Gazumped - what to do

lookstraightahead

I wouldn't want to live there anymore. I wouldn't entertain such greed 

JReacher1

Section62 said:

JReacher1 said:

You went in £20k less so I think you are always at risk of being gazumped. Unfortunate but that is one of the risks with going under asking price. 

It's a risk whatever you offer.  You could go in at £20k over asking and still get gazumped for an extra £100.

Me in the OP's position.... I'd be sorely tempted to put in a sealed bid of £25k over asking, then change my mind in a couple of weeks time (having found a different property to buy in the meantime).

That is just a bit petty though. 

People take house buying too personally, the seller wants the best price and it doesn't sound like the OP has invested any money into this property yet so I don't think the seller has done anything too wrong here.

lookstraightahead

Section62 said:

JReacher1 said:

You went in £20k less so I think you are always at risk of being gazumped. Unfortunate but that is one of the risks with going under asking price. 

It's a risk whatever you offer.  You could go in at £20k over asking and still get gazumped for an extra £100.

Me in the OP's position.... I'd be sorely tempted to put in a sealed bid of £25k over asking, then change my mind in a couple of weeks time (having found a different property to buy in the meantime).

Great idea. This sounds like a plan! 

fourmarks

aoleks said:

Kirstie Allsopp is a lady that's completely detached from reality, I wouldn't take her advice on what toilet paper to buy.

Oh dear. I fear you may have given her an idea for a new series.

Arghhhhhh.

Exodi

I'd say this is relatively minor in the gazumping spectrum.

Usually the horror stories you read are 6 months in the day before exchange.

Given that you offered 20k under guide price one week ago, I'd say this should not be completely suprising. I'd say the seller was perhaps a bit hasty to 'accept' your intital offer, but I don't think there's any reason to think ill of the seller.

I can't think of many people who would wholeheartedly offer their steadfast loyalty to a complete stranger, to the detrmiment of tens of thousands of pounds, by sole virtue that you made the offer 7 days earlier than another complete stranger.

[Deleted User]

Exodi said:

I'd say this is relatively minor in the gazumping spectrum.

Usually the horror stories you read are 6 months in the day before exchange.

Given that you offered 20k under guide price one week ago, I'd say this should not be completely suprising. I'd say the seller was perhaps a bit hasty to 'accept' your intital offer, but I don't think there's any reason to think ill of the seller.

I can't think of many people who would wholeheartedly offer their steadfast loyalty to a complete stranger, to the detrmiment of tens of thousands of pounds, by sole virtue that you made the offer 7 days earlier than another complete stranger.

I completely agree with @Exodi here and it's what I was going to say. Gazumping is awful, but this is right at the beginning of the process, they've accepted an under offer price from you and 7 days later someone has turned up and bettered it. They are giving you the opportunity to up it should you wish. If mortgages / surveys / solicitors etc had been arranged then completely different.

I don't think this screams of someone who's going to do the dirty on you at the eleventh hour, they just want the best price between these two offers now early in the process.

If there had been another offer on the table a week ago would you still have gone for it and what price would you have gone to?

Section62

JReacher1 said:

Section62 said:

JReacher1 said:

You went in £20k less so I think you are always at risk of being gazumped. Unfortunate but that is one of the risks with going under asking price. 

It's a risk whatever you offer.  You could go in at £20k over asking and still get gazumped for an extra £100.

Me in the OP's position.... I'd be sorely tempted to put in a sealed bid of £25k over asking, then change my mind in a couple of weeks time (having found a different property to buy in the meantime).

That is just a bit petty though.

Sure.  Which is why I said "sorely tempted" in the OP's position, rather than "I would".

JReacher1 said:

People take house buying too personally, the seller wants the best price and it doesn't sound like the OP has invested any money into this property yet so I don't think the seller has done anything too wrong here.

BiB - yes, but with the way the housebuying system works in England there is also a level of trust that once an offer is accepted the parties would honour the deal unless something exceptional comes up.  A buyer offering a bit more cash shouldn't really be 'exceptional'.

Also, four round trips of 250 miles... at current fuel prices... that's quite an investment.   More seriously, I wonder whether the vendor knew what costs the OP had already committed to?

JReacher1

Section62 said:

JReacher1 said:

Section62 said:

JReacher1 said:

You went in £20k less so I think you are always at risk of being gazumped. Unfortunate but that is one of the risks with going under asking price. 

It's a risk whatever you offer.  You could go in at £20k over asking and still get gazumped for an extra £100.

Me in the OP's position.... I'd be sorely tempted to put in a sealed bid of £25k over asking, then change my mind in a couple of weeks time (having found a different property to buy in the meantime).

That is just a bit petty though.

Sure.  Which is why I said "sorely tempted" in the OP's position, rather than "I would".

JReacher1 said:

People take house buying too personally, the seller wants the best price and it doesn't sound like the OP has invested any money into this property yet so I don't think the seller has done anything too wrong here.

BiB - yes, but with the way the housebuying system works in England there is also a level of trust that once an offer is accepted the parties would honour the deal unless something exceptional comes up.  A buyer offering a bit more cash shouldn't really be 'exceptional'.

Also, four round trips of 250 miles... at current fuel prices... that's quite an investment.   More seriously, I wonder whether the vendor knew what costs the OP had already committed to?

Well four round trips I think is a bit odd as well. Personally if I was the seller and the buyer has wanted to come round four times this early on I would suspect they’re going to be a difficult buyer who would renegotiate the price at a later date. 

Zerforax

What was the estate agent doing in all of this? If they accepted the offer a week ago, the property should've been delisted or shown as SSTC so then no more viewings? If it was a previous viewer then why didn't the estate agent mention that others were potentially keen?

movilogo

It all depends on how much you want the house for. If you really want it, offer whatever you feel would secure the house for you.

If you don't want, offer £50k over asking price then 2 weeks later, pull out citing some excuse. 

Typically EAs mark houses SSTC as soon as offer accepted. So it is a mystery how the other buyer still managed to view.