To expect to have heard something by now???

[PerditaMacleod]

Fully prepared to be told that IABU, if that is the case!

Our house sale/purchase is already turning into quite the saga! Our house recently went on the market, and there were lots of viewings on Saturday. EA rang me yesterday to say that there were 3 offers that they were verifying. He later rang me to say that there was another one, which he pressed me to accept, as if we did, that buyer would also put their property on the market with him - errr no way! Still hadn't seen all the offer details at that point.

It's now 3 days since the viewings, and I still haven't seen anything confirmed in writing. AIBU to expect that the offers should have been formally put to us by now?

We haven’t had any offers confirmed in writing! I’m not sure that’s standard practice. Once we agreed the sale, the estate agent sent the sales memo.

Does sound odd that he’s pushing you to accept an offer off someone who isn’t even in a position to proceed. Technically going by the government Covid rules, they shouldn’t be viewing at the moment.

You don't generally get offers in writing. It's a conversation on the phone with only the accepted offer out in writing with solicitors details to proceed.

It's not clear whether you had the offers verbally or not, I think not, in which case you might want to speak to the manager or change EA.

We never had any in writing, over the phone once EA had confirmed deposits etc were in place

Technically going by the government Covid rules, they shouldn’t be viewing at the moment.

That’s not true. You can view properties, but there should only be one viewer at a time (so a couple can’t go together). Strictly speaking, if the owners/tenants are present the agent shouldn’t show you around and vice versa. But of course you can view properties.

OP - I wouldn’t worry. These things do take a few days at least in my experience.

If the estate agent is doing their job it normally takes a few days to properly verify the offer (ie check they can actually pay the money). So this delay might be a good thing!

We didn’t make a written offer until our verbal offer was accepted 🤷🏻‍♀️

Some estate agents will do due diligence and collect documents such as proof of deposits, mortgage in principles and memorandum of sale before they present the offers. The offer means nothing if the buyer has not been financially qualified. You need to be sure they can actually buy your house if you go on to accept the offer. It also means you can assess the position of the buyer along with the offer to make the best decision. Hopefully this is what they are doing.

I brought a house this year & the initial offer had to be in writing, along with other documents full of info. It only went to email communication when we got into a bidding war. We had to supply mortgage in principle with this paper work to prove we were serious buyers & not just dreaming/wasting the sellers time.

Thanks all, good to hear different experiences! It just seemed to be taking a really long time, I would have thought the EA should be vetting people, or at least have some idea of their situation, before arranging viewings. They've been a bit crap so far, will have to stay on top of them!

I have also never heard of an offer being put forward in writing. I wouldn’t expect anything in writing until the offer has been made, verified and accepted by the vendor. I also would not be surprised that financial checks have taken more than two working days.

Well they ask people what their situation is when they arrange a viewing, but they don't make them provide proof that they're proceedable at that point.

You won't get anything in writing but I'm surprised you haven't heard back from him since yesterday about the different offers.

Is this the first time you've sold a property?

So the viewings were Saturday and EA told you about offers on Monday and then rang yesterday with another offer? They sound on top of it to me and you may want to lower your expectations as to timings as yours won't be the only deal they're trying to push through. As soon as they have a confirmed offer they should let you know and then you can decide what to do (the 'vetting' is done once an offer is made). If some of the offers were a bit random they may well have dismissed them so hold tight for a couple more days and see what happens.

Yes, first time sellers.

Viewings were on Saturday, heard nothing at all on Monday, talked to EA on Tuesday PM when he told me about the offers, nothing since then. I'm just not getting many details - I actually don't know exactly how much the offers were for, only the highest one.

So maybe unreasonable to expect full details on Tuesday, but it is now Thursday and I haven't heard anything else. EA has done off on holiday until next week.

According to the Property Ombudsman Code of Practice, the EA should confirm all offers in writing to buyer and seller within 2 working days of the offer being made...

Oh, mistake - viewings on Saturday, offers first mentioned on the phone late on Monday.

When we sold my sister's house we received every offer in writing after a phone call from EA to know what we wanted to do. I believe regulations say they have to pass on every offer (however ridiculous!) so hopefully you'll hear something soon - is the post bad where you are?

I have never had an offer in writing and I have bought and sold 5 properties. The only time it's ever been out into writing is after a verbal acceptance

No, the post is ok here, but I think it will mostly be done by email.

The EA rang this morning and we're down to best and final offers with 2 people, so looks like stuff has been going on but they haven't been telling us much. They're just verifying the offers and then we can hopefully make a decision by the end of tomorrow. Shame nothing at all is on the market where we want to move. I saw the perfect house a couple of weeks ago but it's under offer now :-(. Fingers crossed there are more options after Christmas!