question about making an offer

first78

I just wanted to know if I put an offer on a house and it's accepted does that then mean no one else can put in a higher offer and effectively stop my purchase from going ahead?

BlueC

no, you can still be out-bid.

Eric1

Tell the EA your offer is subject to the following:
All future and current viewings are cancelled,
The house is withdrawn from the open market immediately and you have exclusivity over it.

Jowo_2

assuming the property is in England or Wales, you can be gazumped anytime up to the exchange of contracts, which I believe averages around 6 weeks to 3 months from offer.

off the top of my head, generally, a buyer expects the property to be listed as 'sold subject to contract' after the survey has taken place and the property taken off the market then. typically an agent will just make a note of people wanting to view but tell them the position on it, in case the buyer withdraws.

most sellers are reluctant to take a property off the market when there is an offer on it until the survey takes place in case the buyer changes their mind. a friend has recently suffered a couple of timewasters who negotiated offers, wanted it off the market, then changed their mind after two or three weeks without even bothering to engage a solicitor or surveyor.

Gorgeous_George

Nothing is certain until contracts are exchanged. After this exchange it is highly unlikely that the purchase will fail.

It can be a highly stressful time. You need to make sure that everything is in place at your end and hope that the vendor is keen to sell.

GG