Got offer on my house but buyer hasn't yet put their own on the market

T

twentyfour

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I wondered what is the best way to deal with this situation? The offer is at full asking price but the buyers are only putting their own house on the market this week. My own property has been on the market for months now so I think if I accept this I could be in for a long road.

But yet I don't want to reject the offer out of hand either in case by some miracle my buyers go sale agreed v quickly.

What would members advise as the best protocol in this situation? My EA seems to think that I should accept as it is a good offer and the only one on the table but I am surprised that these people even made an offer when there was essentially nothing to back it up and especially in the current market climate.
 
why not accept it and put a deadline in place, look for proof from their solicitor in writing that they are going ahead

good luck
 
twentyfour said:
Thanks, have read the thread but unfortunately it doesn't help all that much!
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You can say that you'd be pleased to keep them in mind and you'll be happy to sell to them ( if you have not already sold) when and if they sell their own and are in a position to purchase yours. Until then, you have to keep it on the market until you find a purchaser who can complete in a reasonable timeframe.

mf
 
I so know your predicament - you don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.... provided that it is indeed a gift horse!

I went sale agreed with someone who was putting their own house on the market that same weekend. The gen from the EA was that they had a fine house that would sell quickly, but it turned out that there was some problem and it did not move that quickly at all.

In the meantime, I was being asked to continue the arrangement-making to sell to this person, but it all ground to a halt after several weeks.

After three months with no further prospect of their being able to close, my EA then recommended that we had waited long enough, returned the booking deposit and I was back on the market.

Fortunately, I went sale agreed again very quickly, but it was for a bit less and took it because I then needed to press ahead.

Check if your buyer is able to complete the deal without a sale of their own house and if not, check with your EA about the prospects of their selling their house promptly.

I also understand that its still possible for your EA to continue to show your house (discreetly) even if it is sale agreed, but they obviously aren't able to take any offers because the booking deposit indicates the buyer's genuine intention to complete the deal.

Make sure that the potential buyer pays a full booking deposit - if they are serious, then they'll pay it. Get your EA to make it clear that in the interests of expediting the sale, you reserve the right to return their booking deposit after - say 8 weeks - if they can't demonstrate that they are in a position to complete by then?
 
I too would tell them I will bear them in mind (as it's possible they could sell quickly) but I could not accept their offer until they were in a position to sign a unconditional contract. And tell my E/A to keep the house on the market.

If they need to sell, they are simply not in a position to buy your house. At best they are a potential customer for an unknown date in the future.
 
Go sale agreed with them and keep house on the market. Let them know if you get an offer from someone ready to go you will reject their offer. then you have your options open.
 
You cannot simultaneously accept someone's offer to buy a property and then continue to offer it on the open market.

If the original poster cannot wait for the normal process of the (only!) potential buyer selling on their own property then she should specify to the Estate Agent that only a cash-buyer who can commit to settling within 2 - 3 months will be entertained. This is the nature of a property 'chain'. You are dependent on everyone else - both up and down the chain. The alternative to that is to wait for a cash, first-time buyer who is not relying on selling their own property before completing on yours.
 
batty said:
Marie said:
You cannot simultaneously accept someone's offer to buy a property and then continue to offer it on the open market.

quote]


I did !!
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Batty is right. It is not a very nice thing to do but it is allowed. But remember what goes around comes around. In otherwords don't be surprised if gazundering (Excuse spelling) occurs or if buyer keeps looking at other properties after offering on yours.
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Yes, I'd rather not do that as I want to try and be reasonable, but at the same time I would have thought that making an offer on a property before even putting theirs on the market was a bit naive? I've done what most have suggested which is to say that I'd be happy to consider their offer once they've at least gone sale agreed which I hope is the fairest reply.
 
In fairness when some people put offers on properties without the funds to back them up you would have to take some of those offers with a pinch of salt. Anyone looking for a property that needs to sell their own and hasn't yet put their own on the market is looking to have their cake and eat it if they think a vendor will accept their offer and simply wait for theirs to sell. What you will probably find is for instance their house takes 3/4 months and achieves lower than expected price so in turn they say to you that they have to reduce their offer and you have lost 3/4 months of market time. You have to protect yourself in this case, so don't get too caught up with the morality of it all.
 
Nodser said:
batty said:
Batty is right. It is not a very nice thing to do but it is allowed. But remember what goes around comes around. In otherwords don't be surprised if gazundering (Excuse spelling) occurs or if buyer keeps looking at other properties after offering on yours.
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I didn't think that "it wasn't a nice thing to do" after I had been let down by 3 separate parties, taken my house off the market following an offer & then they backed out!!

If somebody is serious about buying your house they'll have their funds in order & sign contracts promptly.

"what goes around comes around"?????????????
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Lets be realistic - the people who made the offer aren't in a position to follow through in a timely manner. Forget about it and move on.
 
rmelly said:
Lets be realistic - the people who made the offer aren't in a position to follow through in a timely manner. Forget about it and move on.
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Again I do not necessarily agree. If you look at it the other way, would you buy a property from someone who did not have a property to move to. I certainly would not. I lived for a long time in England and was involved in a few property chains during my time there. It was standard practice then for someone to put an offer on one house before putting there own on the market.
 
batty said:
Nodser said:
I didn't think that "it wasn't a nice thing to do" after I had been let down by 3 separate parties, taken my house off the market following an offer & then they backed out!!

If somebody is serious about buying your house they'll have their funds in order & sign contracts promptly.

"what goes around comes around"?????????????
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Surely that's exactly what I was saying. You were not happy when it happened to you so you felt you had no option but to do it to someone else. ie "What goes around comes around"
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I think its important to make a few salient points about property/conveyancing etc.,etc in this jurisdiction which differs very considerably from the UK.

1. The "property chain" concept has never really taken off in this country. Rather than have a long list of prospective vendors and purchasers none of whom were ever contractually bound until the last, possible, skid to the finish, minute, most vendors will have a contingency plan to move somewhere rather than lose a sale. Purchasers come in many shapes and sizes - a lot will be f.t.b's, cash, " on bridging finance" and mostly it will become clear early in a transaction if a purchaser is a serious contender or ( as someone here said) at best naive. For anyone who has been out of the property market for a while, the complexities of buying/selling/dovetailing transactions can come as a major shock. Witness some of the posters on these pages.

2. Its entirely possible to "accept" someone's offer "in principle" while continuing to show the properye. But the offer is only as good as the offerors ability to complete.

3. With so much uncertainty in the market, I think everyone ( Vendors, Purchasers and EA's) are going to have to be much more flexible/creative/reactive in the whole process.

mf
 
mf1 said:
I think its important to make a few salient points about property/conveyancing etc.,etc in this jurisdiction which differs very considerably from the UK.

1. The "property chain" concept has never really taken off in this country. Rather than have a long list of prospective vendors and purchasers none of whom were ever contractually bound until the last, possible, skid to the finish, minute, most vendors will have a contingency plan to move somewhere rather than lose a sale. Purchasers come in many shapes and sizes - a lot will be f.t.b's, cash, " on bridging finance" and mostly it will become clear early in a transaction if a purchaser is a serious contender or ( as someone here said) at best naive. For anyone who has been out of the property market for a while, the complexities of buying/selling/dovetailing transactions can come as a major shock. Witness some of the posters on these pages.

2. Its entirely possible to "accept" someone's offer "in principle" while continuing to show the properye. But the offer is only as good as the offerors ability to complete.

3. With so much uncertainty in the market, I think everyone ( Vendors, Purchasers and EA's) are going to have to be much more flexible/creative/reactive in the whole process.

mf
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I agree with most of that. However the situation has now changed from a rapidly rising market where everyone wanted to move on a quick as possible in the chains. We are now in a falling market (and may remain so for next 2 years) so things are very likely to change. Long chains may well become a feature of Irish market.
 
Nodser said:
Again I do not necessarily agree. If you look at it the other way, would you buy a property from someone who did not have a property to move to. I certainly would not. I lived for a long time in England and was involved in a few property chains during my time there. It was standard practice then for someone to put an offer on one house before putting there own on the market.
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The poster asked for advice, as far as I know he/she doesn't live in England, so how this is of any relevance is beyond me - are the market conditions (Ireland now, versus UK 'for a long time') comparable?

Presumably he/she does not want to be part of a long chain, so is free to take whatever action he/she deems necessary to prevent it.

You seem to be a fan of property chains as per your experience in England and your 'forecasts' (wonder where you got that crystal ball), others are not.
 
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