house i am buying is sale agreed got call from EA saying cash offer been put to owner

jamminjamaica

hi there

the house i am buying went sale agreed 8 weeks ago. everything is nearly done all we are waiting for is for our buyer to sign the contract for our house and we can then sign for new house. got call from estate agent yesterday asking how things are going and that someone has approached the seller with a cash offer. this makes me mad. i know that this is normal but the house is sale agreed we have had valuations done, searches etc.

i relly hope they do not consider the offer as i will be up the creek without a paddle.

what makes this worse is that i suspect i know who the mistry bidder is. while we were bidding on the property i told my sister that i had seen a house we liked and were putting a offer in. she told me her boyfriends aunt was also interested in this house. now my sister and her boyfriend told the aunt that it was me bidding on the house. the aunt told my sister that i should forget about the house as she was downsizing and had the cash and would buy it.

i think this is spiteful. why cant she just let the house go?

lilyann1

Well the EA should tell the other buyer that the house is sold subject to contract and no other people can view it or offer on it.
Hopefully they will not consider it even as you're almost done on the purchase.
Are you ready to exchange,can you pressure them to exchange in the next few days and get it all done and dusted?

Poppy9

It's all down to the vendor really. If they need completion by a certain date they might pressure you to move quickly. They don't know that the cash buyer won't pull out and it will still take a couple of weeks for them do get the legal side done so they might stick with you. Fingers crossed.

ps The EA cannot tell any potential purchaser to bog off as they have a duty to pass on details of all interested parties and all offers.

Whits

Poppy9 wrote:

ps The EA cannot tell any potential purchaser to bog off as they have a duty to pass on details of all interested parties and all offers.

I beg to differ, I have just put in an offer of the full asking price on the understanding that the vendor removes it from the market. He was happy to do this as the house was only on for 4 hours before we offered.

I've missed out on too many houses due to not being in the position to view when they have been put on the market:mad:

cattie

Whits wrote:

I beg to differ, I have just put in an offer of the full asking price on the understanding that the vendor removes it from the market. He was happy to do this as the house was only on for 4 hours before we offered.

I've missed out on too many houses due to not being in the position to view when they have been put on the market:mad:

I'm afraid nothing is cast iron untill completion & I'd always hold my breath untill contracts are exchanged at least.

I made a full asking price offer on the house I now own, it was accepted & taken off the market. Two or 3 weeks down the line a non proceedable viewer who had seen the house before me bypassed my vendor's ea after getting an offer on her house & contacted the vendors direct, guzumping me by a whopping £10,000. The estate agent was fuming when he found out as he absolutely abhores the practice of guzumping.

I know others on mse who have had pretty much the same experience.

Doozergirl

I really hope things turn out okay for you, jamminjamaica; they'll be real s***s if they take the offer

EDIT: Wow, I really expected that word to get bleeped, but I had to go back and put the stars in myself!

Floxxie

I wouldn't feel threatened by a cash offer; it doesn't mean that the potential purchasers can move any quicker than a person with a mortgage - the majority still request a survey and there is the legal process to go through as well.

Given that you are almost there, I wouldn't worry about it. It is now up to the EA and the solicitor to explain to the vendor that the cash offer is not a pot of gold!

Good luck.

Whits, an EA is still under a legal obligation to pass on any offers even if the house has been taken off the market for a buyer. There is no binding contract until exchange of contracts and a vendor can change their mind at any stage before this. Another offer is possible if people have previously viewed the property before your offer was accepted.

Poppy9

Whits wrote:

I beg to differ, I have just put in an offer of the full asking price on the understanding that the vendor removes it from the market. He was happy to do this as the house was only on for 4 hours before we

It's just a gentlemens agreement it's not legally binding. If you wish to view a house that is under offer you can insist the EA contacts the vendor to tell them of your interest. After all an EA might be lying if he says the vendor doesn't wish to have any more viewings if they or a friend are buying the house. Also they have to pass on an offer and you should always confirm your offer has been passed to the vendor. It's upto the vendor whether they consider it or not.

From consumer direct
When you make an offer, the estate agent must pass it to the seller promptly and in writing. The only exception is if the seller has told the estate agent some offers are not acceptable, such as those below a certain amount.......

jamminjamaica

thanks everyone. the sellers are a couple who have split up and are in no hurry to move. she is moving back home to her parents and the guy no longer lives in the house. hopefully things will work out as there are no other houses we like at the moment.

jamminjamaica

also the seller agreed that if we went to the current asking price that they would take the house off the market and accept no other offers.

oh how i hope this all turns out ok. this the the kind of house my husband and i have been after for the past 3 years. it is so difficult to get a house in this village and we dont want to loose it.

silvercar

Of course EAs have to pass on all offers BUT any vendor who is acting honourably will not be showing the house and not be listening to offers. We lost one buyer as they moved to rented due to problems further up the chain. Under offer to a second buyer and the EA phones me to say the first buyers phoned to find out our position. Now I knew they had offered more for another house, so could well be willing to spend more on mine and beat the second set of buyers, they had also exchanged on their own sale and had done a survey and legals on mine so they were at the same stage as my second set of buyers. I could easily have started a bidding war or at least listened to what they had to say. I didn't I just told the EA to tell them we were under offer and not interested. What goes around comes around.