To be gutted we’ve lost the house?

[DisneyMadeMeDoIt]

DH and I had been looking for our dream family home. I’m 17+3 and we need to move before baby comes (can’t stay here).

We finally found a horse we both ADORE! Our house has just gone onto the market (we live in a VERY popular area) has lots of interest and 5 cash buyer viewings booked this weekend (houses around here tend to sell within a week).

We had told estate agents for the new house all of this - there was one other interested party who had made a ‘VERY low offer’ and been rejected.

DH and I were going back to view this weekend - with parents and have agreed AIP with mortgage provider...etc.

So as long as we got an offer on ours this weekend (good chance we will) we were fully planning to offer- but we got a call this morning to say the other interested couple have made an increased offer (below asking price) and it’s been accepted.

We are gutted and feel like back to square one. Also a little surprised they didn’t postpone accepting this offer until after our scheduled viewing (they know how keen we are).

Anyway - EA says we can still submit an offer (as we have already viewed) and it will be considered but we can’t view again or show our parents 😒 disappointing

Is it worth holding out any hope for this house?
Is it worth submitting an offer?

We both just feel so deflated now

No one would be mad enough to accept an offer from someone who hasn’t got a buyer.

You currently aren’t able to proceed.

If it's not a desirable area they won't have been expecting asking price anyway.

The phrase 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' fits here. i.e. they have accepted an offer that was on the table rather than wait for one which may or may not come.

I have had offers accepted while still being 'unproceedable'. Some vendors are willing to take a risk that you will get an offer quickly, others not.

It is Thursday, if you get an offer over the weekend, make a strong offer on Monday and see if the vendor is willing to shift to you. Not nice for the current buyer, but house buying is a cutthroat world.

I don’t think the sellers are wrong to have accepted an offer instead of waiting for us (I wish they had waiting but I get that is unreasonable!)

What I don’t understand is how can they have accepted this offer- removed the house from the market - but still be open to us making an offer within the next week or so, should we sell our house this weekend?

Would the EA just ring them and be like ‘hey so we know they accepted your offer and agreed to remove from the market but this other couple just made another offer and it’s higher so we are going to accept that now instead?’

If I were the couple whose offer had been accepted I’d be fuming - does accepting an offer not constitute a verbal contract?

I don’t know if DH and I ABU to think we still have a shot at this house

I’m amused that you think you will be exchanged, completed and moved within 23 weeks

You say you have 'finally' found your dream house. But that you have only just put your house on the market.

So if I'm understanding correctly, you've been looking at lots of potential houses before you were even on the market? Absolutely wasting everyone's time.

You haven't lost the house, it was never yours in the 1st place and you are not currently in a position to buy.

When we bought and sold, we kept an eye on right move and in touch with local agents so we knew what was available that might be suitable but didn't view any until we knew we had an acceptable offer on our place. So then our offers could be taken seriously.

You can put an offer in any time you like but don't expect anyone to accept it until you are actually in a position to be procedable.

House buying and selling in this country is so tricky and can fall apart for a million and one reasons, so also don't fall in love with anywhere until you have actually exchanged and it's likely to actually be yours one day.

You have no idea what their position is, they may have cash to offer and no chain. You haven't lost anything.

What I don’t understand is how can they have accepted this offer- removed the house from the market - but still be open to us making an offer within the next week or so, should we sell our house this weekend?

They probably said that to be polite. The chances are they knew your position from what the agent had told them and they decided it wasn't worth the risk of turning down the offer in the hope you offered more.

I would presume even if you did make an offer they wouldn't accept it as they have no reason to believe you will be in a more proceedable place than their current buyers.

I’m amused that you think you will be exchanged, completed and moved within 23 weeks grin

Why? Both times I’ve moved it’s been 12 weeks pretty much to the day. It doesn’t always take a long time.

But even if you get an offer on yours, who's to stay that will all go smoothly?!
Other buyers could be ready to go. I know who is pick..

I would put an offer in asap very close to the asking price, if you really want it.

does accepting an offer not constitute a verbal contract?

are you in England?

If you are, nothing is legally binding until exchange of contracts at the end of the entire process.

You do need to do more research if you are selling and buying!

Around here, agents don’t take offers seriously if you aren’t proceed able. We’ve waited 3 months to sell ours in the hope the one we wanted was still on the market so that we could offer.

We are in a desirable (sell within a week area) this house isn’t
You can’t blame them for accepting an offer then. Maybe there is a property they are desperate to purchase.

Well you could have made an offer even if you didn't yet have an offer on your house, but it would have been based on the assumption you'll get an offer on yours this week. They could have accepted providing you do get that offer inside the week but wouldn't old out longer than say 2 weeks.

@Booksandwine80 Wouldn't 23 weeks be a very long transaction? Both of the properties I have purchased completed inside 8 weeks. In fact our first purchase I was naughty and didn't even have a mortgage offer in principle when we had our offer accepted. I still had to do the end of year accounts and get it signed off by the solicitor within this time frame.

Move on. If it was meant to be then it would have worked out. How on earth can you put an offer in on a house when you’re not in a position to move forward. You haven’t even sold your house or had an offer on it. You would be way down the pecking order of potential buyers for someone selling their house.

Our last Purchase was chain free but took 12 weeks- the wait for council searches was 9 weeks, nothing to do with us. I don’t think the position matters so much (mortgages don’t generally take that long if you have everything in order) but the time is taken up by chains.

I’m a bit surprised at the level of surprise re people putting in offers before selling. Obviously people do this otherwise the market would be stagnated, someone has to move first, whether that be sell without an onward property found or offer without current property sold.

Most people agree to wait a short time for the relevant sales/ house hunting to take place

If yours will sell that quickly get it on the market, accept an offer then you'll be ready to make an asking price offer next weekend.

Job done.

Unless yours isn't quite as easy to sell as you say it is....

And no, accepting an offer is not a verbal contract - amazed you own a home and think that tbh!

Sell your house and then make an offer. If it’s meant to be it will be.

I don’t think we were wasting anyone’s time.
We knew we needed to move and that we are in an area which sells VERY fast.
We found an issue with our house which required a bit of work (hence we had to delay putting it on the market by several weeks whilst this was done.

We viewed properties (all in less desirable areas) and made every EA aware of our situation. Knowing the area we lived in they definitely thought we were ‘proceed-able’ and understood our house would have already been on market/sold had this work not needed doing.

(I totally get it’s fair this other couple beat us to this house) but for the sake of a week or two it seems such a shame.

We will put an offer in as soon as we’ve received an offer but just wonder whether (even if we are higher and have a cash buyer) they will actually now choose us other this already accepted offer

I agree Passthecherrycoke. It is another peculiar to MN thing. If you make an offer, the EA is obliged to put it to the vendor, regardless of your circumstances, it is then up to the vendor to accept or not.

When we bought our current house, we had not got previous one on the market, although we were living in rented, but still needed to sell to fund. We were the first to see this house, offered on the spot and had it accepted. No faffing with 'you're not proceedable'. It then took so bloody long for the vendors to find somewhere, we nearly pulled out.

Am I missing something? Just make the offer!
I've never waited until I have an offer to make my own. I just tell the estate agents I'm in a position to make an offer. How are they to know you've had an offer on your house, say you have if it makes you feel better.
If you really want it, go in with your best and final as it's unlikely you'll get a chance to negotiate. Sometimes your dream home is worth an extra few £ on your mortgage each month.

@Booksandwine80 all three of my house purchases have been done and dusted in under 6 weeks!

OP if you are selling a house and someone makes reasonable offer then you accept. You don’t say oh no someone else wants to have a se ing viewing. They want to sell ASAP to save fees and to get into their own new home.

the estate agent won’t put forward the offer until they know the ops
position, maryberry. There is no way they would advise their client to take it especially as another offer has already been accepted.

They are legally obliged to put forward EVERY SINGLE OFFER @ThroughThickAndThin01. It’s not their house and they have no business passing opinion on offers