Pretending to not be in a chain

sheramber

Depends where  they are .

A month ago a friend advertised her house on the Tuesday, had a viewing the Thursday and accepted offer on the Saturday. 

 She is now in her new house.

Lavendyr

custardly said:

There is a house for sale that we are interested in and the listing states that they will only accept viewings and offers from people who are able to proceed immediately (no house to sell).

We haven't put our house on the market yet. However, we are going to pretend that we have nothing to sell. 

For proof of funds we have a mortgage agreement in principle and cash in the bank. 

The area we live in is a really hot market and we think we will sell within a week or two. 

We are not interested in the ethical side of things but want to know when we are likely to be found out by the seller and their estate agent? Would it be much later on in the process?

We will of course be upfront with our solicitor.

You sound horrible, frankly, and this is the reason many people hate the E&W house selling system. There is probably a very good reason why they need to sell quickly. If you think you can sell quickly then get on with it and be honest with them. They may well accept your position. 

For myself, I hope never to meet a buyer like you. Happy New Year. 

Postik

The issue isn't so much how long it takes to get an offer on your current house.  That could happen within 2 days.  The issue is how long the conveyancing process takes.  I bought and sold recently, and it was my buyer's solicitor who held up the process by about 2 months towards the end.  You also have absolutely no control over this, so it's not like you can ensure it won't happen.

Personally I would do a viewing and say you have a house but you are going to rent it out.  After the viewing make an offer (if you want to) but say you have changed your mind and want to sell your house.  Chances are they will reject your offer, but you never know, your offer might be higher than others or they feel comfortable after meeting you.  I wouldn't lie about it when making the offer though because the whole thing will probably just fall through if you do.

SadieO

Postik said:

The issue isn't so much how long it takes to get an offer on your current house.  That could happen within 2 days.  The issue is how long the conveyancing process takes.  I bought and sold recently, and it was my buyer's solicitor who held up the process by about 2 months towards the end.  You also have absolutely no control over this, so it's not like you can ensure it won't happen.

So true, you just have no idea what is going to happen. Any of the solicitors, surveyors etc involved could go off sick or on holiday, have an unexpected issue with another of their clients that puts you to the bottom of the pile, something gets delayed in the post, there's a flood in someone's office etc..! We just bought our first house and what should have been the most straightforward process (we were moving from rented and the property we bought was vacant, no issues with the survey or anything that raised extensive enquiries) still took over three months for no particular reason other than general busyness of everyone involved. 

warwick2001

In response to OP's original question, "When will I get found out?", the answer, in my experience, is that it all depends.

Selling my house in summer 2021, using Estate Agent A. This was during the Covid years, and they did check to see if the potential buyers had the funds in place before they were allowed to view my property (only an AIP, so nothing concrete really). I suspect this was more to do with a 'stay out the house if you don't really need to be there' kinda thing due to the pandemic.

Sold house in Sept 2022 using Estate Agent B, was told buyer was paying 100% cash, so should be quick sale. I complete this Friday, as it had to be the 6th Jan 2023 as that's when my buyer sells his house.......

So, I was 'lied' to by my EA. Did they check the buyers funds at the start of the whole process. Well, probably/obviously not. Did their solicitor reveal to me how the purchase would be paid for? No, that's not for them to do that. Did I pull out at the the last minute as I felt betrayed? Obviously not. I had to swallow my pride, but so close to completing I suspect most sellers would have a quick rant, and then get over it. Pulling out and starting again doesn't just have monetary consequences, the emotional roller-coaster of selling a house can be pretty extreme as well. Especially in today's market with all the predicted doom and gloom.

As many others have stated, the house buying game is built on trust, from both parties involved, and all the other players. However, not everyone acts with full transparency, and to limit yourself to just the 'good uns' is almost impossible. So, to the OP, do what you want. Play the game you want. Is it fair to the buyers? Probably not. But if that's a bed you can lie in, then so be it, no-one here can prevent you from doing it. Do we all hope the purchase falls through because you weren't honest at the start? Hmmm.......

custardly

Just to close the loop on this. We completed last week, buyers found out at exchange. However, nothing really came of it. All is fair in love and war. 

ManuelG

custardly said:

Just to close the loop on this. We completed last week, buyers found out at exchange. However, nothing really came of it. All is fair in love and war. 

I don't know if I should thank you or not! But thank you for the update.

I assume you mean sellers...?

MultiFuelBurner

ManuelG said:

custardly said:

Just to close the loop on this. We completed last week, buyers found out at exchange. However, nothing really came of it. All is fair in love and war. 

I don't know if I should thank you or not! But thank you for the update.

I assume you mean sellers...?

I think sometimes when it's a mistruth the story teller can get confused🤣

housebuyer143

custardly said:

Just to close the loop on this. We completed last week, buyers found out at exchange. However, nothing really came of it. All is fair in love and war. 

I'm glad it worked but it so easily couldn't have. Enjoy your new house 👍 

custardly

ManuelG said:

custardly said:

Just to close the loop on this. We completed last week, buyers found out at exchange. However, nothing really came of it. All is fair in love and war. 

I don't know if I should thank you or not! But thank you for the update.

I assume you mean sellers...?

Apologies, yes sellers. No problem. Appreciate that people had different views about this. However, I always maintain that you shouldn't get emotional when buying/selling things. It's just a business transaction.