Effective offer letter

zzzLazyDaisy

In my experience offers are normally made verbally. Often the seller will tell the estate agent that they will only consider offers over £x, in which case the EA is not under any duty to pass on offers under this amount. However, if you do want a letter template, try this..........

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Dear Joe Bloggs estate agents

Re: 1 Windy Terrace, Anyoldtown.

Further to our recent telephone conversation, I am writing to confirm our offer on the above property in the figure of £XXXXX.

For your further information, we are first time buyers, with a mortgage approved in principle, and in a position to move as soon as is convenient for the seller.

We should be grateful if you would pass this letter to your client without delay, and look forward to receiving their response shortly.

With love and kisses

Suljka

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newhome4us

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Up to you how you handle it. Yes, there have been times when some posters [rather obsessively] to my mind suggest putting an offer in writing. And then they make what are to my mind excessive suggestions that you justify the price that you are knocking it down to and you stress the excellence of your position. I don't subscribe to this position, I have never needed to do it and what's more, something is wrong if you do need to do it.




OK, you have decided that a letter is what is needed to solve your problem. And you have studiously avoided telling us what has happened in negotiations. I would prefer to understand what the problem is before making suggestions. But as you have decided that you understand the problem and that a letter is the answer, I would say that you are the master of this problem more than anyone here, so perhaps you are best placed to write the killer letter. You certainly shouldn't rush off with an ordinary offer letter designed for a situation where the agent is not being obstructive without thinking about how it will address your situation.

Gosh - there's really no need for that is there? You are now being plain rude IMHO! :mad:
The OP doesn't feel the need to explain why they might think the EA isn't putting their offer forward, they are not having great deal of trust in the EA and are wanting to ensure that their offer is brought to the vendor nonetheless.
They are not asking for a 'killer' letter, just a letter. They are not asking for an advice on what the EA might be thinking, as the only person who knows is the EA.

BUT because you never had the need to put your offer in writing, because you were lucky enough never to encounter an a** EA (you must be first man in the Universe!!!:eek:) you decide the best thing is to tell the OP to ask for help elsewhere?! What a lovely spirit you have!
What gives you the right?! I see from your other posts you fancy yourself as a bit of an expert on variety of issues, only you don't seem to be able to handle it so well when you get a dose of your own medicine.

God help those who dare not to agree with your 'know it all' opinions.
Think before you speak man!

DVardysShadow

newhome4us wrote: »

Gosh - there's really no need for that is there? You are now being plain rude IMHO! :mad:
The OP doesn't feel the need to explain why they might think the EA isn't putting their offer forward, they are not having great deal of trust in the EA and are wanting to ensure that their offer is brought to the vendor nonetheless.
They are not asking for a 'killer' letter, just a letter. They are not asking for an advice on what the EA might be thinking, as the only person who knows is the EA.

BUT because you never had the need to put your offer in writing, because you were lucky enough never to encounter an a** EA (you must be first man in the Universe!!!:eek:) you decide the best thing is to tell the OP to ask for help elsewhere?! What a lovely spirit you have!
What gives you the right?! I see from your other posts you fancy yourself as a bit of an expert on variety of issues, only you don't seem to be able to handle it so well when you get a dose of your own medicine.

God help those who dare not to agree with your 'know it all' opinions.
Think before you speak man!

I assure you I did think. Why should I give a template letter if I don't think it will work? OP is perfectly capable of writing their own.

And I stand by by opinion here. A written offer is far from certain to address the problem.

Edit: I get it, [at last] you want to put the boot in because you disagree with me on Cameron and the EU.

DVardysShadow

newhome4us wrote: »

The problem with verbal offers is that they can be misunderstood, misinterpreted or even simply manipulated by unscrupulous EA - which is exactly my experience with the EA, which in the end resulted in a formal complaint to Property ombudsman.
And in hindsight if I knew it would ever end up that way I would put every bit of communication I ever had with the EA down on paper, or in an email or even recorded it somehow. It is wonderful to have trust in people, but unfortunately when it comes to EA most of them don't understand the meaning of the word.

The OP is right wanting to put his offer in writing - as a matter of fact my advice to anyone buying a property would be to put everything in writing, that way you have a very tangible proof of what's been said and when, rather then your word against theirs.

All that needs putting in writing is the agreed offer - if you have your doubts about the Agent. It really is a waste of effort putting every stage in the process in writing, particularly as the first offer will be rejected.

Some things are best left for your own solicitor to put in writing.

property.advert

It is my understanding that an agent is under an obligation to pass all offers on to the vendor without delay unless specifically instructed to reject offers under certain prescribed criteria. I am wary of agents seeking to play middlemen when they instructed only as receivers and dispatchers of information.

steve1980

property.advert wrote: »

It is my understanding that an agent is under an obligation to pass all offers on to the vendor without delay unless specifically instructed to reject offers under certain prescribed criteria. I am wary of agents seeking to play middlemen when they instructed only as receivers and dispatchers of information.

This is correct, although what the OP has failed to mention is what the property is on the market at and what price they have offered.

There's no point saying they are FTP with MOIP if the offer is nowhere near what the property is on at.

OP, a letter is of no use to man or beast. What are the circumstances of the property? Repo? Empty? Owner occupied?

What have the agents actually said?

DVardysShadow

steve1980 wrote: »

This is correct, although what the OP has failed to mention is what the property is on the market at and what price they have offered.

There's no point saying they are FTP with MOIP if the offer is nowhere near what the property is on at.

OP, a letter is of no use to man or beast. What are the circumstances of the property? Repo? Empty? Owner occupied?

What have the agents actually said?

No, no, no. You are not allowed to ask questions. You are supposed to deliver a template letter.

Although I agree, without a clue as to why the agent is stalling, we don't know what the letter has to address or even whether it will do any good. OP could use LDaisy's letter, but I am sure they could have composed that for themselves.

pinkteapot

suljka wrote: »

undetterred thank you for your view, that might well be the case, but it should not be down to the EA to make decisions on what is required and what not, as it is his job to pass on all offers to the seller, not to veto them.

Not necessarily. EAs must pass on all offers, unless the vendor has advised them in writing not to pass on offers below a certain amount.

The other posters are correct - offers are always handled verbally. It'd be too slow by post. Once an offer is accepted, the EA should write to you to confirm it.

If you think the EA isn't passing on your offers, the only thing you could try is dropping a note through the vendor's door stating that you made an offer of £x on x date to their agent. They can then get in touch with the agent if they have an issue with the agent's behaviour.

Hoof_Hearted

Perhaps the property is a bit of a bargain and the agent has it lined up for one of his mates at a low price as there have been no offers.....

Most agents would polish a turd and sell it as diamond if they thought they would get their commission. Therefore, I am not sure why he/she is reluctant to pass the offer on in this case. First offers are usually a basis for negotiation anyway.

ess0two

If verbal offers aint getting thru?a letter will more than likely end up in the bin?