Going very quickly: should I be suspicious?

billy2shots

I don't think you are being rushed. You made an offer which was accepted so now it's time to get the ball rolling.

The fact you want to go back having offered has muddied things a little.
You should have viewed a second time before deciding to make an offer.

It's obviously fine to revisit several times once an offers in and the process is underway (depending on vendors tolerance).

In theory you haven't actually offered yet because you have stopped short of 'officially ' submitting your offer. If someone comes in then you risk losing the house.

Slightly surprised that your offer was accepted straight away. The vendors may want to act quick on something they have seen so there might not be anything in that. Worth sounding out the EA, just ask what the vendors situation is and that should give you the answer.

Anyone is free to make an offer whenever they like but next time view a second or third time before doing so. Also do your due diligence by looking at crime, local schools, checking out the road and area before making an offer.

The unsuspecting vendors are probably pleased as punch currently but that can change after your second viewing or once your homework is complete.

PasturesNew

Join the local Facebook groups, see what they've been posting ... and flogging.

Just last week I wrote off one entire area (that I already had worries about) due to house windows being smashed, cars being smashed up, somebody's house was fired at, gangs running through the park, people being threatened to have their throat slit ... and a photo of the "gang" posing "gangsta style" with their finger tips on their chins and leaning over ... because they think they're so invincible that having their photo taken after one of their rampages is "cool".

Compare that to the fact that the postcode was, just this week, listed as one of those where property is flying off the shelves, prices rising and "get in quick".

Facebook moaners really give you the dirt on what's what.

user1168934

It seems like you haven't made the "official" offer just yet which is why you are being chased. You cannot just make a verbal offer and then keep them hanging for a few weeks. The seller might have some other offers on the table for slightly less. Do you think those people will just wait a few weeks so you can make you your mind? The seller will be feeling insecure (understandably) because you haven't made a commitment and have not started spending your money yet (i.e. get a solicitor, etc).
I am not sure where you read online that making an offer takes a few weeks. This certainly was not my experience. All I ever did when buying was make an offer on the phone which was accepted with some negotiations over the next 2 days - that's it. After that I asked them for 2-3 days time to arrange a solicitor and as soon as I had the details for my solicitor I passed on the details. This whole thing took something like 4 days. Seems like you are having cold feet after making an offer, not uncommon

dgerrard

user1168934 wrote: »

It seems like you haven't made the "official" offer just yet which is why you are being chased. You cannot just make a verbal offer and then keep them hanging for a few weeks. The seller might have some other offers on the table for slightly less. Do you think those people will just wait a few weeks so you can make you your mind? The seller will be feeling insecure (understandably) because you haven't made a commitment and have not started spending your money yet (i.e. get a solicitor, etc).
I am not sure where you read online that making an offer takes a few weeks. This certainly was not my experience. All I ever did when buying was make an offer on the phone which was accepted with some negotiations over the next 2 days - that's it. After that I asked them for 2-3 days time to arrange a solicitor and as soon as I had the details for my solicitor I passed on the details. This whole thing took something like 4 days. Seems like you are having cold feet after making an offer, not uncommon

Ah, ok, bit of a lightbulb moment here for me.

I thought making a verbal offer was more like registering my interest, but from what you've said here it sounds like it's much more official than that. I figured a seller would want to have 3-4 verbal offers and then decide between them, have more questions about us, etc. We've barely given the estate agent any information about ourselves, thought some sort of review of the mortgage in principal etc would be requested before finalising the offer.

Well, feel a bit of a plum now, as I do want to re-look at the place and area and all that before finalising. May very well want to take it, but if I don't move ahead now I'll look wishy-washy. All a learning process I guess. I was following this:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/house-buying-guide/

And where it says:

Put in an offer:
Tell the seller what you're willing to pay and any conditions.
Offer to exchange: 2 to 6 weeks

It's accepted:
Now get a survey to check the property's condition.


I thought I'd have 2 to 6 weeks, not less than 24 hours!

AdrianC

dgerrard wrote: »

Ah, ok, bit of a lightbulb moment here for me.

I thought making a verbal offer was more like registering my interest, but from what you've said here it sounds like it's much more official than that.

No, it's very much more than just "I'm interested". It's "Yes, I definitely want to buy it, and I'll pay £x".

I figured a seller would want to have 3-4 verbal offers and then decide between them

They may be in that fortunate position, they may not.

We've barely given the estate agent any information about ourselves, thought some sort of review of the mortgage in principal etc would be requested before finalising the offer.

That's what they're asking you for now. "OK, you've agreed a price, now are you wasting our time?"

I was following this:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/house-buying-guide/

And where it says:

Put in an offer:
Tell the seller what you're willing to pay and any conditions.
Offer to exchange: 2 to 6 weeks

It's accepted:
Now get a survey to check the property's condition.

I thought I'd have 2 to 6 weeks, not less than 24 hours!

Exchange of contracts is not when you shake hands on the purchase - it's when you're legally bound to buy it. Right now, you've got all the legals to get through before you get to exchange. Either of you can walk away with no penalty until that point, but you have a "gentleman's agreement" to buy now, and you can both start to spend the money on getting the Is dotted and Ts crossed...

billy2shots

Do not make any more offers on houses until you have a basic grasp of how the process works.
At best you will upset vendors, at worst Estate Agents will inform clients you may not be a serious buyer leading to them rejecting future offers.

user1168934

dgerrard wrote: »

I figured a seller would want to have 3-4 verbal offers and then decide between them, have more questions about us, etc. We've barely given the estate agent any information about ourselves, thought some sort of review of the mortgage in principal etc would be requested before finalising the offer.

The seller might have had many offers and for one reason or another he has decided to choose your offer. You did say they have accepted your offer. You are being asked for all that extra information now. To be honest, all the seller is interested to know is whether you are able to pay for the property or not. It is a bit different from renting where sometimes they refuse you simply because you have young kids or own two dogs or have a black cat.

dgerrard wrote: »

Offer to exchange: 2 to 6 weeks

Oh boy! the way this article is stating it is very confusing indeed. I think this is actually referring to the lapse time since you make an offer till you exchange contracts, at which point it becomes a legal binding to buy. A lot needs to happen before that. To give you an idea, my exchange of contracts took a bit over 6 months. Most of it was waiting for replies between solicitors. It took so long that my mortgage offer was about to expire and I had clearly told the seller that if my offer expires than I am pulling out.

joanars

As soon as you put an offer in, you are verbally agreeing to buy the house.

When our offer was accepted, the first thing we did was to ask the EA to remove the property from the market. Then we were asked to show mortgage agreement in principle, proof of address and scanned copy of our ID. The memorandum of sale was issued the same day and we have instructed our solicitors the very next day because we are not in a chain. If you are in a chain, you better make sure the chain is complete before you instruct your solicitors and pay initial fees for searches etc.

Then a few weeks later we have arranged a follow up viewing of the house to have proper look around and take some measurements.

I think 2-6 weeks offer to exchange is highly unrealistic, our offer was accepted back in August 2018, we are not in a chain and here we are still waiting to exchange end of Jan 2019.

Jox

When I was selling my flat I had 21 offers, I accepted one and then when the Brexit vote took place they withdrew their offer! All in all it took 11 months to sell my flat and in that time I had 4 buyers (3 changed their minds for various reasons that wasn't related to the flat), it can be stressful selling a property!

Good luck with your house hunt OP, if you decide at some point the area isn't for you, you can withdraw your offer, but hopefully before you and the vendors have paid monies (solicitors, surveys etc)

The vendors will have to list if there have been any disputes with neighbours so look out for that on the forms.

ViolaLass

I agree that the article is not clearly written. Saying you can't back out after exchange without incurring costs is true but doesn't mention the fact that you will already have incurred costs by that point, for example.

OP, do more research on the process. You don't want local EAs thinking you're not serious.