Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To withdraw offer?

81 replies

Gill123789 · 24/09/2023 21:47

Viewed a house on Monday and put an offer in on Tuesday, I live in Scotland - so we’ve offered 2k under Home Report. The house is an ex-rental and needs a lot of work, it’s a 4 bed detached.

I called the estate agent on Wednesday to see if there was any feedback on our offer - I was told that sellers were hoping for a 1st time buyer to avoid ended up in a chain - we have a house we’d need to sell. I agreed to sit tight until the end of the week as they wanted to allow other viewing to take place before making a decision, it was hoped we’d have an answer by Saturday.

I chased the estate agent on Saturday, to basically be told the same sort of scenario. Estate agent did confirm that as of Saturday we were the only offer. Now the house is a 4 bed detached so estate agent did tell me that they’d tried to explain to the seller that it might not be the type of house a 1st time buyer would go for. I’m expecting to hear back from the estate agent tomorrow.

I am anticipating that they might try and ask us to hold out for a bit longer, I feel like our offer is likely being used to try and sell the home to others. AIBU to tell them if we don’t have a decision by Tuesday (1 week after initially offering) we are withdrawing the offer?

OP posts:
SamAndEIIa · 25/09/2023 00:21

Also in Scotland an offer doesn’t really mean anything formal anyway, part of your offer can state that it’s dependent on a sale of your property and the date of entry must be agreed with all parties. Nothing is agreed til the missives are signed, so you aren’t going to be homeless. There are plenty of houses on the market!

Motheranddaughter · 25/09/2023 01:42

Offering subject to sale of your current property is standard practice in Scotland

Wheelz46 · 25/09/2023 07:18

@Gill123789 I am not sure how you can be sure your house will sell within 2 weeks of being on the market, at the very least the people you are wishing to buy from will not know that.

Reading through the thread it seems you are from Scotland, I am from the UK so buying and selling may differ slightly.

When we moved house, we had a few offers on the table but I would not have an accepted an offer in your scenario or I may have accepted it in principal but made the potential buyers aware we will be continuing with viewings and open to other offers!

SamAndEIIa · 25/09/2023 09:01

Wheelz46 · 25/09/2023 07:18

@Gill123789 I am not sure how you can be sure your house will sell within 2 weeks of being on the market, at the very least the people you are wishing to buy from will not know that.

Reading through the thread it seems you are from Scotland, I am from the UK so buying and selling may differ slightly.

When we moved house, we had a few offers on the table but I would not have an accepted an offer in your scenario or I may have accepted it in principal but made the potential buyers aware we will be continuing with viewings and open to other offers!

Scotland is in the UK …

Oooooooooooo1 · 25/09/2023 09:14

I'd take the 'want first time buyers" as a decline then
You can't have everything your own way @Gill123789 there's going to be upheaval
Your children will cope

Anewest · 25/09/2023 09:25

I'm in Scotland and also wouldn't accept. We recently sold our house (also 2 very young children), and had offers from buyers not yet on the market. Our estate agent's words were "they aren't proceedable so I wouldn't bother". We sold to a cash buyer in the end.
Similarly, when viewing our current house, the estate agent said that we (SSTC) would most likely get an instant acceptance from the seller if we offered asking price as all previous viewers were only getting ready to go on the market and they just wanted someone in a position to go. Turns out they were right and we concluded within weeks.

AllAboardTootToot · 25/09/2023 09:29

You are only seeing what comments you want to hear!

People are correct, get your house on the market and be in the chain, no one would be daft enough to take their house off the market for a buyer that’s not even close to completing.

Wake up and realise the reality you are in.

Why ask the question if you seem to be such a know it all anyway?

Wheelz46 · 25/09/2023 09:38

@SamAndEIIa Far too early in the morning for my brain to function, I meant England 😆 I was never the best at Geography but even I knew Scotland was part of the UK, I am clearly not very good at multi tasking, responding to messages with a sleepy head and making sure kids are ready for school 😆

Original poster
Gill123789 · 25/09/2023 09:57

AllAboardTootToot · 25/09/2023 09:29

You are only seeing what comments you want to hear!

People are correct, get your house on the market and be in the chain, no one would be daft enough to take their house off the market for a buyer that’s not even close to completing.

Wake up and realise the reality you are in.

Why ask the question if you seem to be such a know it all anyway?

You’re extremely rude. My opening statement was asking if I’d be unreasonable to withdraw the offer, NOT if my house should/shouldn’t be on the market - which seems to be what most posters are fixated on.

OP posts:
Panicking23 · 25/09/2023 09:59

In Scotland too, and was recently in your position and things don't work that way anymore in this market I'm afraid. We went for a new build with a developer that part exchanged in order to avoid being left with nowhere to go with a child, its really the only option that gives you the security you're wanting.

moderndilemma · 25/09/2023 10:06

I live in Scotland. No way would I accept an offer from someone who hadn't started the process. The Scottish system moves quickly, but that's because we generally don't get into long chains that might collapse. It seems like you want the best of both worlds - certainly about your future purchase and also flexibility about your own sale.

Frabbits · 25/09/2023 10:08

Last time I moved in Scotland, we had committed to buy before we had an offer on our own house, but as others have said the days of sticking a house on the market and knowing it would sell in a week are gone.

You need at least to have it ready to go before any offers are really seriously considered.

zingally · 25/09/2023 10:15

You're absolutely entitled to withdraw if you feel like you're being messed about.

I'd just say be very clear about it to the agent.

"Hi Agent, if we haven't heard back from the buyer regarding our offer by 1pm Wednesday, then please consider our offer withdrawn."

Anewest · 25/09/2023 11:03

Going by your last post, no, not unreasonable to withdraw. You will very likely struggle to be accepted by anyone without your house on the market. Most will be looking for you to have accepted an offer yourself. Unless you're going to buy a new build.
The housing market honestly isn't how you think - our sale and purchase were very recent and no houses we viewed were being snapped up within two weeks. Houses we viewed had been on the market a while, a couple had previously fallen through. Our second choice is actually back on the market after being under offer around the time we started the process on our house.

Snugglemonkey · 25/09/2023 11:56

Bellavida99 · 24/09/2023 22:23

You don’t seem to understand how the property market works. If you’re not even on the market yet nobody will accept your offer. Put your house on the market. Start looking. Once you’ve got a firm offer you can make an offer on a house that will be taken seriously. Do you honestly think you’re the only person who has children and doesn’t want to break a chain? Sell your house then quickly find a house that’s kinda how it works

It does not in Scotland. We were in the same position as op with nowhere to go and children. We had our house on the market within the week our offer was accepted. That is what everyone I know has done here, just be ready to go to market and then do it once a property is secured.

HawdMeBack · 25/09/2023 12:21

We were in the same boat last year OP (Scotland). 2 young kids and weren't prepared to effectively make ourselves homeless, so offered before putting our house on the market. We got turned down twice, despite being the highest offer as we hadn't sold. BUT, third time lucky! Put ours on the market within days of our offer being accepted in the knowledge it'd sell very quickly. Our seller gave us 3 weeks to sell from accepting our offer and we did, within 7 days!

gotmychristmasmiracle · 25/09/2023 12:23

Yours isn't a proceed able offer so I am surprised the estate agent even put it forward to be considered.

Anewest · 25/09/2023 13:21

I wouldn't compare your situation to posters saying how quickly they sold last year, as a side note. The market was different then, definitely more a seller's market. I don't doubt they're being honest, I just mean don't take it to mean you'll sell just as quickly in the present. It is possible, but most properties we looked at were struggling to get serious buyers, as I say we ourselves had an influx of non-proceedable "we'll market our house once we have an offer accepted" viewers before our cash buyer.

caerdydd12 · 25/09/2023 13:22

Gill123789 · 25/09/2023 09:57

You’re extremely rude. My opening statement was asking if I’d be unreasonable to withdraw the offer, NOT if my house should/shouldn’t be on the market - which seems to be what most posters are fixated on.

Show quote history

In that case no, you're not unreasonable to withdraw the offer. The reason being your offer isn't a serious offer so the chances are the seller isn't even properly considering it.

LlynTegid · 25/09/2023 13:27

Setting a deadline and sticking to it is perfectly reasonable to me. I am incidentally aware that Scottish law on house sale/purchase is different (and in my view better) than that in England and Wales.

Hope you find somewhere OP.

LimeCheesecake · 25/09/2023 13:42

OP - have you seen anything else you want? Have you looked at other properties?

it sounds like they are playing games, hoping to not decline you while getting as many other viewings in, keeping you on back burner as a “worse case scenario”.

Bur if you are in no rush, you can afford to sit back. I’d not withdraw my offer, but keep looking at other properties.

SamAndEIIa · 25/09/2023 14:01

LlynTegid · 25/09/2023 13:27

Setting a deadline and sticking to it is perfectly reasonable to me. I am incidentally aware that Scottish law on house sale/purchase is different (and in my view better) than that in England and Wales.

Hope you find somewhere OP.

Having just sold a house in Scotland to someone based in England, I completely agree. Their system is SO slow and stressful in comparison (for example, the whole home report situation, and the lack of setting an entry date early on, and the last minute nature of the checks)

Original poster
Gill123789 · 25/09/2023 14:23

gotmychristmasmiracle · 25/09/2023 12:23

Yours isn't a proceed able offer so I am surprised the estate agent even put it forward to be considered.

The estate agent is not long off the phone. Our offer has been accepted.

OP posts:
gotmychristmasmiracle · 25/09/2023 14:26

Well done 👏 good luck, it's so stressful moving with young children! Never again got me 🤣

LimeCheesecake · 25/09/2023 15:01

Oh good! But urgh, getting a house with small kids in it ready for viewings, you have my sympathy. Buy yourself the good chocolate.

Swipe left for the next trending thread