Offer accepted - verbally...

proformance

hi guys

we've finally had an offer accepted on a property, however, only verbally, from the agent.

at which point can I instruct a solicitor?

I.e. should I request some form of agreement in writing and what is it actually worth? in other words, at what point are we confident to move on? 

the agent is saying the vendor needs approx. "10 days to sort out their solicitor".... So has the offer been accepted or not haha?

In other words; is there some document, agreement that is used in these situations to essentially signal an agreed sale in principle? 

Comms69

Yes the offer has been accepted. But no-one is legally bound until exchange (months away) so the offer can subsequently be rejected.

There is no document, because there is no contract to buy/sell at the moment.

Lokolo

Get some quotes for a conveyancor, then choose one. You don't need to instruct one yet. 
Pass the details onto estate agent, then when everyone is ready they will send out a memorandum of sale which will contain each others details and solicitor info. You can then start.
Make sure the chain is complete before starting anything. 

in_my_wellies

Comms69 said:

Yes the offer has been accepted. But no-one is legally bound until exchange (months away) so the offer can subsequently be rejected.

There is no document, because there is no contract to buy/sell at the moment.

How very true
My niece in New Zealand decided to move. 
1 Saw a house she liked go on the market on Thursday am
2 Viewed Thursday pm
3 Offered Friday am
4 Offer accepted Friday pm
5 Moved in the following Friday
Sorted! 
In NZ there are two types of 'offer' conditional (i.e. need survey, etc) and unconditional. conditional adds an extra 3 days!

eddddy

Nothing is binding at this stage, whether it's verbal or written - to use the legal terminology, everything is "subject to contract".

But to avoid misunderstandings and arguments later, if the EA hasn't confirmed anything in writing, I'd probably do it instead - probably in an email to the EA. Maybe something like:


I am very pleased to hear that my offer of £x has been accepted, subject to contract, for 12 Acacia Gardens, including carpets, curtains, built in kitchen appliances. I assume that the property will now be taken off the market; marked as 'Sold STC' or 'Sale Agreed'; and no further viewings will be arranged.

I note that the sellers will be finalising their choice of solicitors within the next 10 days. I understand that this sale is dependent on the sellers finding another property to purchase.

I am not planning to instruct my solicitor and mortgage lender to proceed until the sellers have found a property and a complete chain is formed [or whatever other terms you what to specify]

Please let me know if I have misunderstood any of the above.

Andy499

As nothing is binding its up to the vendor.

Have they taken the property off rightmove, or moved to STC status?

Im in a similar situation, I put an offer in on a house I love before selling mine, which has been accepted, and the vendor has decided to take the house off rightmove in "under offer" status and wait for us. Theyre not accepting any more viewings either.

Get your solicitor sorted now and wait until they have theirs, then you can start moving on it.

happy_2008

in_my_wellies said:

Comms69 said:

Yes the offer has been accepted. But no-one is legally bound until exchange (months away) so the offer can subsequently be rejected.

There is no document, because there is no contract to buy/sell at the moment.

How very true
My niece in New Zealand decided to move. 
1 Saw a house she liked go on the market on Thursday am
2 Viewed Thursday pm
3 Offered Friday am
4 Offer accepted Friday pm
5 Moved in the following Friday
Sorted! 
In NZ there are two types of 'offer' conditional (i.e. need survey, etc) and unconditional. conditional adds an extra 3 days!

That is crazy efficient, if only the UK worked on the same basis.

proformance

eddddy said:

Nothing is binding at this stage, whether it's verbal or written - to use the legal terminology, everything is "subject to contract".

But to avoid misunderstandings and arguments later, if the EA hasn't confirmed anything in writing, I'd probably do it instead - probably in an email to the EA. Maybe something like:


I am very pleased to hear that my offer of £x has been accepted, subject to contract, for 12 Acacia Gardens, including carpets, curtains, built in kitchen appliances. I assume that the property will now be taken off the market; marked as 'Sold STC' or 'Sale Agreed'; and no further viewings will be arranged.

I note that the sellers will be finalising their choice of solicitors within the next 10 days. I understand that this sale is dependent on the sellers finding another property to purchase.

I am not planning to instruct my solicitor and mortgage lender to proceed until the sellers have found a property and a complete chain is formed [or whatever other terms you what to specify]

Please let me know if I have misunderstood any of the above.

Thanks for this. Had already drafted something to this effect in anticipation!

Will go ahead and send now

greatcrested

As this is a huge decision and huge amount of money, and you seem to have limited understanding of the process, you need to remedy that. Either use the internet to learn how property sales work, or get abook on the subject. You are going to have countless questions, and hit countless issus, in the coming months.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-to-buy-your-first-home-and-how-to-sell-it-too/phil-spencer/9780091935375

https://www.waterstones.com/book/buying-and-selling-a-home-for-dummies/melanie-bien/9780470994481

MovingForwards

happy_2008 said:

in_my_wellies said:

Comms69 said:

Yes the offer has been accepted. But no-one is legally bound until exchange (months away) so the offer can subsequently be rejected.

There is no document, because there is no contract to buy/sell at the moment.

How very true
My niece in New Zealand decided to move. 
1 Saw a house she liked go on the market on Thursday am
2 Viewed Thursday pm
3 Offered Friday am
4 Offer accepted Friday pm
5 Moved in the following Friday
Sorted! 
In NZ there are two types of 'offer' conditional (i.e. need survey, etc) and unconditional. conditional adds an extra 3 days!

That is crazy efficient, if only the UK worked on the same basis.

Some of the UK does.

OP, you can sort your solicitor out now, just tell them not to do anything yet, make sure they are on your proposed lenders solicitors panel. Then pass the details onto the agents.

csgohan4

happy_2008 said:

in_my_wellies said:

Comms69 said:

Yes the offer has been accepted. But no-one is legally bound until exchange (months away) so the offer can subsequently be rejected.

There is no document, because there is no contract to buy/sell at the moment.

How very true
My niece in New Zealand decided to move. 
1 Saw a house she liked go on the market on Thursday am
2 Viewed Thursday pm
3 Offered Friday am
4 Offer accepted Friday pm
5 Moved in the following Friday
Sorted! 
In NZ there are two types of 'offer' conditional (i.e. need survey, etc) and unconditional. conditional adds an extra 3 days!

That is crazy efficient, if only the UK worked on the same basis.

how can legals and mortgage be sorted that quick, even a cash buyer needs legals done. I think something has been exaggerated or left out