Being gazumpted on dream property

[Pippinsdiary]

I know it’s legal to do it but I’m so sad

we offered just under asking price on our dream property that has been on the market over a year, the estate agent phoned yesterday to say another offer slightly higher has been accepted and it’s their final decision. I asked if we could offer higher and they said the vendors aren’t interested and just want to proceed and not waste any more time

am I wrong to think as our offer has been accepted we should have been given the chance to offer more before another has been accepted?!

I know this happens and I’m glad it’s happened now and not further down the line but I feel so angry

Leave your best & final offer on the table but for a finite time (eg 3 weeks).

I suspect a higher offer has swayed the vendors but a survey will then "show up issues". In the meantime, your offer on the table will look rather better.

Because at this moment we have a specific amount tied up in bonds and with fees, moving costs and stamp duty if we don’t sell our 2nd property, that £5,000 makes a difference to us.

Im sorry it happened to you, especially considering you had paid for a survey as well. Do not give them the results if you have them. Like I said, try again with the owner and if not the only option is to move on and take the loss.. it’s crap 😕

It should be illegal.

We should adopt in England and Wales the same law for house purchase and sale as in Scotland.

Unless something better can be found.

I agree. My friend in Scotland was gob smacked when I told her as she didn’t realise it could happen

The vendor doesn’t know enough of our situation. You don’t need to be confused. I chanced our luck on getting some money off and it back fired. My bad, lesson learnt

So if this purchase is dependant on the sale of your current house, are you technically a cash buyer? If a cash buyer offered to me and then said they needed their current house to complete the purchase I would not consider them a cash buyer. I might be misunderstanding what you are saying but I am trying to look at this through the eyes of the vendor.

As said previously, it’s not dependant on our house selling they know we are cash buyers BUT we are selling our property too

I meant do not give the survey results to the agency/new buyer. They can do their own one.

The EA has seen proof of funds… with almost the exact amount needed to complete the sale, yes.

they aren’t confused, there’s nothing to be confused about.

Why are people confused? It’s buying a second property with cash not relying on her house sale to do so.

Or offer them at the same price the OP paid.

Yes that would be another option, I don’t see it going that way though off of this thread.

I get that so if they think we’re loaded, I’m suprised they aren’t accepting a higher offer from us

I’ll have one last bash at it and if they aren’t interested so be it.

You haven't done anything wrong. You made an offer that percentage-wise is very close to asking price. It would be weird to offer asking price on a house that had been on the market a year with no interest. I don't know why you're getting a hard time or being called greedy (which is especially rich from someone who then went to sealed bids 🙄).

Ignore the faux confusion. It’s not hard to understand - an inheritance of say £365k would allow you to buy outright, pay SDLT, fees & moving costs but not leave you the wriggle room to drastically increase your offer without having to rely on your house sale, at which point you’re not longer a cash buyer.

I second others who said to write to them, explain what you’ve said here, that you love the property, remind them you’re a cash buyer, you’ve done your survey and are ready to exchange once they are. That you understand they’ve had lots of delays (arguably if they were that desperate to sell they’d have lowered the price but anyway) and you’re keen to move asap.

@Pippinsdiary you haven't done anything wrong in offering a very small below asking price especially on a property that has been on the market for a year. It isn't greedy to offer your max or whatever you think the property is worth; it's completely standard when buying a house.
On the contrary, it is the sellers who are being greedy and dishonest. Having agreed to your offer and allowed you to spend money on a survey and a solicitor, they are happy to ditch you for (allegedly) another 5K. Given their lack of reliability and willingness to mess you around, it may be a piece of good fortune in the end if this doesn't work out as you currently want it to. House buying in the UK really does rely on decency and trust and these people have not displayed those characteristics. You could consider asking your solicitors to contact their solicitor to confirm what the agent has said. If they do confirm, I really wouldn't offer them more given what I have said. If selling your property and temporarily moving in with your parents is an option, I would do that. It sounds relatively straightforward compared to many people's situations.

I know, you’ve mentioned that 10 times on this thread. I was kidding