Buying a repossessed house, does accepting an "Offer To Sell" bind me to buying?

robwadd

I am a first time buyer looking to buy a repossessed house. I gained a mortgage in principle and decided to put in an offer (subject to mortgage), which subsequently got accepted. The selling bank decided to proceed by issuing an "offer to sell" and put a deadline date of tomorrow. I have completed a mortgage application, but have been given an estimated time of 2 weeks before the mortgage offer is completed. If I accept the mortgage offer, will I be legally obliged to buy the property, regardless of the outcome of my mortgage application (I see no mention of "subject to mortgage" in the seller's offer to sell)? I also do not think the solicitor has been able to carry out the checks to make sure everything is legally in-place, would she be able to delay proceedings? the contract seems to emphasize that exceeding the deadline date could result in the property being re-marketed without notice.

G_M

The bank has given you an offer to sell. You are not bound to buy.

You will not be bound to buy untill you Exchange Contracts.

Generally with repos the seller (bank) will continue to market and seek other buyers right up till Exchange so the quicker you get there the better, but obviously you cannot Exchange till you have udertaken all the required legal, financial, and survey processes.

The deadline is artifial, basically designed to hurry you along. They wil not withdraw the offer and lose the potential sale just because ou miss the deadline (unless you have still not Exchanged in another 6 weeks.....)

Annie1960

Which country are you in? I think the rules are different in Scotland.

robwadd

I am living in Scotland, trying to buy a house in Scotland. Does that mean I should postpone accepting the "offer to sell" until such times as I have the mortgage offer in my hands?

robwadd

I'm a bit worried as the definition of the time limit as as follows:

"This offer, unless previously withdrawn, is open for acceptance in writing us no later than the time limit, after which it shall be deemed to have been withdrawn"

does this then mean that as far as they are concerned there is no current offer between us and that I deemed to not be interested? I am a bit stuck between wanting to pursue the offer, but not legally bind myself to buying it in-case of the mortgage falling through.

davidmcn

robwadd wrote: »

I am living in Scotland, trying to buy a house in Scotland. Does that mean I should postpone accepting the "offer to sell" until such times as I have the mortgage offer in my hands?

Yes. Speak to your solicitor (has your copy of the offer not come via them anyway?). Accepting the offer to sell is legally binding and therefore you don't want to do it until you have funding in place.

In practice nothing dramatic usually happens at the deadline for acceptance of the offer, other than the sellers' solicitor will start chasing it up. They may lose patience and re-advertise the property if you don't sort out your mortgage quickly enough.

agrinnall

robwadd wrote: »

I am living in Scotland, trying to buy a house in Scotland. Does that mean I should postpone accepting the "offer to sell" until such times as I have the mortgage offer in my hands?

Unless you are a property expert it's never wise to do anything regarding buying or selling in Scotland without having already engaged a solicitor and making use of them. So, the answer is, discuss it with your solicitor.

robwadd

Thanks folks, I do have solicitor, but I only received the offer to sell on Friday night, and I didn't fully understand my options and why such a short deadline was given on the offer. I feel a little bit re-assured that it's common practice that the deadline is missed and not much happens, lets hope I can get my lawyer to be engaged with them so they don't become impatient.