Free first conversation
The property, its history and what you need to happen.
Kent · Buying and selling property since 2012
The problem
The problem
is what isleft out.
An honest description can still mislead by omission, and since April 2025 that is squarely what the law catches. Flood risk, covenants, rights of way, mining history. If it applies, you hear it before you offer, not halfway through conveyancing.
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What we do
Four things, nothing left out
Whatever applies to a property is said before an offer, including the parts that make it harder to sell.
Buying from owners
Buying property directly from owners, on our own account, with no fee to you.
See the programSelling what we own
Selling property we own, with the material information given before you offer.
See the programDifficult properties
Properties with problems, bought with the problem written down.
See the programHow we behave
No fees, no pressure, no late price reductions without a reason in writing.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Put the material information in front of people before an offer rather than during conveyancing, explain where a figure comes from, say plainly that a buyer's view is not a valuation, and tell every seller to take independent advice before accepting anything, including from us.
A proper look
Including whatever makes it harder to sell.
An offer with its basis
The figure, and the reasoning that produced it.
Your own advisers
A valuation and a solicitor of your choosing.
Working together
What it costs you
Nothing, if you are selling to us. Prices for property we are selling are quoted per property in pounds sterling.
Selling to us
No fee, no upfront payment, no cost to decline.
- No fee at any stage
- No upfront payment requested
- Price basis explained in writing
- Independent advice encouraged
- Walk away before exchange
Buying from us
Quoted per property, with the material information up front.
- Material information before offer
- Tenure and council tax stated
- Flood, covenants and rights of way
- Unknowns declared as unknown
- No agency fee to us
What we will not do
The four things that give this trade its reputation.
- No upfront fees from sellers
- No offer with a deadline attached
- No late price cut without cause
- No commissioned reviews
- No valuation dressed up as independent
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
Principal, never agent
TERRACE ASSOCIATES LTD was incorporated in England and Wales on 18 July 2012 under company number 08147834, with its registered office at Northway Farm, Charing Hill, Charing in Kent, and it has had the same director for all fourteen years. The registered activity is the buying and selling of our own real estate.
Being a principal rather than an agent is the fact that shapes everything else. We are the buyer or we are the seller, we act for nobody else, we hold no client money, and we charge sellers nothing. It also means the agent protections do not apply, which we say rather than let anyone assume. Two commitments follow. The first concerns material information: since April 2025 the unfair commercial practices rules have sat in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, and the trap in property is not the false statement but the omission, because a description that is accurate as far as it goes can still mislead by what it leaves out. So price, tenure, lease terms, council tax band and the physical facts go out as standard, and so do the things that only apply sometimes and change everything when they do, like flood history, restrictive covenants, rights of way, mining or non-standard construction. Where we do not know, we say we do not know. The second concerns price. Buying directly from an owner means paying below open market value, and the difference buys speed and certainty rather than a service. We put it in exactly those terms, our view on price is a buyer's view rather than a valuation, and every seller is told to get their own before accepting anything from us.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
Will you pay market value for my house?
No, and anyone in our position telling you otherwise is not being straight with you. Buying directly means paying below open market value, and what you get for the difference is speed and certainty rather than any service we perform. That can be exactly the right trade when a chain has collapsed or a sale has to happen by a date, and it is a poor trade if you have time. You should know which situation you are in before you talk to anyone, including us.
Is your offer a valuation?
No. It is the view of a prospective buyer, which is a different thing from an independent valuation and a different thing again from a survey. It is not prepared by a qualified valuer unless the site says otherwise. Get your own independent valuation and your own solicitor before accepting any offer, including ours. A buyer telling you what your house is worth has an obvious interest in the answer.
What do you have to tell me about a property you are selling?
Everything material to the decision, before an offer rather than during conveyancing. The standard facts, meaning price, tenure, lease terms where it is leasehold, council tax band and the physical attributes. Then whatever applies to that particular property and would change a decision: flood risk and flooding history, restrictive covenants, easements and rights of way, mining or subsidence history, non-standard construction, known defects. Omission is the failure the law catches, not just misstatement.
What if you do not know whether something applies?
Then we say we do not know. The temptation is to leave a silence where an awkward fact might be, and a silence reads as a no to anyone looking at it. If we have not checked something, or cannot establish it, that gets stated as an unknown so you can have your solicitor look into it rather than discovering it later.
Will you charge me anything, or ask for money up front?
No to both, at any stage, including if you decline. We do not ask sellers for upfront payments and we do not charge a fee for making, or for your refusing, an offer. You are free to withdraw at any point before contracts are exchanged. If anyone buying property directly asks you for money in advance, that is the moment to stop and take advice.
Do you reduce the price at the last minute?
Not as a tactic, which is the thing people rightly fear in this trade. An agreed price stands unless a material fact comes to light that was not known when it was agreed, and if that happens you get the reason in writing rather than a phone call the day before exchange. We also do not attach deadlines to offers in order to stop you getting a second opinion. Getting a second opinion is something we actively suggest.
Got a property to sell, or want to buy one?
A free first conversation, with no obligation and no fee.