Cash buyer beat me to it and I didn’t get any chance to do anything about it?

jordan3939 · 14 April 2021 at 2:02AM

Yesterday I put in an offer on a flat and the estate agent informed me someone had gone higher than the asking price. I said was it 5k more? If so I will match and she said it was. I then got a call later saying the seller had accepted his offer as he was a cash buyer. How is this fair??? I was going to offer more if they came back to me but I didn’t get a chance to. Any tips for battling against cash buyers for next time? Thank you.

[Deleted User] · 14 April 2021 at 2:14AM

jordan3939 said:

Yesterday I put in an offer on a flat and the estate agent informed me someone had gone higher than the asking price. I said was it 5k more? If so I will match and she said it was. I then got a call later saying the seller had accepted his offer as he was a cash buyer. How is this fair??? I was going to offer more if they came back to me but I didn’t get a chance to. Any tips for battling against cash buyers for next time? Thank you.

Such if life.

That's how the property buying process works in England and Wales. Nothing is certain until exchange of contracts which happens quite far down the line. Whilst this vendor might favour a cash buyer over you another vendor might not so there are no tips for battling against a cash buyer. This vendor might well find the cash buyer doing a switcheroo as exchange approaches and gazunder.

missile · 14 April 2021 at 2:18AM

Next time, bid what you think the property is worth - to you

Pepod · 14 April 2021 at 3:47AM

There's not a whole lot you can do about cash buyers other than to submit your best offer as soon as possible. Cash buyers will be worth more to some vendors than others, and it's quite possible that the they would have been happy to take a lower amount to deal with a cash buyer.

[Deleted User] · 14 April 2021 at 4:01AM

jordan3939 said:

How is this fair???

Because it's the seller's property. Therefore they choose who to sell to.

Marvel1 · 14 April 2021 at 4:33AM

jordan3939 said:

Yesterday I put in an offer on a flat and the estate agent informed me someone had gone higher than the asking price. I said was it 5k more? If so I will match and she said it was. I then got a call later saying the seller had accepted his offer as he was a cash buyer. How is this fair??? I was going to offer more if they came back to me but I didn’t get a chance to. Any tips for battling against cash buyers for next time? Thank you.

You are matching the same as the cash buyer, you are getting a mortgage cash buyer is not.

David2710 · 14 April 2021 at 6:00AM

Deleted_User said:

jordan3939 said:

How is this fair???

Because it's the seller's property. Therefore they choose who to sell to.

I beg to differ. The practice of Gazumping is not only unethical, it's corrupt and immoral. In Scotland for instance once a seller has accepted an offer, whether in writing or verbally, the seller cannot accept an offer from someone else unless the first negotiations fall through. Just like the private rented sector this gray area needs legal reform to make the practice illegal. This nonsense about "my property my choice" is for the birds. Greedy, unprincipled so and so's.

David2710 · 14 April 2021 at 6:09AM

jordan3939 said:

Yesterday I put in an offer on a flat and the estate agent informed me someone had gone higher than the asking price. I said was it 5k more? If so I will match and she said it was. I then got a call later saying the seller had accepted his offer as he was a cash buyer. How is this fair??? I was going to offer more if they came back to me but I didn’t get a chance to. Any tips for battling against cash buyers for next time? Thank you.

I've commented on this before Jordan. Being a former Estate agent myself I've seen many examples in which the so called cash buyer is completely bogus. Once an EA gets wind of the fact the buyer is desperate all sorts of shenanigans go on. Just forget about and I suspect in a few days you'll be getting a phone call saying do you want to proceed at the higher price because the cash buyer has unexpectedly withdrawn his/her offer. Just say no, offer the original advertised price and request the property is taken off the market.

olgadapolga · 14 April 2021 at 6:14AM

Being a cash buyer doesn't always trump a buyer who needs a mortgage.

I was a cash buyer and lost out on several houses, despite apparently (according to the estate agents) matching the other offers and proving that I had the money in the bank.

House buying in this country is incredibly frustrating.

Good luck with your journey to find a new home.

[Deleted User] · 14 April 2021 at 6:17AM

David2710 said:

Deleted_User said:

jordan3939 said:

How is this fair???

Because it's the seller's property. Therefore they choose who to sell to.

I beg to differ. The practice of Gazumping is not only unethical, it's corrupt and immoral. In Scotland for instance once a seller has accepted an offer, whether in writing or verbally, the seller cannot accept an offer from someone else unless the first negotiations fall through. Just like the private rented sector this gray area needs legal reform to make the practice illegal. This nonsense about "my property my choice" is for the birds. Greedy, unprincipled so and so's.

That's not entirely correct. A vendor in Scotland can accept another offer even if the originally accepted offer has not fallen through or been withdrawn. The vendor's solicitor would no longer be able to continue acting for the vendor though as the rules of the Law Society of Scotland would prevent them from doing so meaning the vendor would need to find a new solicitor. In practice though I have never seen or heard of this done with any of my property purchases in Scotland or those of friends and family.

Overall though I agree that it is much more civilised process in Scotland. As a renter you might prefer the Private Rental Tenancies in Scotland over the Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England.

cheeky-peach · 14 April 2021 at 6:58AM

We put in an offer on a house to find out from the EA that a cash buyer had put in the same offer and it was accepted. Next day, phonecall to ask what our best and final offer was by request of the vendor. By the sound of it, another mortgage-requring person was also in the running. We did add some money on to later learn that the cash buyer had matched the offer again so I'm forgetting about it now. I've taken it as 'not meant to be'.