House buying experts - I need your advice!

[Dottydot]

Just wondered what the world of MN would do...

We've seen a house we really like - so much so that we've put ours on the market - the board goes up on Tuesday.

The couple in the house we like aren't in a rush to sell - they're retired and will be finding somewhere to rent when they've sold.

So, given that we haven't got an offer on ours yet, but it's going on the market on Tuesday, should we be letting their estate agent know we're very interested in the house - or even put an offer in, subject to us getting on one ours??

This is our first house, so we've not done this bit before where we have to sell ours to buy the next, so I just wondered if it's worth trying to show interest now, or whether we wouldn't be taken seriously until we've got an offer on ours.

All advice very welcome!!

You could put an offer in, it won't do any harm, but obviously it may not be accepted or they may still keep marketing their property because of your situation. If the vendors like you and your family then they may be willing to wait for you, have you met them?

Is it the house with no side access that you fell in love with?

i would put a lower than asking price offer. it 'registers interest' and you can say if they have other offers to let you know, but it is early days for your sale. wouldn't want you to lose the house, but if you look too keen, you may be in danger of nasty estate agents exploiting that, esp if you are in an 'underdog' situation of not yet having offer/ mortgage etc. already in the bag. hope that helps...and that you get some more advice because this is just my opinion and houses are a BIG DEAL!!!

You could put in an offer, but ime they are probably unlikely to accept - we did this once and the estate agent said they wouldn't even pass it on to the vendors as it wasn't a serious or viable offer at that time. Get yours on quick, sort out your mortgage and keep your fingers crossed that the market is quite slow as it's so near Christmas.

Well I'd say definitely put an offer in if you want it. They will still probably market the property unless the vendors really, really like you!!! But as soon as you sell yours then you can proceed. Our buyers had an offer on their house from someone who hadn't sold and that's when they came to view ours and bought it when it all followed through.

Don't make an offer until you've viewed it again, then offer below the asking.
Keep looking on Rightmove though and don't go breaking your heart if they don't accept your offer, it could be a necessary step towards finding an even better house. We were devastated when we were rejected on the house that kickstarted our move but within a month we'd found our dream house in a different (nicer and cheaper!) area we hadn't thought of before.

Make an appointment to revisit it later in the week - that shows you're keen but also improves your position as yours will be actviely marketed by then and fire up your agent to do so. You can put in an offer but they may be advised not to take it off the market until yours is also under offer. The market is slow atm so if yours is attractive and well priced it could work in your favour. You might find they expect to get asking price or thereabouts though if there is little impetus to the sale.

I wouldn't even think of viewing until yours is at least on the market, possibly even until you have an offer on it. If you put in an offer they will still keep it on the market, esp as you can't be sure how long yours will take to sell. We had a couple round to view ours whose house wasn't even on the market yet, and tbh it annoyed me that they were wasting my time, because they could have no idea how long it would take to sell their property.

We did the same thing. Found house, marketed ours, didnt sell, lost one we wanted, sold ours found one miles nicer than the original house which prompted us to move! Greatest influence in house moving - Fate. Good Luck!

See it again if you can. It's a very quiet time of year for property anyway. Then make an offer. You can view what similar houses have sold for in the area on Nethouseprices.com

It's important to make an offer so they know you're interested. If you've made an offer and it isn't accepted, the estate agent may well contact you if another offer goes in which is higher than yours.

Go for it! Regardless of whether you have had any viewings, if you are sure you want it, make them an offer. The buying/selling business is highly unpredictable and things change rapidly all the time. Always be prepared for disappointment, though (I know, it's hard). Try to develop a good rapport with the sellers, tell them where you are up to with your property, etc. It's worth it because they might favour you over other prospective purchasers later on.

The estate agents tell you that it's better to have a buyer lined up with your property before you look for your new house. Great in theory but it never works out like that.

Good luck.

OK, so the overall message is make a low offer so that it at least registers interest?! Our house is now officially on the market (from yesterday) - with a board and on the website and everything... We're seeing the building society on Saturday to sort out a potential mortgage, so I think I'll consult with dp (probably) and put an offer in. Aarrrgghh!!!

And no it isn't the lovely spacious 4 bed house that I loved but dp didn't (she's so stubborn), but it's a very lovely 3 bed house with HUGE garden (which is why we want to move) and lots of potential to build - so I like it 'cos I can make it bigger!

Although I would normally say it's not worth putting an offer in until you have a buyer for yours (in that they may accept it but keep their house on the market in case a better offer comes up) - I have broken this rule recently - A friend of a friend is selling a house in the region we want to move to - We spoke and I was very honest and said that our house isn't on market yet and won't be until Jan (due to decorating work etc), but she invited us to view it, we liked it, they invited us to offer so we did - they not only accepted the offer but they have taken the house off the market!
They are in the same situation as your sellers - have retired and are wanting to move south but have not found a house to go to yet,

Just wanted to express my on here! I phoned the estate agents of the house we're interested in - to let them know we're very interested, have put our house on the market and would like to make an offer as soon as we have one ourselves.

He tore me off a strip for not choosing them to sell our house with (I didn't go with them as they're just not one of the biggest sellers in our area) and said it gave him no incentive to consider us! When I asked if they would let us know if the sellers got any other offer he said no, if they get an offer it'll just go ahead - which I can understand, but he was sooooooo obnoxious....!

I don't think he'll pass the message on to the sellers that we're interested.... grrrr.....

If you put a formal offer in, the estate agent is legally required to pass it on to the vendors. It's their decision whether to accept it, not his.

Agree they have to pass on an offer and give them feedback, but that could be selective. Might be worth seeing it again just to visibly show interest and hopefully meet the couple again direct and tell them face to face.

He is probably kicking himself for not signing you earlier and potentially getting more commission and benefitting from recommending other services such as their Mortgage advisor and Conveyancing firm. Presumably you're tied in atm but you are hardly going to consider them as a possibiltiy in the future after that. Can you ask for someone different next time you call or go in ?

Appalling behaviour - to tell you off for not using them!!!

I would report them to the ombudsman if they are part of that scheme.

Also make another appointment to look round when hopefully the vendors are there and tell them what the agent said too (if they are not there for viewings drop a note round apologising for contacting them directly but saying you had to do so as you had no confidence the agent would pass things on and then explain why).

If i was them I would be so cross i would change agents!

Good luck

I had a similar thing happen when I was last looking for a house. One of the agents refused to let me view a house which was perfect for our requirements after I told him our flat was on the market with a rival agency.
Dotty - I would put a note through the letterbox of the house expressing your interest and that their agent did not give you the impression that they would pass the offer on.

Thanks - they only live down the road and we've seen the house twice and got on really well with them, so I think we'll take a walk down there at the weekend (we're child-free on Saturday!!!) with a note just in case they're not in, letting them know we're very interested and just waiting and hoping we get an offer on ours.

Still can't believe an estate agent would jeopardise a house sale - it's pretty slow round here at the moment and when we last saw the house last week they told us they hadn't had any offers yet.