Where we stand,
written plainly.

Kept is a UK private company (registered in England & Wales) that buys residential property for its own account, using its own capital. We are not an estate agent, not a broker, not a mortgage lender, and not a member of any property portal.

When we quote you a price, that price is an offer from us to buy — not an estimate of what someone else might pay. If you accept, we are the buyer.

The Financial Conduct Authority authorises firms that carry out regulated financial activities — lending, deposit-taking, insurance, investment advice. Buying a residential property with our own money is not a regulated activity, and we do not perform any activity that requires FCA authorisation.

This means three practical things for you:

• The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not apply to any transaction with us.
• The Financial Ombudsman Service cannot adjudicate disputes between us — the normal civil courts are the route.
• We do not and cannot offer financial or legal advice. You must take your own, independently.

Although cash property buyers are not FCA-regulated, there are voluntary industry bodies and statutory frameworks that govern how we operate. We are members of the Property Redress Scheme (PRS) — a government-approved independent redress body — and voluntarily follow The Property Ombudsman code for seller-facing communications. We are HMRC-registered for AML supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and ICO-registered as a data controller. These commit us to, among other things: never making an offer we cannot honour, never reducing the price we confirm without one of three documented exceptions, and giving you clear written terms before you commit.

Property buyers are regulated businesses under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Kept is registered with HMRC for AML supervision. Every transaction includes Customer Due Diligence on the seller — identity verification, source of funds, risk assessment.

When we work with an estate agent on a referral, we issue a written compliance receipt that confirms CDD has been carried out. The agent keeps it on file — it materially reduces their own exposure.

Our confirmed offers (issued in writing after a physical viewing) are legally binding upon us for 72 hours from the issue time-stamp. Our indicative offers (issued before viewing, based on public data and comparables) are our honest starting point — a price we intend to confirm at, subject only to viewing and the three documented exceptions. During the 72-hour confirmed window, we may not withdraw without cause.

The offer is not binding upon you until you sign solicitors’ documents to sell. You may walk away at any point before exchange at no cost. We do not charge vendors any fee, ever.

We may only revise the offer in three documented circumstances: where an independent RICS-panel survey identifies a material defect not visible or disclosed at viewing, where a title issue emerges during conveyancing that materially affects value, or where information provided about the property proves materially incorrect. If that happens, you may choose to accept the revision or walk away, and there is no penalty for the latter.

Until you request an offer, we store nothing identifiable. The address-lookup step uses Ordnance Survey’s Places API; we pass your query through and keep no record.

When you request an offer, we persist the address, the answers you gave, and the resulting valuation for as long as the offer is live (72 hours) plus seven years for regulatory record-keeping thereafter. See our privacy notice for the full detail.

Selling a house for cash below open-market value is often the right decision — probate, chain break, short lease, tenancy issues, speed of need. It is just as often the wrong one. We cannot tell you which you are. A solicitor can, a qualified financial adviser can, and often your estate agent can too.

We will not pressure you to sign. If anyone from Kept ever does, email anthony@bellwoodslane.co.uk and we will respond within two working days.