How long should you wait for an offer to be accepted?

westv

If the sellers can be this awkward at the beginning it wouldn't give me much hope for a smooth completion.

DVardysShadow

mazza245 wrote: »

...
I absolutely agree that our (my!) impatience is only making things worse but it is very difficult to go away and relax when our sale is progressing and we want desperately to have it all sorted. Our EA is worried it will hold up our sale but it can't/won't because we have said (easier said than done though) that we will find somewhere to rent or squash into a friends with all the stuff in storage rather than make a hurried decision on another house and it be a mistake. All that costs money, though, doesn't it?

Anyway, we haven't time to go and look round any other houses before Tuesday so we can't do anything positive before the following week.

Make up your mind before Tuesday as to whether you would rent to save your sale. If you would, then go back to the EA about midday Monday, advise them of your intent and go on holiday with the thought in your mind to sell yours and rent.

Let the vendors stew. If they come back, all well and good, unless you are committed to renting by the time you get that far.

DVardysShadow

mazza245 wrote: »

The EA was insistent that the vendors wanted "nearer the asking price" and eventually, bit by bit we came up to £270,000 which was what the EA said that the vendors would definitely sell at, no less.

Could the EA have been talking out of turn?????

1echidna

Well you seem to have received conflicting advice here too! Perhaps venting some emotion here will be therapeutic and you will be able to regard the whole thing more dispassionately. It may be that the vendors have set their EA the task of trying to find a higher offer within say a week or two. It may be that if the EA was more assertive he could get them to accept your offer but equally the vendors may just tell the EA that he is working for them and their instruction is for him to try and find a higher offer, and the surer they are of your interest, the longer they may be prepared to wait. Some people just don't like making decisions quickly and the perception that important deals can be lost by delay just doesn't register on their radar.

mazza245

Thanks for taking the time to reply all of you.

What's your problem, Running Horse? If you take a straw poll of all the threads on here, a lot of them would include the phrase "start low" when offering on a property. That is the advice and theme of all the TV shows about property, that is the mantra that is pushed down all our throats. Obviously, I started low because, in an ideal world, I would have liked to have not paid over the stamp duty threshold of £250,000. That is not a crime. That is why we are all on this forum - to save money, isn't it? When I said bit by bit, it only took three offers which I don't think is too time-wasting.

I haven't said that I was told the required price right from the start, I also haven't said that I wanted their decision "double quick". I think the norm is probably to come back straightaway or the next day or so with a yes or no, that's all. I think nearly a week is an inordinate amount of time to keep someone waiting but of course, that is up to them and they can suit themselves, I understand that.

I thought people might understand and sympathise with our frustration that it isn't sorted out before our holiday but obviously not you. I'm sorry I put this request on here now but I thought that Martin's phrase "please be nice to all Money Savers" would pertain to this topic as well.

not_loaded

Running_Horse wrote: »

This type of seller? The OP has already shown them he/she wastes time with low offers that then get raised. Having wasted time they now want everything done double-quick? I would take my time considering if it was me.

Well, there’s this type of buyer AND this type of seller.

You certainly don’t ‘waste time’ making low offers on probate property. (imho) They’re often in a poor state with relatives who don’t want to get their hands dirty or spend any money.

My personal feeling is that with all the work that apparently needs doing and their tight budget, maybe mazza245 has got lucky if it all falls through.

mazza245 wrote: »

…That is why we are all on this forum - to save money, isn't it? When I said bit by bit, it only took three offers which I don't think is too time-wasting.

I haven't said that I was told the required price right from the start, I also haven't said that I wanted their decision "double quick". I think the norm is probably to come back straightaway or the next day or so with a yes or no, that's all. I think nearly a week is an inordinate amount of time to keep someone waiting but of course, that is up to them and they can suit themselves, I understand that.

I thought people might understand and sympathise with our frustration that it isn't sorted out before our holiday but obviously not you. I'm sorry I put this request on here now but I thought that Martin's phrase "please be nice to all Money Savers" would pertain to this topic as well.

You’re the buyer and you can offer and behave precisely how you fancy.

If they’ve sat around for 20 months they clearly aren’t in any sort of hurry and don’t need the money in the bank.

The EA has probably got enough ‘real’ business taking place to just put that particular property on the back burner.

I would expect a reasonably prompt answer just like you, OR a reason like “sorry, they’re away for ten days and can’t respond”. The lack of that politeness makes me think they’re hoping to panic you into upping your offer. Well, up theirs!

1echidna

Must say I don't see anything intrinsically wrong in not giving a prompt answer. Shows extreme insensitivity to leave the buyer in the dark about how long it will take to decide though.

chickmug

1echidna wrote: »

Must say I don't see anything intrinsically wrong in not giving a prompt answer. Shows extreme insensitivity to leave the buyer in the dark about how long it will take to decide though.

Yep agree.

The polite was is to say I will need x days to make my mind up so everyone knows. The EA should be pushing for at least an indication of when a response will be.

Running_Horse

westv wrote: »

If the sellers can be this awkward at the beginning it wouldn't give me much hope for a smooth completion.

But it's not the beginning. The beginning was the first offer of £240,000.

DVardysShadow wrote:

Could the EA have been talking out of turn?????

Maybe they were following instructions from the vendor, hoping to avoid low offers that would be rejected.

mazza245 wrote:

What's your problem, Running Horse? If you take a straw poll of all the threads on here, a lot of them would include the phrase "start low" when offering on a property. That is the advice and theme of all the TV shows about property, that is the mantra that is pushed down all our throats.

I haven't got a problem and don't care what you do, but so far we have one side of the story. No doubt the vendor would tell us about a buyer delaying the process with offers lower than those they told the EA to accept.

My father-in-law has spent a lifetime making cheeky offers, but found himself in exactly your situation, with a good buyer lined up but having trouble finding the house he wanted. So when it came along he found out from the agent what they would accept, put in a good offer, then raised it £1,000 and tied up the deal in one weekend. If your buyer is willing to wait then good luck to you.

not_loaded wrote:

My personal feeling is that with all the work that apparently needs doing and their tight budget, maybe mazza245 has got lucky if it all falls through.

I agree with this. He makes the house sound like a bit of a lemon, and not worth the effort.

westv

westv wrote: »

If the sellers can be this awkward at the beginning it wouldn't give me much hope for a smooth completion.

Running_Horse wrote: »

But it's not the beginning. The beginning was the first offer of £240,000.

Ok. Early on then, Running Pedant.