You don’t always have to sell your home just because you’re struggling to pay your mortgage.

A debt adviser can help you create a budget, prioritise your debts, and speak directly with your lender and other creditors to help avoid repossession.

However for some people, selling their property and completing quickly to avoid repossession rather than risk being made homeless is the best option to deal with a very stressful and unpleasant experience – both emotionally and financially.

Let’s be realistic. You won’t get the same price you might achieve if your lender was willing to wait six months or more and take the risk of a collapsed sale through a high street agent (hint: most aren’t willing). But if you choose National Residential, you can sell and complete quickly—and walk away with more money than you would if evicted and your home sold at a traditional auction (which is the route most lenders prefer because of its certainty and speed).

Some people try to avoid repossession by handing back their keys—this is called voluntary repossession. While this might spare you the trauma of being physically evicted, your home will likely be sold at a traditional auction for about 70% of its value. That means you could still owe your lender tens of thousands of pounds after the sale. Until the property sells, you’re also still responsible for mortgage interest, insurance, and maintenance costs.

Why do properties sell for so little at traditional auctions?

Because the pool of buyers is severely limited – some auctions are only open to people who can physically attend the event, while others are only open to cash buyers (due to having to complete in 28 days) and/or to people who can bid on the day of the auction in very short bidding windows.  Fewer bidders means lower offers. If the sale price doesn’t cover your mortgage, you’ll still have to pay the shortfall.

How Are National Residential Auctions Different?

We tailor our auctions so that noone is excluded. They are online, properties are advertised on RightMove and are usually open for 28 days so buyers can place a bid any time day or night during that window. We give buyers 56 days to complete which means our auctions attract buyers who lend to buy as well as cash bidders and our consultants are available to answer buyers questions and ‘hold hands’ with nervous bidders. What’s more, sellers do not pay to be listed in our auctions – we pay all costs  from our fee.

When To Sell Your Home Rather Than Let It Be Repossessed

Shelter highlights the benefits of selling your home yourself before repossession in their article Selling your home to avoid repossession. They say doing so:

• Puts you in control of the sale
• Helps you plan your move
• Can help you clear your mortgage and arrears
• May leave you with money to rent or put towards a deposit on a new home

We at National Residential strongly agree. You can see how this worked for one of our clients in our case story: How We Helped a Seller Walk Away From a Repossession with £20K in Profit Rather than £5K in Debt.

However, Shelter also advises against using quick sale property companies, claiming, “some companies make money out of buying homes for less than they are worth.” This sweeping statement is both unfair and misinformed.

Quick sale companies like National Residential offer a practical, reliable route to sell your home fast—within the tight timeframes lenders often demand to avoid repossession. Most properties are listed at a trade price based on previously sold properties in the area sales. They are then sold to the public who bid against each other to determine the final sales price. Unless we agree to buy your property ourselves so that we can complete in 7 – 14 days, we earn our income from by providing a service to find and secure reliable buyers quickly, not by buying the properties ourselves. We follow a code of conduct approved by The Trading Office and reguated by NAPB.

Of course, sellers who need a quick sale must be realistic about the offer they will receive. David Coughlin, CEO of National Residential, explains:

“Our valuations—normally 10–15% below market value—must be fair to sellers, provide enough margin for us to be paid, and be attractive to buyers. While sellers might get slightly more through a high street agent, our speed and service are unmatched. We offer far better results than traditional auctions, which used to be the only alternative.

We’re completely transparent in our pricing and promises. Our goal is to offer sellers a fast, efficient, and less painful way to sell—without sacrificing more than necessary.”

For more insight into how our offer prices are calculated, see our guide: Setting House Prices.

 
The Office of Fair Trading also recognise the value in the services we provide. After a full study, they concluded that “this [the Quick Property Sales services] is a dynamic and innovative sector where some businesses have modified their business models to try to offer a better service to home sellers.”

To learn more, visit our section on Regulated Quick House Sales.

How National Residential Can Help Homeowners Avoid Eviction

If you’ve missed several mortgage payments, can’t afford interest-only repayments, or feel overwhelmed, a quick sale might be your best option.

Lenders typically get in touch after 3–6 missed payments. They are legally required to try to negotiate with you before going to court. But if talks fail, they’ll issue a formal notice and apply for a possession order. If granted, lenders can evict you and sell your home to recover what you owe — including fees, legal costs, and interest until the day the loan is paid.

For many homeowners, selling the property is the only way to stop repossession. But high street sales are slow and uncertain. Many fall through. Because of this, some lenders won’t halt repossession proceedings unless they see a clear, guaranteed path to repayment.

That’s where we come in.

At National Residential, we sell homes in 28 days or less using online auctions that attract a wider pool of buyers. We secure firm offers quickly, and all buyers must complete within 56 days. Our service gives most lenders the assurity they need to stop repossession — and once we have found a buyer we will contact your lender on your behalf to stop the repossession .

What’s more, if the lender insists on the arrears being paid before they will stop the repossession, we can provide an interest free cash advance (to be paid back from the sale of the property) as soon as the buyer has paid a non-refundable deposit.

When Less Is More

Accepting 85% of your home’s market value now to stop repossession is far better than holding out for 100% — if your lender won’t wait. Repossession usually leads to a forced auction sale at 70% of value, with fees added on top.

Sometimes less is more:

• Avoid Repossession: Selling puts you in control and stops court proceedings.
• Protect Your Credit Score: Repossession can seriously damage your credit.
• Secure a Better Price: A managed, fast sale can beat auction results.
• Free Up Cash: Use the funds to clear debts and start fresh.

We take pride in our transparent pricing and exceptional service.
Contact us today to see how we can help you avoid repossession and stop further charges from adding to your debt.

When you are worrying about losing your home due to debt or not paying your mortgage and you are desperate to keep hold of it; it might seem counter intuative to think about selling your house.

But, if you have explored all other options with your lenders and cannot realistically repay the loan or meet a payment plan, selling your property yourself is usually a much better option than letting it get repossessed.

It gives you more control over the sale process, potentially allowing you to get a better price for your property, limits the damage to your credit score, and potentially helps you to avoid added debt through fines and legal costs.
In addition, if a forced sale does not recover the total of the money you owe, you can be liable for the debt for a further 12 years.

Key reasons to sell voluntarily instead of facing repossession:

• Higher sale price: When a lender repossesses, they often sell the property quickly at a traditional auction, which may result in a selling price  dramatically lower than the property’s value and leaving you with a significant debt even after the property has been sold.
• Control over the sales process: By selling yourself, you can choose the timing and marketing strategy for the sale, potentially attracting more buyers and getting a better deal. However, if your lender has issued with a deadline to repay, not all sales types will be possible due to the unpredictable nature of high street sales. Also you will need to consider the time betwenn agreeing a sale and having the funds deposited in your bank as the process can take longer than lenders allow.
• Choosing your next move: If you are going to lose your home, freeing up any money tied into your property could give you more choice abut how, when and where you move next
• Minimising credit damage: A repossession will severely impact your credit score, making it harder to obtain loans in the future, while a voluntary sale can be managed to minimise the negative impact.
• Potential to avoid further debt: If you sell your house yourself, you may be able to use the proceeds to fully pay off your mortgage and avoid any additional debt to the lender.

How We Can Help

National Residential sells property in 28 days and we make sure our buyers are able to completes in 56 days so we can provide schedules lenders will accept. Plus we have a 95% completion rate.

Sellers normally walk away with 85-90% of the high street sale value and pay no fees or legal costs. Whereas property sold at traditional auction (as will happen if it is repossessed) normally only achieves 70% of the high street sale value and they incur costs, fees and legal fees which are added to the sellers  debt.

Once we have a found a seller and they have paid the nonrefundable deposit to secure the sale, we can provide sellers with sufficient equity in their property, an interest free cash advance (to be repaid on completion). With it, we can pay off sellers’ debts so that sellers have more choice about when the sale completes and they leave the property. It can mean the difference between being homeless and having a home to go to when you leave the proerty.

For the best outcome, contact us as soon as  all options to come to a feasible agreement with your lender have been exhausted but we can help even if your lender has started proceedings or obtained an eviction order. Speed is crucial, and we can negotiate with creditors to delay or halt proceedings with a guaranteed sale.

Case Study

A seller who had fallen into arrears with their mortgage repayments came to us for help and this is what happened:

1. A seller with mortgage arrears of £7,900 contacted us at the end of Oct because they had received notice of a bailiff being appointed to evict them on Nov 12th
2. The market value of their property was estimated to be £210-225K and they had outstanding mortgage/loan of £155K
3. If they allowed their property to be repossessed and sold at tradional auction, the expected sales price would have been appx £147 – 157 ( 70% minus appx £3K auction fees/listing costs plus £1-2k solicitor costs), meaning the amount raised from auction would not clear their debts and they would be held liable to pay back the outstanding £5K + (est) for 12 years
4. A cash buying company had already offered to buy the property directly for £160K
5. Instead, the seller accepted a ‘Fixed Price with Zero Fees’ (walk away) offer from us of £190K* (minus our cash advance or any loan secured on the property)* Meaning we would try to sell the property to a 3rd party and our seller would receive £190K if we were successful.
6. We collected listing material and listed the property for sale by 7th Nov.
7. We proactively advertised the discounted property to chain free buyers who are able to complete in 28 days in our database of 30,000+ buyers and negotiated with interested parties to find buyers who were willing and able to pay a bigger deposit than our normal rates (£7900 rather than £5000).
8. We agreed a sale for £205K and our buyer paid the deposit 9th Nov (i.e. just 2 days later).
9. We paid the full amount of the deposit paid by our buyer to our independent panel solicitor who arranged an emergency court hearing on Nov 11th to halt the eviction. The court agreed and gave the seller 2 months to complete/repay the loan in full.
10. We paid the seller an interest free cash advance of £3,500 to pay: their solicitor’s fees for attending court; the deposit and 1st months rent on a rented property; and her removal costs
11. The completion was made slightly more complicated than usual because of the involvment of a Help To Buy company but we liaised with them directly to ensure their needs were met within the timeframe required by the court agreement
12. The sale completed in less than 6 weeks and the seller walked away with £20K profit after all loans had been paid

Contact us now using our callback form or  0800 612 8659 (free phone, 24/7) to find out how we can help you sell to avoid being evicted and get the best price for your property.

In England and Wales, leasehold ownership grants you rights to a property for a fixed term, but not the land it stands on. When a lease runs out the buildings on the land become the property of the freehold (land) owner. Most flats in England and Wales are leasehold.

A standard lease is usually 125 years long. Leasehold properties with a long lease are often only marginally cheaper to buy than freehold properties but as a lease gets shorter, the property reduces in value because of the cost to extend a lease.

When property is bought and sold, the agreement is transferred (NOT renewed) so the new owners are only buying the ownership of the buildings for whatever length of time is remaining on the lease.

Properties with less time can still be bought and sold, but most mortgage providers will only lend money against leasehold properties if the lease has more than 80 years left to run meaning they are typically bought by cash buyers.
Continue reading Extending a Lease on a Short Leasehold Property And Why You Should Act Sooner Than Later →

Sell Buy-to-Let Properties Faster: How National Residential / Landlord Sales Agency Can Help

Are you a landlord looking to sell your buy-to-let properties fast? At National Residential, we specialise in helping landlords sell their property portfolios quickly and for the best possible price, no matter what challenges are involved.

Take, for example, a landlord from Wandsworth who recently contacted us. He needed to sell his entire property porfolio fast… every property was tenanted and he needed to sell during a Covid lockdown.

We sold all 5 properties in less than a month, releasing over £500,000 in cash with absolutely no hassle, worry, or stress. Our team handled every step of the process, resolving any issues along the way.

Continue reading The smarter way UK landlords are selling their buy-to-let properties in bulk →

On Tuesday 30 May, David Coughlin, CEO National Residential and Landlord Sales Agency joined Paul Shamplina, Director of Partnerships at HFIS Group, as a guest speaker in LandlordZONE webinar  ‘Think properties are taking a while to sell on the market? Think again!’‘.

Watch now to hear them discussing the market conditions, the problems landlords face and what landlords can to do to react to challenging issues such as interest rates, the abolishment of Section 21s and EPC upgrades.

Continue reading Think Properties Are Taking A Long Time To Sell? Think Again! →

The advantage cash buyers have always held over house buyers needing a mortgage through an estate agent is in the speed they can complete.

Now  the average time it is taking  mortgage buyers to get a deal has almost doubled due to lenders being very, very cautious since interest rates have gone up and are expected to go up again, the advantage cash buyers have is even more persuasive.

To compound the problem for mortgage buyers, there are also huge delays in getting surveyors out to access properties. Of course cash buyers still need to do their due dilligence and also require surveys but they do not need to wait for lenders to review the surveys and any added delay makes cash buyer offers all the more attractive.

Continue reading Property Buyers: Cash Is King →

From wanting to subsidize pensions to maintain a comfortable standard of living, to taking dream holidays, and/or raising cash to help family members in times of crisis; more and more people over the age of 55 are using wealth tied into the property they own to finance their life choices.

Most lenders now offer options such as Retirement Mortgages, Lifetime Mortgages, Drawdown Lifetime Mortgages, Pensioner Mortgages and Home Reversion Plans. They are aimed at people who want to raise cash from the equity in property without moving home but as people are living longer and/or taking retirement younger, they can all be very expensive options.

An alternative option that can be far cheaper and one that uses the wealth tied in a property rather than borrowing against it (as the options above do) is to downsize.

Here we look at the advantages and disadvantages of equity release compared to downsizing.
Continue reading Thinking Of A Retirement Mortgage or Other Form Of Equity Release? Read This First… →

Waiting for viewings can be a stressful, and despairing time. Buyers are expected to present their properties to get the most from viewings and are often encouraged to declutter and/or to depersonalise and/or to keep properties clinically clean for viewings. While all those suggestions are excellent (see below for more of the same), keeping a home in pristine condition can be expensive, time consuming and stressful. It’s no wonder most people would prefer lots of viewings in a short time frame than maintaining often impractical and inconvenient standards over prolonged periods because of a lack of viewings.

On average, it takes 15-20 viewings to sell a property if it is priced appropriately for the market*. Properties that are suitable for large numbers of people, priced correctly and advertised widely should attract 1 or 2 viewings per week most weeks of the year to achieve the UK average of 3 – 4 months to sell.

* If a property is priced too high, sellers may find they attract lots of viewings but do not receive any offers.

Continue reading Get More Viewings To Sell Your House Faster →

The problem: Broken House Chains

With over 17 years of specialising in selling property quickly, we do of course know the pitfalls that can derail any house sale – i.e. issues that cause chains to break resulting in everyone involved wasting time and money.

We also know that in 2024 the average percentage of agreed sales that fall through is currently stands at almost 30% 

Of course, any experienced estate agent also knows this but unlike most, we at National Residential do not accept that it is an ‘acceptable risk’  and/or unavoidable.

That is why we have tailored our sales process to minimise risk and maximise success. Our stats speak for them selves – due to our rigorous buyer approval procedures 95% of our agreed sales complete.

Continue reading Stop An Agreed Property Sale Collapsing →