ITT: We discuss and compile the traits of a "serious buyer"

mobilejo

LondonLeigh said:

My position:

- Mortgage ready
- No chain
- All legals completed
- Buildings insurance ready
- Gently forcing the issue with seller and really respecting their lack of time (i.e. not being too pushy)

None of that defines a serious buyer because people ticking those boxes have walked away from transactions for spurious reasons. They had the means but lacked the requisite intent.

A serious buyer is anyone with the determination and intent to acquire the property, and the means to do so. The fact you don't have your mortgage offer yet or have insurance lined up doesn't detract from your seriousness, provided you are astute enough to know that you can obtain these things when required.

Gavin83

mobilejo said:

LondonLeigh said:

My position:

- Mortgage ready
- No chain
- All legals completed
- Buildings insurance ready
- Gently forcing the issue with seller and really respecting their lack of time (i.e. not being too pushy)

None of that defines a serious buyer because people ticking those boxes have walked away from transactions for spurious reasons. They had the means but lacked the requisite intent.

A serious buyer is anyone with the determination and intent to acquire the property, and the means to do so. The fact you don't have your mortgage offer yet or have insurance lined up doesn't detract from your seriousness, provided you are astute enough to know that you can obtain these things when required.

This is the only real sensible answer. A serious buyer is merely someone who actually wants to buy your property and won't mess you around during the process, whether that be with unnecessary delays or attempts at knocking the price down at the last minute.

Unfortunately you can't really tell a serious buyer until the process is complete.

jenni_fer

housebuyer143 said:

lookstraightahead said:

housebuyer143 said:

Serious buyer in my opinion is someone who is prompt to get things done when they are asked and are proactive in pushing the purchase through. 
As with non serious sellers, these are people who take ages to reply to solicitor or provide documents even though they have known for months they probably would need them.

To me, a non serious seller is one who is happy to hang around for ever 'looking' until a buyer's mortgage offer runs out, costing everyone in the chain money except themselves.

It's tricky because I considered myself a serious seller as in I was 100% set on moving and doing it fast, but on the flip side would not have gone into rented and had to find the right house. Wouldn't have gone into rented owing to we lived mortgage free and so refused to pay £1k a month extra to move out a house we liked without having a new place ready.
The market is messed up in that you can't view or offer until you have a buyer, thus this makes them have to wait even longer. 

I don't feel like it made me any less serious though. We found a house within 2 months and were ready to go within 7 weeks.

This. Except if it finally goes through now we will be 2 years in the process.
I don't think our 1st seller pulling out just before exchange or the housing market being crazy made us any less serious though! 

onetimeatponycamp

housebuyer143 said:

lookstraightahead said:

housebuyer143 said:

Serious buyer in my opinion is someone who is prompt to get things done when they are asked and are proactive in pushing the purchase through. 
As with non serious sellers, these are people who take ages to reply to solicitor or provide documents even though they have known for months they probably would need them.

To me, a non serious seller is one who is happy to hang around for ever 'looking' until a buyer's mortgage offer runs out, costing everyone in the chain money except themselves.

It's tricky because I considered myself a serious seller as in I was 100% set on moving and doing it fast, but on the flip side would not have gone into rented and had to find the right house. Wouldn't have gone into rented owing to we lived mortgage free and so refused to pay £1k a month extra to move out a house we liked without having a new place ready.
The market is messed up in that you can't view or offer until you have a buyer, thus this makes them have to wait even longer. 

I don't feel like it made me any less serious though. We found a house within 2 months and were ready to go within 7 weeks.

To be fair, it seems to be harder to find a property than a buyer, arguably it should be the other way around - need to have had an offer accepted before you can list the property!

hazyjo

It's not so much that's there's a "serious buyer" list, it's more that certain behaviour raises alarm bells and panics sellers.

My last set of buyers said they weren't having a survey. They obviously got talked into it as right at the end of the process, they said they were having one. Everyone was ready to exchange (long chain of 6, 7 or so). Alarm bells - this is often a tactic used by people looking to gazump or who are getting cold feet. They then said they were sending a structural engineer. I remember having a conversation with my EA saying I thought they were looking to drop the price and he assured me they were serious and were spending several hundred pounds on an engineer, they just wanted reassurance.

Thankfully all was okay and they didn't ask for a reduction, but I did feel extremely jittery.

Sometimes it's just about communication.

caprikid1

"A really serious buyer doesn't need a mortgage."

They can be the worst, they don't need to spend time or money to get invested in purchase process, they often don't care about losing the house. 

How can someone who has made no effort to get to the point of making an offer be Really Serious ?

Someone who has been through affordability checks, research brokers got a mortgage in principle is less serious than someone who has pitched up having just got £200K from granny's house sale and now expects a 30% discount as they are some mystical cash buyers.

Ultimately, they are all timewasters till the point of exchange.....

lookstraightahead

jenni_fer said:

housebuyer143 said:

lookstraightahead said:

housebuyer143 said:

Serious buyer in my opinion is someone who is prompt to get things done when they are asked and are proactive in pushing the purchase through. 
As with non serious sellers, these are people who take ages to reply to solicitor or provide documents even though they have known for months they probably would need them.

To me, a non serious seller is one who is happy to hang around for ever 'looking' until a buyer's mortgage offer runs out, costing everyone in the chain money except themselves.

It's tricky because I considered myself a serious seller as in I was 100% set on moving and doing it fast, but on the flip side would not have gone into rented and had to find the right house. Wouldn't have gone into rented owing to we lived mortgage free and so refused to pay £1k a month extra to move out a house we liked without having a new place ready.
The market is messed up in that you can't view or offer until you have a buyer, thus this makes them have to wait even longer. 

I don't feel like it made me any less serious though. We found a house within 2 months and were ready to go within 7 weeks.

This. Except if it finally goes through now we will be 2 years in the process.
I don't think our 1st seller pulling out just before exchange or the housing market being crazy made us any less serious though! 

Wow two years? Why did it take that long? 

jenni_fer

lookstraightahead said:

jenni_fer said:

housebuyer143 said:

lookstraightahead said:

housebuyer143 said:

Serious buyer in my opinion is someone who is prompt to get things done when they are asked and are proactive in pushing the purchase through. 
As with non serious sellers, these are people who take ages to reply to solicitor or provide documents even though they have known for months they probably would need them.

To me, a non serious seller is one who is happy to hang around for ever 'looking' until a buyer's mortgage offer runs out, costing everyone in the chain money except themselves.

It's tricky because I considered myself a serious seller as in I was 100% set on moving and doing it fast, but on the flip side would not have gone into rented and had to find the right house. Wouldn't have gone into rented owing to we lived mortgage free and so refused to pay £1k a month extra to move out a house we liked without having a new place ready.
The market is messed up in that you can't view or offer until you have a buyer, thus this makes them have to wait even longer. 

I don't feel like it made me any less serious though. We found a house within 2 months and were ready to go within 7 weeks.

This. Except if it finally goes through now we will be 2 years in the process.
I don't think our 1st seller pulling out just before exchange or the housing market being crazy made us any less serious though! 

Wow two years? Why did it take that long? 

First listed Jan 2021, process smooth until sellers dropped at point of exchange in July. Searched with buyer waiting til Nov but market had moved too much so took off and relisted Jan 2022 at the advice of the EA, many crazy offers and outbid and sellers changing their mind, buyer hung on, current purchase found in Sept, hoping to exchange shortly, be out mid Dec and into the new mid Jan so 2 years from first listing.

TripleH

We went to buy a leasehold apartment (glorified basement flat), we were serious and judging by the hassle from estate agents, so was the seller.

Problem was that our solicitor was chasing an amendment to the wording on the lease (too vague) on the new build, the seller (developer) kept stringing us along promising a change they didn't want to do (every other flat exchanged on had accepted this 'promise').

Even when a seller is serious, they can still display characteristics of someone who isn't.