Homewise estate agents in Worthing, Durham and Birmingham

Thank you for your review Joseph, although I am sorry to see you’ve not been satisfied with our service. We value all feedback from our customers and would like to know more about your experience which has resulted in this 1-star rating. Here at Homewise, we help people aged 60 and over find their perfect home and save on the cost. Have you spoken to our team directly? I was unable to find your details so I wanted to respond personally to see how I can help resolve any issue, or perhaps you have the wrong ‘Homewise’, we are a family-run business based in Worthing, West Sussex (UK). We’ve been helping our customers for over 45 years and pride ourselves on the first-class service we provide, with all of our customers give 4-5 star reviews. Please do get in touch with us directly if you have a question or would like to discuss your review further. Kind regards, Danielle

Hi Frances, I wanted to reply personally as there may be a misunderstanding about what we do. We’re a family run business who've been helping people secure the right home for their future for over 45yrs. Our customers (people aged 60+) benefit from the security of finding the perfect home with no rent or mortgage to pay at any time. Our website has lots of information and real customer stories, including an article on common myths (www.homewise.co.uk) which may help explain a little more about us. If you have any questions about our service and how we may help you, please do not hesitate to get in touch directly with our team. Kind Regards, Jessie

Hello Charles We absolutely understand your frustrations regarding your sale. The Homewise team are well versed in dealing with all matters that occur during the final conveyancing stages, as is the nature of selling property in the UK - all sorts of matters can arise. With regards to your property in particular (that our eager customers have their heart set on and are really looking forward to moving to) and the clarification required regarding the dispute of the boundary border (which is standard practice when it comes to conveyancing), this was raised by a solicitor to your solicitor. All solicitor parties (plus Homewise) are actively supporting you with regards to you providing clarification of this matter - which is the only element outstanding preventing exchange, so it would seem you are almost there in the sale process. Our customer has the full support of their dedicated contact here at Homewise, who is working tirelessly to equally support all parties related to your sale, who has (and continues to) extended their efforts to also supporting you too - we are keen to see that this happy ending for all, happens soon. Following clarification of the previous boundary border dispute, we look forward to the news of your exchange and completion! Kind regards Danielle

Hi Lynette, I believe you have been speaking with our Customer Care Team in recent weeks, to gather all the information you require regarding your mother’s Home for Life Plan. I understand you were previously unaware of your mother’s decision to use the plan, when leaving rented accommodation to her current home some years ago. To add further reassurance to you, and others who may be reading this post; we are a family-run business, and our values, ethos, and Code of Practice are at the very core of everything we do. As such, we go to great lengths to ensure that our customer’s interests are protected, which is why many customers choose Homewise. We always encourage anyone considering the Home for Life Plan to involve family throughout the process, so everyone involved is fully informed and happy with the plan, which many do. But of course, we cannot enforce this on those who do not wish to. Also, we do insist that all customers seek independent legal advice. We cannot, and will not, proceed without an independent solicitor who is acting on behalf of the customer, signing a certificate to confirm all parties fully understand the agreement. I understand that at the time, your mother was very clear on the fact that she did not want to use her fund as it was her wish that this was to be left for inheritance, and that staying in the current area was imperative, conducting the search and negotiations on her chosen property herself. The FCA, who we have liaised with transparently and closely, advised that we don’t fall under regulation as a Home for Life Plan is not a financial product (like a loan or other form of lending). We have been helping people aged over 60 move to a property of their choice for almost 50 years, enabling them to live rent and mortgage free. The Home for Life Plan can be set up in many ways to suit the customer as to how they would like to plan for inheritance, either by creating an early inheritance, or by safeguarding up to 50% of the property’s future value. When the property is sold, this percentage equivalent amount of the proceeds of sale are rightfully issued to the customer’s estate as they specified. Of course, this percentage is the decision of each customer, depending on how much importance they place on inheritance. As with any product, there are pros and cons to the plan and of course it’s not for everyone, but for those who we are able to help, it can make a big difference to their living situation and happiness in retirement. I have spoken with the Customer Care Team to ensure they are aware of your feedback here. I know you’re in regular contact looking at the options for your mother’s current and/or future needs, and as always, our Customer Care team are here to help with anything you need. Best regards, Danielle On behalf of Homewise

Hi Lyn, I believe you have been speaking with the Homewise Customer Care Team in recent weeks, to gather all the information you require regarding your mother’s Home for Life Plan. I understand you were previously unaware of your mother’s decision to use the plan, when leaving rented accommodation to her current home some years ago. Due to Data Protection and our company privacy policies, we cannot comment or disclose, within this public forum, any personal information relating to our customer, your mother; however, we do note there are inaccuracies and possibly misunderstandings in your feedback.Our Home for Life Plan offers a choice for people to be able to have security and peace of mind for their future. To move out of rented, perhaps unsuitable living or financial situations, and find a home in an area they love to live in for their lifetime. It’s worth noting that whilst there is a one-off cost for a Home for Life Plan, this is always lower than the price of the customers chosen property and means they can live there with no further payments to Homewise for the rest of their lifetime.To add further reassurance to you, and others who may be reading this post; we are a family-run business, and our values, ethos, and Code of Practice are at the very core of everything we do. As such, we go to great lengths to ensure that our customer’s interests are protected, which is why many customers choose Homewise. We always encourage anyone considering the Home for Life Plan to involve family throughout the process, so everyone involved is fully informed and happy with the plan, which many do. But of course, we cannot enforce this on those who do not wish to.The Home for Life Plan can be set up in many ways to suit the customer as to how they would like to plan for inheritance, either by creating an early inheritance, or by safeguarding up to 50% of the property’s future value. When the property is sold, this percentage equivalent amount of the proceeds of sale are rightfully issued to the customer’s estate as they specified. Of course, this percentage is the decision of each customer, depending on how much importance they place on inheritance. We do insist that all customers seek independent legal advice from their own chosen solicitors’ firm. As such, any solicitor is acting solely in their client’s interest and is advising their client based on that independent relationship. We cannot, and will not, proceed without an independent solicitor who is acting on behalf of the customer, signing a certificate to confirm that they have fully advised their client on the plan and that their client fully understands the term and effect of the agreement they are choosing to enter. I understand that at the time, your mother was very clear on the fact that she did not want to use her fund as it was her wish that this was to be left for inheritance, and that staying in the current area was imperative, conducting the search and negotiations on her chosen property herself.The Home for Life agreement is a legally binding contract and is set up to protect our customer’s interests for their lifetime. The customer can move home using the plan on another property, however if they wish to end the contract early or move to another property without using the plan then this will not be financially beneficial in most cases. Your mother continues to hold the legal right to occupy her property for her lifetime, and should she wish to move to another property and retain that right she is more than entitled to do so, and we will support that move as much as she can.For this reason we have a thorough due diligence process in place from the start, helping our customers find their perfect home for their retirement years. As part of this process we have to ensure that any potential property will facilitate the Home for Life Plan lease, and as such whilst we do need to investigate this, it is for the benefit of all parties as we would not wish for our customers to expend finances on a potential property which was unsuitable for the Plan; we’d rather know up front to save everyone the time and money. The same due diligence process applies for any potential move.As with any product, there are pros and cons to the plan and of course it’s not for everyone, but for those who we are able to help, it can make a big difference to their living situation and happiness in retirement.I hope this helps explain a little more about our values and measures in place to protect our customers. I know you’re in regular contact with our Customer Care Team Lyn, looking at the options for your mother’s current and/or future needs, and as always, our team are here to help with anything you need.For any readers with questions or concerns please do contact us directly at any time, we’ll be happy to help. Best regards, Danielle (on behalf of Homewise).

Hi Simon, I think there's been some confusion about what Homewise offers - have you been in contact with our team directly or researched how we may be able to help you? We help people aged over 60 to find the perfect home for their future. This is at a discounted price using our Home for Life Plan (a lifetime lease option). The plan can be applied to pretty much any property on the open market, not just those listed with our details. Any property you see listed with our details can be purchased at the full market price from the local agent selling it. The Homewise listings are simply a second advert the vendor has chosen to share - they have the standard advert with their agent showing the market price, then the option to list again showing what the price for people over 60 may be. This helps them gain interest in the property, book more viewings and hopefully find a buyer sooner - the buyer may or may not be a Homewise customer but the vendor will always receive the agreed selling price regardless. I hope this helps explain a little more about what we do, we're simply here to help people aged 60+ find the right home for their retirement and we also help vendors of any age share their property to a wider audience. Please do get in touch at any time if you are over 60 years old and looking to move, to learn how we may be able to help you. Best regards, Danielle

Hi Sam, I think there might have been a little confusion about what we offer at Homewise. We help people who are 60+ get their next property at a discounted price. Properties are valued by independent estate agents as normal and we simply apply a discount to that marketed price for people over 60 who are looking to move using our Home for Life Plan. We do not determine the market price in any way, this blog might help explain a little further about what we do: https://goo.gl/JANgMf If you’re not over 60 and searching online, you can filter out retirement properties on Rightmove and Zoopla which will hide our ads and you’ll just see the standard listings. When it comes to finding a property for our customers, we buy the property at the full market price and our customer pays us the discounted price for a lifetime lease. So, in terms of the chain, we’re essentially a cash buyer and our in-house Sales Progression team work hard to manage the sale all the way through to completion. Have you experienced a house sale involving a Homewise purchase that has been difficult? I am very sorry if this was the case. There can be extenuating circumstances beyond our control that can affect a sale, as with any normal property purchase, and is not reflective of the service we offer our customers. Hopefully this helps clear up a little about what we do at Homewise. Please do get in touch if you have further questions. Best regards, Danielle

Hi Matt, I just wanted to explain a little about what we do at Homewise. We help people aged 60+ find their next home at a discounted price as you’ve seen, this is by offering them a lifetime lease on the property. Loans, mortgages and help to buy schemes aren’t readily available to the older generations and so we help people in this situation find a property they want to live in and boost their budget with the Home for Life Plan discount. Like any estate agent, we don’t own the properties listed online we simply advertise these for vendors and any property with our advert can still be purchased without the Home for Life Plan through the local agent at the full market value, the details are in the online listings. You can always filter your search results to not show retirement properties and that will mean our discounted listings do not show. Put simply, we’re offering an alternative option to those who cannot afford a new home or fund their retirement without our support. If you have further questions about our service do please get in touch at any time. Kind regards, Danielle

Hi Helly I just wanted to reply personally as I think there's been a misunderstanding about who we are and what we do. We're a family-run business who help people move home in their retirement. We've been helping and supporting people aged 60+ for more than 40 years and pride ourselves on the care we offer our customers. Our Home for Life Plan helps people live in the property of their choice securely (and without any rent, mortgage or interest) for their lifetime. We know it's not the perfect option for everyone, but for those we do help it really changes their lives and we're proud of the work we do to help them retire happy. There's an article about myths to do with Homewise here: https://goo.gl/JANgMf which might help explain a little more about us, but do please contact us if you have any questions at any time. Best regards, Danielle

Great to hear from you again Judy. Your story on the website is so encouraging for others to know they too can move closer to family, even if it has been quite some time since they last moved house. Time has flown by, can't quite believe it's been 2 years already..! Have a very happy 2019, from all the team at Homewise :)

Lovely to hear from you again Estella, thank you for sharing your story. There are so many people in a similar situation that we help, wanting to move back to the UK but struggling to afford the current market. We were so pleased when you found the perfect home and great to know you're still happy there. All the best for the year ahead, from all at Homewise