Had an offer accepted - how long before its taken off the market

banwa

Hi all, apologies if this has been asked before.

Put offer in last Friday after 2 viewings.Offer accepted Monday morning. Gave all details (AIP, solicitor) on Tuesday at 8am via email.

EA said they would send out a sales memorandum when they had the vendors solicitors details. No memorandum yet and the house is still being advertised.

Not in a huge hurry but don't want the house advertised any more, I don't want other interested parties sniffing about!

How long does that normally take? Should we carry on looking at other houses if we aren't being taken seriously. Had stopped looking because this is the one we want but if they are still open to other buyers then how safe are we?

Thanks
Banwa

Mercurial

I am in the process of buying a house and it is still being shown on Rightmove I did ask for the property to be removed but have been told its not possible. Same thing with my previous property and some house sales that fell through.

banwa

Mercurial wrote: »

I am in the process of buying a house and it is still being shown on Rightmove I did ask for the property to be removed but have been told its not possible. Same thing with my previous property and some house sales that fell through.

You were told it can't be taken off? I find that difficult to believe; how do we get the SSTC ones one there? My EA asked me when we accepted an offer if I was happy to take it off Rightmove and it was done the next day.

Who told you it can't be taken off?

Mercurial

The EA told me as did several others when I made offers which fell through.

macarena123

They are taking the mick

For the house that I am (hopefully!!) buying I submitted my full mortgage app and made a down payment to my solicitor. At that point my broker and solicitor contacted the EA to confirm I had got the ball rolling, & they took the property off the market (it's now 'Under Offer'). That all happened in a couple of days of accepting the offer

I would have expected nothing less - IMO as soon as you commit to spending some money/make a mortgage application you've shown you're serious and the vendor needs to reciprocate.

I would go back to the EA and ask exactly at what stage they DO propose to take it off the market. Get that clarified before you go spending money/making a mortgage app

Guest101

Ye that's bogus, if they carry on, threaten to walk away, if they still persist, do just walk away. will be more hasle, and probably cost you more money, than its worth.

Edit: in fact I wanted to add, it's more than bogus, it'd downright deceitful. They want to use your offer as a marketing ploy for other buyers, saying we've had an offer of £x, so you need to beat that.

Ultimatum time I think.

I operate one simple rule with things like this, do it my way, or do it with someone else. I'm not unreasonable, but this whole situation just stinks of upselling.

banwa

Crikey, I thought this was normal. I will ring them in the morning and demand some answers!

Thanks guys

banwa

Ooh I haven't applied for the mortgage, I just have an AIP. I have instructed a solicitor but haven't incurred costs yet. Will still chase though

grifferz

banwa wrote: »

Not in a huge hurry but don't want the house advertised any more, I don't want other interested parties sniffing about!

How long does that normally take?

It depends. If buyers are scarce then you can tell them that your offer is conditional on them taking the property off the market, and that until they do you will continue viewing other properties and not pay a penny towards progressing the purchase. Hammer the point home by arranging a viewing with another property their agent has on the books.

But on the other hand if properties are scarce, they will call your bluff if you try this because really what are your options if you really want this property? Sit around not viewing anything else while it's still on the market? The agent may advise the vendor not to take the property off the market until you have had a survey done for example.

All of the terms "Sold subject to contract", "under offer" etc are just words with no legal meaning and very little weight. The deal is not secure until you exchange contracts. Either side can pull out at any time before then.

There is no reason why they can't take it off the market or even just mark it SSTC, they just don't want to. Charitably that will be because they still want people to see it, take their details and arrange viewings immediately should you mess them about.

So it is really down to how strong your position is and how well you can play that position.

banwa

Thanks grifferz.

We offered below the asking price and our house sale is just at the beginning of the process, the house we want is in a nice and reasonably popular area so we are in quite a vulnerable position.

I would be a lot happier if our sale had gone through (which it hasn't) and we had done a full mortgage app (which we haven't but mainly because I don't feel that they have properly committed to us yet)

I really don't blame them though for being cautious; we are not dead certs. And I don't mind taking my time with this but I know that they want to be in a new house my the new school year so they can't afford to dither.

Mind you, not many buyers are a dead cert, most will have a sale to complete so we are no less viable than most buyers.

I will let you know what the EA says tomorrow.

macarena123

"Mind you, not many buyers are a dead cert, most will have a sale to complete so we are no less viable than most buyers."

Really nobody is a dead cert, esp these days with lenders being the way they are! Even if you are a FTB with a stack of cash and an agreement in principle you never know until you get into the nitty gritty of the transaction - there are no guarantees.

So given that the (admittedly very screwed-up) English house-buying process essentially operates on trust, for me it's all about feeling confident that the people you're dealing with are basically straightforward and professional. Tit-for-tat - you are doing your bit, you will not be unreasonable in asking that they are doing theirs.

See what the EA says but to grifferz point, if you get bad vibes about these people and you don't get a straight reply you really are better off walking away. Disappointing but best in the long run.