Typical timescale between offer accepted and aurvey

Myci85

The only way I can see you possibly keeping the buyers for the inherited property as a back up option without messing them around is to be open and honest with them. Tell them that you are putting the sale of the property on hold whilst you decide if you are definitely selling it, but you are happy to keep their offer in mind to come back to if you do decide to sell. If they love the house and are in no hurry to move, they might wait for you to make up your mind, but they may well move on to a house purchase that looks to be proceedable. At least you'll have a somewhat clear conscience. 

shiraz99

annetheman said:

shiraz99 said:

That's not what I said at all. I'm trying to avoid this scenario.

Bottom line is I fully intend to move from my house to the inherited property but as I was having difficulty selling mine last year we had no choice to also but the inherited property up for sale too and go with that if mine doesn't sell, it would be remiss of us not to. It just so happens mine has now had an offer accepted and is SSTC as of 3 weeks ago but we've now just had the offer on the inherited property.. I'd be stringing the potential buyer of the inherited property along if I also accept their offer which is not I want to do but I also want to keep this property available to sell quickly if mine fails to do so. This is why I'm asking for advice here.

If you intend to move into the inherited property, take it off market right now. Put it however you wish, you are stringing the potential buyers who have made an offer along. You say yourself you have no intention of accepting it. You only want them to be available to buy it if your house sale fails. That is definitively stringing them along.


Your back up should your house sale fail should ideally be finding another buyer. It shouldn't be stringing along a buyer who will spend money and start the process of upheaving their lives to move into a house you don't intend to sell. 


If you accept the inherited house's offer, you will owe the estate agents money as they have found you a ready, willing and able buyer. If you don't accept the offer, the buyers will move on anyway and the EA will figure out your game quickly enough and stop working for you - you're wasting literally everybody's time, to be blunt.

Again, I didn't say I had no intention of not accepting their offer. I'm more than happy to say I need time and it's up to to them if they want to continue looking or wait. Also, not all contracts have a "ready, willing and able" clause, mines certainly doesn't so simply accepting an offer doesn't mean EA fees are payable.

shiraz99

Myci85 said:

The only way I can see you possibly keeping the buyers for the inherited property as a back up option without messing them around is to be open and honest with them. Tell them that you are putting the sale of the property on hold whilst you decide if you are definitely selling it, but you are happy to keep their offer in mind to come back to if you do decide to sell. If they love the house and are in no hurry to move, they might wait for you to make up your mind, but they may well move on to a house purchase that looks to be proceedable. At least you'll have a somewhat clear conscience. 

Thank you, this is exactly the sort of advice I was looking for.

annetheman

shiraz99 said:

annetheman said:

shiraz99 said:

That's not what I said at all. I'm trying to avoid this scenario.

Bottom line is I fully intend to move from my house to the inherited property but as I was having difficulty selling mine last year we had no choice to also but the inherited property up for sale too and go with that if mine doesn't sell, it would be remiss of us not to. It just so happens mine has now had an offer accepted and is SSTC as of 3 weeks ago but we've now just had the offer on the inherited property.. I'd be stringing the potential buyer of the inherited property along if I also accept their offer which is not I want to do but I also want to keep this property available to sell quickly if mine fails to do so. This is why I'm asking for advice here.

If you intend to move into the inherited property, take it off market right now. Put it however you wish, you are stringing the potential buyers who have made an offer along. You say yourself you have no intention of accepting it. You only want them to be available to buy it if your house sale fails. That is definitively stringing them along.


Your back up should your house sale fail should ideally be finding another buyer. It shouldn't be stringing along a buyer who will spend money and start the process of upheaving their lives to move into a house you don't intend to sell. 


If you accept the inherited house's offer, you will owe the estate agents money as they have found you a ready, willing and able buyer. If you don't accept the offer, the buyers will move on anyway and the EA will figure out your game quickly enough and stop working for you - you're wasting literally everybody's time, to be blunt.

Again, I didn't say I had no intention of not accepting their offer. I'm more than happy to say I need time and it's up to to them if they want to continue looking or wait. Also, not all contracts have a "ready, willing and able" clause, mines certainly doesn't so simply accepting an offer doesn't mean EA fees are payable.

Respectfully, understand this is rather contradictory:

31-May:
I'd be stringing the potential buyer of the inherited property along if I also accept their offer which is not I want to do 

01-Jun:
I didn't say I had no intention of not accepting their offer

At least you have settled with the good advice above to explain explicitly to everyone involved your confusion/contradictory plan. Who knows - your buyers' may be happy to wait months as your backup and not commit to any other house. They would have to also be happy with the large probability you may move into the house they waited months as your backup for. You never know, they may be as unserious and want as many options open as you. 

Obviously it would be mad to expect them to start solicitor/surveys/spending money until you've committed and accepted their offer, so I'd let go of the notion of a "available to sell quickly" if yours fails. And EA will almost certainly cap their losses and stop doing work for a seller who "fully intends" [your quote] to move into the property they've been asked to "sell".

Honesty definitely the best policy - good luck.