Offer without viewing not passed on

Spiderroo

We saw our dream house become available over the weekend and decided to offer without viewing, subject to surveys and viewings stopping. 

It sounds crazy but the market is extremely competitive where we are and we’ve repeatedly been outbid in bidding wars on houses so far. The location is perfect for us, the house dimensions are what we want and it’s clearly in good condition externally (we’ve been to the street and looked). If it needs a bit of cosmetic work that’s not a problem as the location is good, although it obviously looks great in the photos. 

We went to the estate agents in person first thing this morning to make our offer with a letter for the vendors explaining why we offered without viewing and our position, AIP and evidence of deposit. We said we’d like to make an offer without viewing and he said no, absolutely not. We’ve arranged a viewing for tomorrow lunchtime and he kept copies of our financial stuff but I asked the agent to pass our offer on to the sellers. He said he’d call them to discuss it. 

We followed up with an email this afternoon - he hasn’t spoken to them or passed on our offer in advance of the viewing, which is really frustrating. We’re very worried about getting outbid again and we’d made a reasonable offer (over asking as is expected here) so we’d really like to be considered. Can he do this? I thought agents had to pass on all offers in writing unless the vendor has asked to always refuse certain types of offers? 

I know offering without viewing is a bit like marmite, we’re not trying to exclude others until we decide - we’re desperate to buy a family home ready to have kids in a very competitive market. We’ve seen enough houses in the area to feel fairly confident of what lies behind the door and we just want to catch a break. 

eidand

Offers without viewing won't be taken seriously by any decent vendor. This situation doesn't really surprise me.

Snookie12cat

As a seller I would not accept an offer or even consider it from someone who hasn't viewed. 
They accept, you then view it and potentially change or withdraw your offer. Could happen anyway but more so if someone hasn't seen it. 
People do this to get it off the market before someone else can offer, which is exactly what you are trying to do. 
The agent works for the seller and so I think they are right in waiting to put your offer forward 

user1977

Spiderroo said:

Can he do this? I thought agents had to pass on all offers in writing unless the vendor has asked to always refuse certain types of offers? 

And maybe the vendors have asked not to be bothered by such offers. You have no way of knowing.

As you say, it sounds crazy, and surely you can see why such a buyer might pull out as soon as they've actually seen the property?

Spiderroo

Snookie12cat said:

As a seller I would not accept an offer or even consider it from someone who hasn't viewed. 
They accept, you then view it and potentially change or withdraw your offer. Could happen anyway but more so if someone hasn't seen it. 
People do this to get it off the market before someone else can offer, which is exactly what you are trying to do. 
The agent works for the seller and so I think they are right in waiting to put your offer forward 

Yep, we are absolutely trying to get it off the market because we know it’s where we want to be. For our life and our future that location sits perfectly for a variety of reasons so if we find the decor inside isn’t right or things need fixing we’ll just get on with it. If we weren’t 100% sure we’d take it whatever we wouldn’t offer without viewing - we’ve never done it before and we’ve spent a lot of time considering if we’re happy to take the risk.

Flugelhorn

I wouldn't accept and offer from someone who hasn't seen a property - you'll just have to go and visit and then they will probably go to best and final

jenni_fer

From the seller perspective I get it, and I'd also be thinking that if someone is that keen, just imagine how much demand there might be if I allow a decent amount of viewings.

As a buyer, we've lost out at best and final a number of times and also had a fallen through purchase so I really sympathise with you. We've only considered offering without viewing once and that was a property identical to one we'd just lost out on and with the same EA so they could have a reasonable level of comfort we knew what we were doing (vendor then decided they weren't selling after all).

Do the viewing, make a considered offer and hope for the best. Will cross my fingers this is the one for you!

Spiderroo

user1977 said:

Spiderroo said:

Can he do this? I thought agents had to pass on all offers in writing unless the vendor has asked to always refuse certain types of offers? 

And maybe the vendors have asked not to be bothered by such offers. You have no way of knowing.

As you say, it sounds crazy, and surely you can see why such a buyer might pull out as soon as they've actually seen the property?

The estate agent said they don’t accept offers without viewing, making it sound like a company policy rather than a personal choice. I guess they may write it into their contracts? 

I can see why people may pull out, I also know a few people who’ve secured properties by offering without viewing and completed which is why we went down this route. We are extremely sure of our decision or we wouldn’t be offering. 

[Deleted User]

Spiderroo said:

Snookie12cat said:

As a seller I would not accept an offer or even consider it from someone who hasn't viewed. 
They accept, you then view it and potentially change or withdraw your offer. Could happen anyway but more so if someone hasn't seen it. 
People do this to get it off the market before someone else can offer, which is exactly what you are trying to do. 
The agent works for the seller and so I think they are right in waiting to put your offer forward 

If we weren’t 100% sure we’d take it whatever we wouldn’t offer without viewing - we’ve never done it before and we’ve spent a lot of time considering if we’re happy to take the risk.

The trouble is, you're not the ones taking the risk.  The vendors are.

Go for a viewing and show the vendors that you're serious about buying.

Snookie12cat

Spiderroo said:

Snookie12cat said:

As a seller I would not accept an offer or even consider it from someone who hasn't viewed. 
They accept, you then view it and potentially change or withdraw your offer. Could happen anyway but more so if someone hasn't seen it. 
People do this to get it off the market before someone else can offer, which is exactly what you are trying to do. 
The agent works for the seller and so I think they are right in waiting to put your offer forward 

Yep, we are absolutely trying to get it off the market because we know it’s where we want to be. For our life and our future that location sits perfectly for a variety of reasons so if we find the decor inside isn’t right or things need fixing we’ll just get on with it. If we weren’t 100% sure we’d take it whatever we wouldn’t offer without viewing - we’ve never done it before and we’ve spent a lot of time considering if we’re happy to take the risk.

You probably are certain but the seller can't know this, no matter how much you tell them. 

Spiderroo

jenni_fer said:

From the seller perspective I get it, and I'd also be thinking that if someone is that keen, just imagine how much demand there might be if I allow a decent amount of viewings.

As a buyer, we've lost out at best and final a number of times and also had a fallen through purchase so I really sympathise with you. We've only considered offering without viewing once and that was a property identical to one we'd just lost out on and with the same EA so they could have a reasonable level of comfort we knew what we were doing (vendor then decided they weren't selling after all).

Do the viewing, make a considered offer and hope for the best. Will cross my fingers this is the one for you!

Did you find a house in the end? It’s reaching the point now where I can’t see us ever being successful. 

We’re not cash buyers or developers and we worry offering £50k over asking will just lead to the mortgage company massively undervaluing the property. We’re saving like mad to give us more equity (currently have 20%) but with the agents telling us there’s 50+ viewings for everything we see and prices going up each week it seems impossible.