offering on 2 properties at once?

danlightbulb · 22 May 2019 at 12:51AM

There are two houses in close proximity that i like. Both houses are likely to be very popular. I prefer house A which is slightly more money and ive put an offer in. I could live with house B though. The owner of house A still has to find a property whereas the owner of house B has already found and had an offer accepted on her next property.

Should I also offer on house B? I really do prefer house A but as she hasnt got a property yet it could be ages in which case i lose house B most likely as it will sell fast.

I made my offer on house A yesterday but have heard nothing yet.

walwyn1978 · 22 May 2019 at 6:59AM

Nothing stops you offering on both. I would tell the EA out of courtesy what you’re doing (they’ll find out anyway even assuming they’re not with the same EA) and I would explain your reasoning to them to indicate you’re not a time waster who offers on lots of things for the fun of it - they do exist, we had one bid on our house years ago, then disappear - turned out they just liked viewing houses and bidding, then doing nothing about it.

Be aware that some people view selling their house as a labour of love not a business transaction, and may take offence at this (how dare you think of another house, it shows you don’t love mine like I do) and refuse to deal with you. If you’re prepared for that possibility, crack on.

quantumlobster · 22 May 2019 at 7:24AM

If I were the vendor and I found out you were offering on multiple properties, I'd immediately decline your offer. No matter what the excuse, there's too much risk of you being a timewaster.

What if both vendors do this? You'll end up with no house to buy.

Your call.

ETA: given what you've said about house B selling quickly, they're the vendor most likely to tell you to jog on.

Slinky · 22 May 2019 at 8:07AM

If they're not on with the same agent, offer on both, it's unlikely the vendors will find out.

We had an offer turned down on a property A which then came back on the market a few weeks later, the EA approached us and asked if we were still willing to buy and we said yes. The same day a better property came up four doors down, which I only discovered after I got home and searched the net (I'd been out when the EA called). Without withdrawing on property A, we viewed and offered on property B which was up with a different agent. When property B was accepted, we withdrew on A (we're talking under a week involved here). We had to do what was right for us, as the owner of property A thought they had done when they accepted somebody else's offer before ours.

AnotherJoe · 22 May 2019 at 8:19AM

OP, if you really prefer A and your bid on B is accepted then it does give you the leverage to go back to A and say that unless they are prepared to go into rented you'll have to withdraw as you have an alternative. There are quite a few posters here who have hung onto a "purchase" for a year or so and seen other alternatives go by.
If they won't then you'll really have to withdraw from A since you'll be spending money on B right away and it's unlikely A will find something in a short time and get cracking

ethank · 22 May 2019 at 10:13AM

I personally don't like timewasters. If you don't want to buy that property, don't put in an offer.

xGogsx · 22 May 2019 at 12:49PM

I'd offer on both. Gotta look out for #1!

Slinky · 22 May 2019 at 12:59PM

ethank wrote: »

I personally don't like timewasters. If you don't want to buy that property, don't put in an offer.

We'd have bought either of the properties we offered on at the same time, but obviously we had a preference. How could we tell whether offers were going to be accepted or not? If we hadn't offered on both, we could have ended up with neither. We know the person who bought the property we didn't buy also offered on the one we bought.

danlightbulb · 22 May 2019 at 1:00PM

How long would you say is reasonable to consider an offer before responding as a seller? I made an offer yesterday morning and sent the seller a message (they are using Yopa so its all done online) but have had no acknowledgment or response.

The property was advertised as OIEO but i offered smack on the nose of the advertised price. I cant really go higher.

Slinky · 22 May 2019 at 1:05PM

danlightbulb wrote: »

How long would you say is reasonable to consider an offer before responding as a seller? I made an offer yesterday morning and sent the seller a message (they are using Yopa so its all done online) but have had no acknowledgment or response.

The property was advertised as OIEO but i offered smack on the nose of the advertised price. I cant really go higher.

It's impossible to say. If the property is fresh to the market, it could take a few days if there is, as you suspect, a lot of interest. We offered well over the asking price on the place we bought to secure it, and it still took the vendor 5 days to accept it.

danlightbulb · 22 May 2019 at 1:17PM

I really hate OIEO. This house is right at the ceiling for the area as it is, let alone expecting more. OIEO would be fine if they drop the price to allow room for higher bids but they havent. There is a risk a mortgage conpany might downvalue it if the price is much higher than it already is.

Meant to be a buyers market at the moment - thats a joke.

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offering on 2 properties at once?

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