Traditionally, buying a house involved relying on an estate agent to contact you when suitable properties became available, viewing them and then making an offer.
Whilst many still follow this tried and tested method, there are also many other ways now available to buy a property – some of which can save you money.
We take a look at some of the alternatives to buying a home, whether experts think they are a good idea and how they could cut costs.
I bought my home through an AI company
Leo Sagario, 32, had been looking to buy a property the traditional way for three months when an ad popped up for Homefinder AI, a property agent and portal that uses AI to match buyers with their dream properties.
Leo, a first-time buyer, said: “[I wanted] a one- or two-bed flat in south- east London; somewhere I could see myself living long term; with good transport links into central London, especially Charing Cross where I work; green spaces like parks nearby, and a sense of peace and community.”
“Buyers fill out a form which asks the basic questions (number of bedrooms, budget etc) but then there is also another box that is for them to talk about their dream home,” says founder James Nightingall.
“For example, sixth floor, south-facing balcony, river views, near a Waitrose, on the Elizabeth Line – things that you can’t search for even with Rightmove’s keyword filter.”
Leo was matched with a £380,000 one-bedroom flat in Kidbrooke, which he’s just completed on.
“[It] delivers on everything I was after; the transport links into central London are excellent, and the development is built around parks and open green space, so it genuinely feels calm at the end of the day. It’s the right balance of city connectivity and somewhere that feels like home,” he says.
There are over 3,500 buyers registered with Homefinder AI, over 400 of which are active and qualified, and all have described their dream home.
There’s no upfront cost for buyers, but for sellers, they charge a fee on completion of between 1 and 1.5 per cent (inclusive of VAT), depending on the value of the property.
The registered buyers are a mix of those who have very specific criteria and those who are open to suggestions.
“Some people contact me and say: ‘Let me know if one of those five houses at the end of this street comes up for sale’, which could be in several years,” says James.
“I also have people who have no idea, so we do the reverse and say: ‘Tell us about your lifestyle’ and then AI suggests locations.”
HomeFinder AI also sells properties off-market when the sellers want discreet sales. Since its soft launch in 2021, the company has sold 30 properties, ranging from a £19m London home to £300,000 new build flats, but the average price is around £1m.
It has over 5,000 properties it’s selling off-market, and is still London-focused as the data is richer in the capital.
I bought a house for £50,000 at auction
Dan Cheetham, 28, owns a firm that exclusively buys at auction, flips and sells homes as well as running an Airbnb and short-let management company.
Among the properties he’s recently purchased at auction are a terrace house in Stoke for £50,000, a bungalow in Cumbria for £185,000, a family house in Telford for £230,000 and a tenanted property in Yorkshire for £90,000 – many of which are cheaper than the average market value.
“I also purchased a £180,000 property, which was 80 per cent funded through Together [a specialist mortgage lender] with a £144,000 loan,” he says.
“After stamp duty, auction and legal fees which cost just over £15,000, I spent a further £8,000 refurbishing the property including painting, carpeting, gardening and repairing any leaks. The property went on to be sold for £260,000,” says Dan.
“People associate auctions with bargains; this is not often the case. It is just faster.”
“You usually only have seven to 28 days to pay up in full,” says Amy Schofield, auction sales director at Together. This means that you need to have your finances – at a minimum, a mortgage in principle or a means to organise bridging finance – arranged before the auction.
One vital piece of information that anyone buying at auction must consider is the property’s legal pack.
“Think of it as the ultimate background check on your potential new home. It holds everything, including whether the place is in a high-risk flood zone, hidden outstanding debts you could inherit, or cheeky special conditions of sale. If there’s no legal pack available, treat it as a massive red flag,” says Amy.
Dan is always careful to scrutinise the legal pack – not just for red flags but also for anything that’s not there.
“Auction properties are sold by a range of sellers who are able to put ‘special conditions’ into the legal contracts. This can include extra fees, penalties and even faster completion requirements,” he says.
“Most people review legal packs and are pleased when what it contains looks positive or doesn’t highlight concerns. However, they often miss that some information is not included in the legal packs, potentially intentionally.”
Purchasing a property off-plan
A popular way to purchase new build properties is by buying directly via developers off-plan. This means that you get to see a floor plan, a show home and the plot where your house will be, but you won’t be able to move in till your home has been built, which can take months or, in some cases, years.
There are many advantages to buying off-plan, including that you are able to customise many aspects of the design and secure heavily discounted prices and other incentives, such as stamp duty refunds, offered by the developers.
In addition, in a rising market, your property is likely to increase further in value before you’ve even moved in and started paying the mortgage. But the opposite is true in a falling market.
Other disadvantages are that work can over-run and you might see your move date pushed back, plus, it can be difficult to visualise what your home looks like before it’s been built – or the quality of the build itself.
Using a buying agent
While not mainstream in the way it is in America, using a buying agent to negotiate on your behalf is an increasingly popular way of purchasing property, particularly for those after unique properties in higher price brackets.
Buying agents often have access to off-market properties so buyers feel like they are getting early or exclusive access ahead of the competition.
“I often like to use the analogy that going into the London property market without a buying agent is like going to court without a lawyer. You’d never dream of doing it,” says Camilla Dell, founder of buying agency, Black Brick.
Buying agents can also use their knowledge of the market and relationship with agents to negotiate clients a good price and can advise on post-purchase decisions such as planning and building work.
They charge a percentage fee for all their services, which can add a significant amount to your budget, so, for this reason, they only tend to operate in prime property markets, such as £3m+ in London and £2m+ elsewhere in the country.
“Last year, 73 per cent of properties we sourced for our clients were off-market and, on average, we saved our clients 8 per cent from asking prices.
“With stamp duty costs running at all-time highs, the cost of ‘getting it wrong’ is significant. Buying agents give buyers confidence they’ve seen the whole market and are buying the right property at the right price,” adds Camilla.