FTB: Offer not yet accepted but ask to proceed with surveying

roastduck

hello,

My girlfriend and i have been looking for a house for past 2 months. We saw a house we both like and we put in our offer this morning. But the owner has not accepted our offer eventhough we were the first to put in an offer at the full asking price. There is another ftb (like us) offering the full asking price but the ea said the buyer has not accepted any offer.:mad:

The ea is asking us to move quickly with the mortgage application ie booking the surveyor etc to show that we are keen to proceed. Is it worth doing this without the buyer accepting our offer?

I think the ea or the buyer is waiting for a higher offer. Should i proceed with the surveying or wait until the buyer accept our offer?

AndrewSmith

I assume you are buying in England and not Scotland?

If the offer you have put in has not been accepted then I would not advise arranging a survey, especially if you are having to pay for it.

Also be aware that the EA may just be trying to tie you into using their mortgage broker or a broker recommended by them, and will only push the vendor to accept your offer once this is happening. I've seen this happen before.

Also, too much emphasis is put on having a survey or valuation carried out quickly. It is better, in my opinion, to ensure that the mortgage company are going to lend to you and have underwritten your case before committing money to a survey.

Do nothing about surveys till your offer has been accepted. If they are pushing you to use a nominated mortgage company or broker, go elsewhere for mortgage advice.

Cheers

Andy

roastduck

Thanks andy,
we are buying in england.
The ea is not offering any mortgage products etc. We have sorted out our mortgage solicitor etc...and we are just waiting for a property to come along. i think the ea is waiting for higher offer. The ea is saying either we wait for the buyer to make decision or sort out the valuation. Unfortunately as FTB, we are uncertain with this practice of processing the survey without the seller accepting our offer plus a entering into a surveying/valuation competition.

thanks again.:T

[Deleted User]

I can't believe they didn't accepted a full asking price from a FTB! What's wrong with these people? Do not instruct a survey (which costs ££) unless they formally accept your offer. I'd put pressure on them by saying that your mortgage offer is in place and you really want the place but won't go ahead (obviously) unless your offer is accepted. Tell them to take it or leave it by xx/yy. They can't mess you around. Best of luck!

AndrewSmith

I would also tell the EA that you are keen to move and that there are other similar properties about.

I agree with Van1971 that you should give a deadline. Also tell them that under no circumstances are you going to instruct a survey till the offer has been accepted.

I am telling you it is bad practice, your mortgage broker/lender will tell you it's bad practice (as they cannot value a property until they know what the agreed price is!!!) and your solicitor will advise you against it.

Here's what to do.

Ring the EA and tell them that you want to have another look around before making a decision. Tell the EA that it will have to be late, say 7.30pm onwards. No estate agent will want to accompany a seond/third viewing at this time of night.

This will ensure that you have time alone with the vendors without the EA overseeing the conversation.

Look around the property and, in conversation, drop in that you are FTB and are keen to move, with your mortgage and solicitor already sorted. Tell them that you have seen a few similar properties but liked theirs a bit more than the others "that's why we offered full asking price on yours".

You will then be able to guage whether the agent has actually put the offer forward or not. Also I would, again casually without pressure, ask them when they are likely to make a decision on your offer.

Approached in the right way this may just strike up the necessary rapport with the seller and swing it your way. At worst you will at least find out if your offer was ever put forward or not. You may actually discover that it is not the EA at all, but the seller making the demands as does happen in a large number of cases. We must not automatically assume that the EA is the one being difficult as I myself have dealt with some pretty narrow minded vendors regarding offers etc.

Once your offer is accepted make it conditional that all future and outstanding viewings are cancelled, and that the property is removed from sale immediately. Offer in return that you will instruct your solicitor immediately and begin proceedings for survey and mortgage offer at the same time.

Hope this helps

Andy

Wickedkitten

roastduck wrote:

Thanks andy,
we are buying in england.
The ea is not offering any mortgage products etc. We have sorted out our mortgage solicitor etc...and we are just waiting for a property to come along. i think the ea is waiting for higher offer. The ea is saying either we wait for the buyer to make decision or sort out the valuation. Unfortunately as FTB, we are uncertain with this practice of processing the survey without the seller accepting our offer plus a entering into a surveying/valuation competition.

thanks again.:T

Do they know what you already have your mortgage in principal in place already?

bap98189

Van1971 wrote:

I can't believe they didn't accepted a full asking price from a FTB! What's wrong with these people? Do not instruct a survey (which costs ££) unless they formally accept your offer. I'd put pressure on them by saying that your mortgage offer is in place and you really want the place but won't go ahead (obviously) unless your offer is accepted. Tell them to take it or leave it by xx/yy. They can't mess you around. Best of luck!

Well if you put a place on the market and instantly get offered the full asking price, it would make you think it must be worth more. Certainly would cross my mind to wait and see for a short while.

itsakidsworld

You have seen a house on the market and offered the full asking price? The vender has not yet decided to accept your offer? Why?

The vender has asked a local agent to place the property on the market and the agent will be fully aware of the current property market. So they come up with a price which has hit the nail on the head and the price is spot on. How come? Because they have viewings and offers so they have done their job correct.

But hang on, this is England and if they have offers so quick then it must be too cheap so maybe we can get another few thousand out of a potential buyer!! The agent must be dodgy or no good because how can they get offers so quick? So lets wait and see if some gullable buyer will offer more because we are sure our property is the best on the planet!!!!!!! Get real venders.

You have done nothing wrong and everything correct. They either accept the offer ( full asking price, not bad going that!!) or tell them where to stuff their property.

I know it is scary for you as FTB but there are 100's of properties out on the market at the moment so don't lose any sleep over this one as what will be will be.

Remember "greed creates poverty" so don't get drawn into a situation which does not fit in with you.

Good luck

roastduck

Thanks for all your comments.

My update. R

eceived a call from the ea telling me that they will NOT be showing the house to any more potential buyers. There were 3 offers on the table and he was ringing around to ask all the buyers about thier final offers.

We refused to increase our offer and stuck to the original full offer! The ea also informed us that if all 3 offers are the same, the house will go to the buyer who can get the surveying booked first.:rolleyes: and he will ring me back in half an hour.

5 hours later i received a call from the ea telling me they are showing the house to one more couple on friday. Then the vendor will decide who will get the house. At the same time he asked me to speak to my bank manager to start the mortgage application and have the surveyer booked. He also informed me that the vendor is "keen" to accept my offer because we are FTB with no chain etc etc but was exercising his right to keep the house on the market until WHOEVER get the surveying sorted out first.

Basically i told them i cant speak to my mortgage advisor till next week because she is away but i was due to see her on tuesday. The cheeky ea then decided to change thier decision making day till monday!!!:eek:

i expressed my disatisfaction about the fact that he asked me to start my mortgage application before the vendor has exccepted my offer. The ea just fob me with "rights" and thier "advice to the vendor" and to protect the vendor etc etc.

The thing is the vendor hasn't found a house yet and wont want to start looking until they know they can sell the house. We as FTB is more favourable! We are put off with thier attitude (ea and/or vendor) and feel insecure. I undestand that the vendor wanted to get more out of the house but this is definitely not a good practice.

We have decided that we wont loose any sleep if we didn't get the house. Even if we were the first to sort out the surveying but I may still loose the house because it is still on the market. They may lie to me that someone else has booked the surveying first but in fact thier is a higher offer on the table?!?!?!:mad:

We are looking for another property and we will wait and see. will keep you all informed.

clutton_2

This EA is trying to play you all off against each other. Stick to your offer, and dont budge. Dont get a survey done until your offer is accepted. There will be other houses if this one falls thru. Meantime, you are learning a great deal as to how the Property market works !!

Debt_Free_Chick

I don't trust this Vendor. Chances are, when Friday comes along, they'll decide to "do one more viewing" ....

Ditch them and find another property. Even if they accepted your offer, I can see them being a nightmare throughout the whole process. And there's always a chance they will allow you to be gazumped by a higher offer - after you've incurred costs, but before you exchange!

Gazumping is always a risk, but this vendor sounds as though they would be well & truly "up for it" :mad: