For Sale sign - to quick

Okey00001

We just had an offer which we accepted but it is not official yet as buyers are still trying to get finance sorted and nothing has been signed.  But the Agents have put 'Sold' sign on the house.  Surely it should be 'Under offer' sign?

Hobby83

It is very common to have Sold STC (subject to contract) sign put on your place when you accept the offer. It is also common practice to stop viewings and market the place sold stc online. Keeping viewing going during the time you are getting to completion is unusual and if I was a buyer in that situation I would 100% out as it doesn't show the sellers are committed to the offered. 

user1977

Okey00001 said:

What can I say to the agent as he is reluctant to take the Sold sign off?  He is not bothered to get viewers in?

What exactly has he said?

onylon

I think if you weren't happy with the offer and wanted to keep marketing this should have been made clear to your EA and buyer when you accepted. These are very emotive transactions and you don't want to be messing people about.

From the EAs perspective they have found you a buyer and their job is done. I doubt there is anything more to it.

deannagone

If you aren't happy with the offer, tell the EA that you've changed your mind, want more money and want the property put back  on the market.

p00hsticks

Okey00001 said:

The agent said they are applying for a mortgage. Now anyone can say they want to buy a house but not be serious enough to pay the asking price by keeping other viewers away and convincing the agents that they want the house - on their terms it seems! Who is messed about?  We seriously want to sell but don't want to be messed about and do not want Sold sign up! It should be 'Under Offer' and not 'Sold'

'Under Offer' and 'sold STC' are essentially the same thing. I imagine your buyers already have a DIP (I doubt your estate agent would have let them view in the first place if you haven't,) but they can't apply for an actual mortgage until they have had an offer accepted on a specific property. I agree with others - either the property remains on the market (FOR SALE) or you accept an offfer (SOLD STC) - you can't have it both ways. It's you that are messing your potential buyers about. 

Hobby83

p00hsticks said:

Okey00001 said:

The agent said they are applying for a mortgage. Now anyone can say they want to buy a house but not be serious enough to pay the asking price by keeping other viewers away and convincing the agents that they want the house - on their terms it seems! Who is messed about?  We seriously want to sell but don't want to be messed about and do not want Sold sign up! It should be 'Under Offer' and not 'Sold'

'Under Offer' and 'sold STC' are essentially the same thing. I imagine your buyers already have a DIP (I doubt your estate agent would have let them view in the first place if you haven't,) but they can't apply for an actual mortgage until they have had an offer accepted on a specific property. I agree with others - either the property remains on the market (FOR SALE) or you accept an offfer (SOLD STC) - you can't have it both ways. It's you that are messing your potential buyers about. 

I agree with this. Your estate agent should not have accepted an offer unless the buyer had a mortgage in agreement and checked on any other important info such as the chain below. I would check in with your estate agent to ask if this happened. If they have a mortgage in agreement this is documentation that they are theoretically in a financial position to buy your property. 

Also, the poster above is 100% correct 'Under Offer' and 'Sold STC' is exactly the same. Check your sign to see if it states STC.  

It is up to you to decide if you accept the offer. If you are not comfortable pull out and put the place back on the market but don't muck anyone around. 

Doozergirl

Okey00001 said:

The agent said they are applying for a mortgage. Now anyone can say they want to buy a house but not be serious enough to pay the asking price by keeping other viewers away and convincing the agents that they want the house - on their terms it seems! Who is messed about?  We seriously want to sell but don't want to be messed about and do not want Sold sign up! It should be 'Under Offer' and not 'Sold'

You're over thinking this. 

Firstly, different agents use different terms and 'under offer' and 'sold' are exactly the same thing.   Agents don't go by degrees here.  A house is either on the market or off it, what word they use to describe it is irrelevant 
 

Secondly, you can have a decision in principle from a lender but you do not make the formal application until a sale has been agreed.  This is normal process.  

You are not being messed about, I feel that it's you that isn't familiar with the process here, this is exactly what happens - once you have accepted an offer, the house is off the market and you will struggle to find an agent that will agree to continue to market after that point.  A gentleman's agreement has been struck here and you need to stick with it through to completion.  If you were not happy with the offer then you should not have accepted it - an agent will not entertain you flirting with anyone else at this point and they are right to do so.  It isn't the buyer's terms, they are the ones that you have both agreed on.  The ones that we all agree on. 

 

gwynlas

To be honest I would not have any sign up as most purchasers check out internet viewing platforms or EA windows,
You and the EA must have agreed on asking price and the offer should be close enough to this to be accepted by you. You cannot  expect to continue to market te property once you have agreed on a price, If this sale falls through think carefully what you want to do next, It could be that the buyer was looking for a property in your road and yours went on sale at the right time at the right price for them.

gingercordial

The standard is that if you accept an offer, there are no additional viewings.

If you had wanted viewings to continue because you hoped for a higher price you should not have accepted the offer.  You could have said thank you for the offer but we will wait and see.  But you were the one who said yes.

When you get a mortgage to buy a house, it is normal to get an initial "acceptance in principal"/"decision in principal" which means a lender is theoretically willing to lend you up to a certain amount.  You show that to the EA as proof that you can afford to buy the house.  But that is not the same as the real mortgage application, as a real mortgage application has to state the property address so that the lender can check that they are willing to lend the money to buy that particular house taking into account the price, location and condition.  It is not possible to have this already done in advance, so there is absolutely nothing suspicious that your buyer is doing this part now.

This all sounds very normal but if you are really unhappy with the selling price you should tell the EA now that you want to retract your acceptance and remarket the property.  You will lose your current buyer if you do this!

london21

You need to give the current buyers time to sort out their mortgage application etc.

Even if you still have the for sale sign there, any one you go with will need some time to sort of their finance.

Also will be a waste of the agent's time if you have accepted an offer and they are still conducting viewings.

Are you not happy with the offer you have accepted?

Give your current buyer some time and then go from there.