Can we still put an offer in?

sshaw101

A house we have fallen in love with has now appeared with under offer! Are we still able to put our offer on the table if it is still being advertised?

Should this be done through the estate agent or can you write a letter to the sellers?

Many thanks

Cannon_Fodder

If you were the first person to offer, who maybe had asked for marketing to cease upon acceptance of offer, how would you feel if someone else came along afterwards and tried to outbid you?

Would you really want to have dealings with a vendor who will consider a second offer, after accepting a first offer? Would you be confident that the vendor would not accept a third, or fourth offer after yours was supposed to be accepted..?

It does happen, of course. And it also opens up the possibility of a bidding war. Few houses are truly unique. So be cautious of overpaying.

You could gauge the strength of the offer, perhaps, when asking if the EA would keep your details ready, should it fall through of its own accord.

If its a repo, there is less stigma attached. As it helps the repossessed person to maximise the money they get to clear their mortgage.

garthdp

Its not sold until its sold

offer away

sshaw101

We did put an offer in a few weeks ago (after 2 viewings) but this was declined. In the meantime another offer had come in and been accepted.

Spoke to the EA this morning and she explained that they will always put forward other offers on the understanding that our offer would only be accepted should the original offer fall through. however this would be up to the vendor.

Its not necessarily the right thing to do, but it is not illegal and not sold until its sold.

If its meant to be it will happen.

Chinkle

Have you previously viewed the property? Why did you not put an offer in straight away?

By all means ask the agent if the vendors are still actively marketing the property and open to offers. If they are, you can put yours forward. You will need to be in a better position and/or offer more for them to back out of the agreement they have with the current purchaser - also, the other party may come back with a counter offer and you could end up in a bidding war.

Cannon_Fodder

sshaw101 wrote: »

We did put an offer in a few weeks ago (after 2 viewings) but this was declined.

If you truly "love it", you need to have acted faster. A second offer, a couple of days after the first was declined, is usual.

Be sure its not a case of now you know someone else likes it you suddenly *think* you love it...

Chinkle

Cross-posted there! Well you now know the position, the vendor has been made a better offer which they have accepted. They may decide to stick with this because they believe its morally right to do so, even if you go in now with a higher offer.

You won't know unless you make that higher offer, or you can sit and wait and see if the current deal falls through.

sshaw101

Cannon_Fodder wrote: »

If you truly "love it", you need to have acted faster. A second offer, a couple of days after the first was declined, is usual.

Be sure its not a case of now you know someone else likes it you suddenly *think* you love it...

we did love it but unfortunately had bad news re mother in law which put everything on the back burner for a few weeks. We put the offer in to let them know we are/were interested.

We may just wait to see how the deal is progressing and if it falls through be there in a stronger position to move forward with the deal.

fraser

the other side happened to us

we viewed offered with a deadline, agreed a sale, then 3 weeks in a couple who had viewed 2 months before offered at a higher rate. we were a bit hacked off as we had been promised exclusivity.

the agents said they had to put the offer to the vendor by law, the vendor then asked us if we wanted to up our offer - so started turning into a competitive situation.

we walked as we did not want to get into a bidding war and could not trust the vendor. The vendor essentially decided to start up the competition, the 2nd offer was also 20k more than it was worth! so good luck to them and their LTV and future investment choice!

we were a bit raw after that and certainly made it known to the EA, end of the day it is the vendor who will gazump or not

harrup

sshaw101 wrote: »

A house we have fallen in love with has now appeared with under offer! Are we still able to put our offer on the table if it is still being advertised?

Should this be done through the estate agent or can you write a letter to the sellers?

Many thanks

I would make an offer.

Over the years I've changed my viewpoint on this issue.

True, the vendors did accept a previous offer. Indicating that they are prepared to sell their house to a particular buyer at £ XXX. But is the house SOLD at that price? No.

As the law stands the existing buyer could retract their offer at any moment without having to provide any rationale for it and simply walk away. Maybe they saw a better house or maybe they decided against moving altogether. Whatever the reason, they could change their mind. And often do.

So why shouldn't the seller keep their options open if someone is prepared to pay more?

I say: go for it. Be prepared, though, that most vendors will try to honour their commitment and give the original buyer first refusal to match any higher offer...so you may not get the house after all. But it is certainly worth trying if you love it.