We Buy Any House: How Much Below Market Value They Offer?

You’ve seen the adverts. “We buy any house for cash.”

It sounds convenient. Fast. No estate agents. No chain.

But here’s the question everyone asks: how much below market value will they actually offer?

The honest answer: reputable companies typically offer 75-85% of your property’s open market value, which works out to a 15-25% discount.

Let me explain why the discount exists, how to spot the scams offering “100% market value”, and when a cash sale actually makes financial sense.

How Much Below Market Value Do ‘We Buy Any House’ Companies Offer?

The Realistic Range: 75-85% for Reputable Companies

Most genuine cash buying companies offer between 75% and 85% of market value.

The exact percentage depends on your property type, condition, and location.

At Property Rescue, we’re transparent about our pricing:

• Houses: 80% of market value
• Flats: 75% of market value

Why the difference?

Houses vs Flats: Why Property Type Matters

We offer 75% for flats versus 80% for houses. There are several reasons for that.

Oversupply. Since COVID, flats have been harder to shift. Wherever there are flats for sale, there are normally hundreds competing. The market is price-sensitive and buyer-dominated for flats right now, especially in London where landlords are exiting due to Section 24 tax changes, rising regulation, and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Demand for houses with outdoor space outside cities has stayed strong since the remote working shift.

Higher transaction costs. Flats are almost always leasehold, which means management packs, leasehold supplements on conveyancing fees, and longer legal timelines. Those costs come out of our margin, not yours. We pay for the management pack, we cover the seller’s legal fees, and we absorb the higher conveyancing costs that leasehold sales involve.

Longer resale times. Flats take significantly longer to sell than houses. Rightmove data shows flats average around 82 days on market versus 57 for detached houses. That’s more council tax, more insurance, and more holding risk for us before we see any return.

All of that adds up. Longer holding time, higher costs, more competition on resale. That’s why the offer is lower.

Why Do Cash Buyers Offer Below Market Value?

People assume the discount is all profit. It isn’t.

Here’s the reality: we buy your property for cash, then we try to sell it for more than we paid. But between buying from you and selling to someone else, we absorb a long list of costs that most people don’t think about.

The Costs We Absorb on Every Purchase

Let me walk you through what comes out of the margin on a typical deal:

• Solicitor fees (both sides) — We pay our own conveyancing costs AND cover the seller’s legal fees when they use our recommended solicitor. That’s two sets of solicitor fees on every purchase.
• Stamp duty — We pay stamp duty on every property we buy, at the higher rate for additional properties. On a £275,000 house, that’s significant.
• Refurbishment — Many properties need work before they stand a chance on the open market. Sometimes it’s cosmetic (paint, carpets, kitchen). Sometimes it’s structural. We buy as-is, so all of that is on us.
• Estate agent fees on resale — When we sell the property, we pay a high-street estate agent just like any other seller. That’s 1-2% plus VAT.
• Council tax — We’re liable from the day we complete until the day the next buyer completes. That can be months.
• Capital Gains Tax — Any profit on the resale is taxed at the higher rate. Not the basic rate. The higher rate.
• Holding costs — Insurance, utilities, maintenance, and security for the entire time we own it.

Add those up and the margins aren’t as juicy as you might think. The gap between what we pay you and what we eventually sell for has to cover all of that, plus business overheads.

We’re Taking On the Risk You’d Otherwise Carry

On top of the costs, there’s the risk.

We’re buying as-is. No repairs demanded from you. We own the property through a market that could drop, and there’s no guarantee it sells quickly on the other side.

When you sell through an estate agent, you’re gambling on finding a buyer, their mortgage going through, the chain holding together, and the whole process taking months. Our own internal data, based on thousands of open-market residential sales via estate agents across England and Wales since 2020, shows that more than one in three (34.6%) fell through before completion. Every one of those properties eventually sold. But the delays, abortive costs, and stress involved were significant.

We remove all of that uncertainty for you. But we carry it ourselves. That’s what the discount covers.

We can exchange in as little as 48 hours and complete in 2-4 weeks (average 28 days). Our fastest ever was seven days, a repossession case. That speed and certainty has real value, but it comes at a cost to us.

Property Rescue’s Transparent Pricing Model

How We Value Your Property

We don’t just guess at value.

Here’s our process:

• You contact us
• We do a 5-10 minute phone fact-find
• We provide an indicative cash offer within 24 hours
• If you’re interested, we visit the property to take photos and videos
• We get two local estate agent appraisals
• We then instruct an independent RICS-qualified surveyor
• We use that data to provide a formal offer (typically within 5 working days)

The formal offer matches the indicative offer 95% of the time.

Why 95% of Our Formal Offers Match the Initial Quote

We use proprietary technology that analyses the area, recent comparable sales, the property’s last sale price, and thousands of other data points. It’s extremely good at getting the price right before anyone sets foot in the property.

By the time we give you an indicative figure during that first phone call, we’ve already run the numbers. The independent RICS survey and local agent appraisals that follow almost always confirm what our system already told us.

In the rare cases where the surveyor visits and finds something detrimental that wasn’t disclosed during the initial fact-find call, we may need to adjust our offer. That only affects around 5% of the offers we make.

Once solicitors are instructed we incur significant costs, because we also pay for the seller’s legal fees in full. So we don’t make an offer lightly, and we don’t pull offers at the last minute.

Red Flags: How to Spot a Scam Company

Not all cash buyers are genuine.

Here’s what to watch for.

Too-Good-To-Be-True Offers (85-100%)

If a company offers you 85-100% of market value for a quick cash sale, alarm bells should ring.

I’ve seen it repeatedly. A company offers 95% or even “100% of market value” to win you over. Then, just at the last minute, they reduce the price because you’re in a vulnerable position. You’ve already committed emotionally, told your solicitor, maybe even made plans. They’re banking on you accepting the lower figure rather than starting again.

We’ve never lost a deal to a company promising 100%. Sellers know you can’t get full market value from a cash buying company, the maths simply doesn’t work. Most of the companies advertising “100% market value” aren’t genuine buyers at all. They’re trying to sell your lead on to genuine quick sale companies like us.

If the offer sounds too good to be true, it is.

The Middleman Trap: Companies That Market Your Property

This is the one I see most often.

Companies portray themselves as cash buyers, but they’re actually middlemen who market the property. We’ve had several instances recently where people hadn’t realised the company had listed their property on Rightmove or Zoopla without their knowledge.

Here’s why that’s a disaster.

Your property sits on the portals for weeks with no viewings. That leaves an electronic footprint and can cause the value of the property to drop. Estate agents and buyers see a property that’s been listed for weeks. They assume something’s wrong. Your value drops.

And the “cash buyer”? They were never buying. They were trying to flip your details to someone else or find a buyer to take a cut.

At Property Rescue, we are genuine cash buyers. We don’t market your property. We buy it ourselves.

What to Check Before You Sign

Before you accept any offer, verify:

Physical office and established history
Look for companies that have been trading for years (we’ve been going since 2005) and have a real office address.

Proof of funds
A genuine cash buyer should be able to prove they have the money ready. Ask.

NAPB membership
The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) is a voluntary trade body. Members agree to professional standards and sign up to The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice, which gives you access to free dispute resolution if something goes wrong.

Membership isn’t legally required (the sector isn’t formally regulated), but it’s a good trust signal.

FCA regulation (for Sale and Rent Back only)
General house buying isn’t FCA-regulated.

But Sale and Rent Back services are.

Because of our Sale and Rent Back service, we’re one of the only house buying companies in the UK that’s regulated by the FCA (FCA Register 522471).

The True Cost of a Traditional Sale

Here’s the bit most sellers forget:

The “market value” you see on Rightmove isn’t what you actually pocket.

Estate Agent Fees and Auction Costs

The average UK estate agent fee in 2026 is 1.42% including VAT (HomeOwners Alliance, 2026).

That’s £3,900 on a £275,000 house. In London? £4,950 (1.8% inc VAT).

Then add legal fees (£750-£1,500), EPC, potential repairs, and marketing costs.

Auction isn’t cheaper: expect 1.5-3% auctioneer’s commission + £1,000-2,500 legal fees (including auction pack preparation and conveyancing) + £200-500 entry fee (Compare My Move, 2026).

Similar total cost to estate agents, but with less control and no reserve guarantee.

The Hidden Cost: Time and Chain Risk

Here’s the killer statistic:

Our own internal data, based on thousands of open-market residential sales via estate agents across England and Wales since 2020, shows that more than one in three (34.6%) fell through before completion. Every one of those properties eventually sold. But the delays, abortive costs, and stress involved were significant.

Why do deals collapse? (TwentyCi Q1 2026 data)

• Survey issues (37.5%)
• Buyers changing their mind (31.25%)
• Chain breaks (12.5%)
• Lending issues (12.5%)
• Conveyancing complexity (6.25%)

And it’s taking longer than ever: 104 days on average from offer to exchange in 2025, up from 76 days in 2019 and around 60 days a decade ago (Connells Group, 2026).

The market recovered from the 2023 lows, with December 2025 showing UK prices up 2.4% year-on-year (HM Land Registry, 2025). But that momentum hasn’t held. By March 2026, annual UK house price growth had flatlined to 0.0%, with London down 2.1% and England overall down 0.6% (HM Land Registry, March 2026).

Wales (up 2.9%) and Scotland (up 1.6%) are still growing, but in much of England the market is flat or falling.

If your buyer pulls out after three months, you’re back to square one. Paying your mortgage, council tax, and utilities the whole time.

That’s the hidden cost of a traditional sale: time and uncertainty.

When Does a Cash Offer Make Sense?

A quick cash sale isn’t right for everyone.

If you’ve got time and your property’s in good condition, you’ll probably get more on the open market.

But here’s when the discount is worth it.

When Speed Is Everything

Your buyer pulls out two weeks before completion. You’re facing repossession. Your onward purchase falls through. These are the situations where speed trumps price.

Some properties don’t appeal to mortgage buyers: structural issues, short leases, non-standard construction, poor condition. If your buyer pool is tiny, a guaranteed sale at 75-85% beats sitting on the market for months.

Sometimes you just need to move fast: relocating for work, splitting an inheritance, divorce, downsizing for care fees. If your timeline is tight, the certainty of a cash sale can be worth far more than the discount.

A declining market changes the maths too. With England down 0.6% and London down 2.1% year-on-year, selling in one month at today’s valuation can be better than waiting six months for a higher offer that never comes, while the market drops a few more percentage points underneath you. The discount you accept today may be smaller than the value you lose by waiting.

A Real Example: When the Numbers Add Up

Let me show you a real case where our offer made sense, even at below market value.

We had a client who’d had a chain break. They owned a property on an interest-only mortgage that was about to end, and they couldn’t afford to remortgage. They were facing repossession.

Here’s the situation:

• Problem: Interest-only mortgage ending, couldn’t remortgage, repossession imminent
• Open market path: Relist, wait months for another buyer, pay remortgage penalties and arrears, risk losing the property
• Hidden costs: Legal fees, estate agent fees, ongoing mortgage payments, repossession stress

When we factored in the legal costs, remortgage payments, and the potential length of time to resell on the open market plus agent fees, our offer was similar to what they had accepted on the open market.

But here’s the difference: we stopped the repossession and completed in 4 weeks.

Net financial outcome? Similar.

But one path avoided repossession, saved the seller’s credit rating, and removed months of uncertainty.

That’s when a cash sale makes sense: when time and certainty have real financial value, not just emotional value.

The Bottom Line: Is 75-85% Fair?

“Fair” depends entirely on your situation.

If you have time, your property’s in decent condition, and you’re not under pressure, sell on the open market. You’ll get more.

But if you need speed, certainty, or you’re dealing with a problem property or broken chain, then 75-85% of market value can be the right call.

Here’s the honest truth:

A cash buyer isn’t offering you less because they’re greedy. They’re offering less because they’re taking on all the risk, cost, and time that would otherwise sit with you.

At Property Rescue, we’re upfront about our pricing: 80% for houses, 75% for flats. No games. No last-minute reductions. We do our due diligence before making the offer, cover your legal fees if you use our recommended solicitor, we will typically complete the purchase of your property within less than 28 days.

If that trade-off works for you, get in touch.

If it doesn’t, that’s fine too. I often tell sellers a cash sale isn’t right for them if they’ve got time and aren’t under pressure.

The key is knowing your options and the true net cost of each one.

Get a free, no-obligation cash offer from Property Rescue. No fees. No legal pack. No risk. Call 020 8634 0224 or get your free cash offer.