FTB wants to get it right

Bufger

Hi guys, been reading these forums for a while now but only just signed up.

I'm a first time buyer with my deposit saved and the house me and my partner like found. I have been in contact with a solicitor i've used before as we're ready to make an offer on a property. My worry is that the sellers havent yet found a property and as its a family with young children it could take a bit of time for them to do so? I was thinking of offering a fair bit under the asking price and being quite flexible on timing - giving them a longer period of time between contract exchange and the closure date which will help them.

I'm basically worried about giving them more time which may mean they pull out last minute. I'm also wondering what experiences people have had with people going through the motions of selling but not fully thinking about it and committing and then pulling out?

It really is our perfect house and i would guess being a FTB with mortgage in principle puts me in a strong position, i just dont know how much to use this to my advantage!

Cheers guys. Thanks for many interesting and informative posts in the past.

pie81

I think your strategy sounds fine - you give them some flexibility on timing in order to give them time to find their next place, in return they should be willing to accept a slightly lower offer.

I don't think the fact that they haven't yet found their next place means they are not committed to selling. Sellers are usually advised to get their own place "under offer" before they start making offers on their next place, since otherwise they themselves will not be taken seriously as buyers as they still have somewhere they have to sell. So it is normal that they have not yet found their next place.

Suggest you don't give them TOO long however - do set a deadline for exchange even if it is a relatively long deadline. If possible, don't incur any fees (survey etc) until after they have found somewhere.