auction sale once every 2 months.
Even if your house sells at the first auction (and there is no guarantee it will sell), this is only the first step known as an exchange. The buyer at this stage is committed but there is then usually a standard 28 day waiting period until the sale actually completes and you receive the money.
Likelihood of selling immediately using an auction sale: Pretty much impossible!
Selling by Part-Exchanging your House
One method that is often put forward for selling your house fast is to part exchange it for a new one. Many new build developers have schemes where you can part-exchange your house for a new build home.
However, part-exchanging only works if you actually want to buy a new house as well as selling your old one. On top of that, it’s unlikely to be that quick as you’ll usually need to wait for the new house to be built, completed and fully signed off before you can move.
Likelihood of selling immediately using part exchange: Pretty much impossible!
Selling your House Yourself
One course of action you might consider if you want to sell your house is to try to sell your house yourself privately. You could use methods such as advertising in on property portals like Rightmove, in your local newspapers, classified advertising sites, or on social media like Facebook, YouTube or Instagram. You could even put a ‘for sale’ sign in your garden!
Selling your house yourself has some attractions. You won’t have any estate agent’s fees to pay and you put yourself in control of the entire process so you can move as fast or slow as you like. At the end of the day, however, the chances of a suitable buyer who is able to move fast knocking on your door and asking to buy your house immediately are not that high and fall through rates with these types of sales can be much higher than the UK average, which via estate agents is 1 in 3 property sales fall through.
Likelihood of selling immediately by selling your house yourself: Pretty unlikely!
Selling Your House to a Fast House Buying Service
Fast house buying companies are services set up to do exactly what the name suggests .... to buy your house fast. They’re all set up to make a fast sale possible. Fast house buying companies, also known as quick sale services, are often cash buyers too.
The advantages of fast house buying services are that you don’t need to prepare your house for sale, so there’s no spending on decorating and maintenance. You don’t have to put up with numerous viewings (and people who don’t turn up). It’s confidential so no one will even know you’re selling. The fast buying company may also be able to pay for all your legal fees and costs as part of the deal.
Fast house buying services aim to do exactly what it says on the tin. Once you contact them they offer a fixed price for your property and a timescale often within as little as 24 hours and guarantee that the sale will go through. Once everything is agreed you’re guaranteed to receive cash for your house within the agreed period of time.
Likelihood of selling immediately using a fast house buying company: Very likely!
How to Sell in a Slow Market
Whatever the property market is doing, moving fast or slow (lots of available buyers or none). If you are wishing to sell fast then an investment cash buyer is likely your only option.
However if you are considering a middle ground between taking a small hit on your property sale price, but a sale in 24 hours isn’t quiet a necessity.
Then looking at the routes above can be a good option for a balanced sale time and price.
However, if you do go a more traditional selling route, whether that be an estate agent or property auction, the timing of your sale and the local property market will play a massive role.
If you are looking to now, and it is a slow property market in your local area, where there are not many buyers, then you will have to be proactive and take more of an active role in your property sale.
Property presentation becomes your critical advantage. Conduct immediate repairs focusing on deal-breakers: fix visible roof issues, refresh exterior paintwork, enhance garden appeal, and update dated decorating.
Kitchens and bathrooms drive decisions, so prioritise these areas with strategic improvements - even minor updates like new cabinet handles, fresh grouting, or modern taps can significantly impact buyer perception. Professional cleaning and decluttering are non-negotiable, as they dramatically improve space perception and allow buyers to envision themselves living there.
Time your sale strategically.. List in the months of January, March, April, June or in September when most property buyers are active.
Avoiding the dead periods of summer holidays and pre-Christmas. Research shows properties generate maximum interest in their first few days on market, so price competitively from day one - get multiple agent valuations and analyse recent local sales data for accurate pricing. Going to market overpriced in slow conditions is particularly damaging, as subsequent reductions rarely generate the same level of interest as a correct initial price.
Focus exclusively on chain-free buyers like first-time buyers or cash purchasers to avoid complicated chains that often collapse in slow markets.
Conclusion
When deciding whether to sell your buy-to-let or vacant house immediately, carefully weigh your priorities between speed and sale price. If time is critical, cash buyers and quick-sale services offer the fastest route, typically completing in 3-7 days but at a 20-30% discount. For a balanced approach, traditional estate agency sales with optimised timing and presentation can achieve better prices in 3-6 months.
Remember these key takeaways:
- Immediate sales (under 7 days) are possible but require significant price compromise
- Traditional sales average 185 days but maximise your final sale price
- Success depends on having the right buyer, seller motivation, and experienced conveyancer
- Consider your specific circumstances carefully, including your financial requirements and need for speed before choosing your sale method
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