To offer or not to offer?

[Amaris]

My house has been on the market about three weeks. I have two possibilities for selling: one offer that I got late last week that I turned down as the EA said that the buyer would raise but wanted to talk to her husband about it - but not heard anything since; and a second viewing later in the week of people who say they are definitely going to offer but want to bring parents round who are helping with deposit.

I have found somewhere that I definitely want to buy. I know that there is someone else going to look at the house that I want to buy tomorrow evening. I have never put in an offer before until I can definitely proceed but I'm wondering if I should. I think my two options are:

A - tell the estate agent that I will definitely offer if I have an offer on Thursday/Friday but not actually make the offer. The risk is that the other viewers might put an offer in in the meantime.

B - put in an offer based on the expectation that I will have a proceedable offer by the end of the week. I think this would need to be a near asking price offer though. The risk is that they won't take it seriously and that I might end up paying higher than I would otherwise.

What should I take into account in making my decision? It's going round and round in my head along with a bit of superstition that I shouldn't tempt fate by making an offer in anticipation of something happening!

Thanks in advance!

I think I'd wait until I had an offer first.

Wait until you're proceedable i.e under offer (which you have accepted) - it's meaningless otherwise.

I agree with the others I am afraid

Think you can put in 'notice of intent' or something. This let's them know you intend to make an offer and so they shouldn't accept another one without coming back to you first. Tbh though, if you've not accepted an offer on yours then you're not proceedable so it's unlikely to be accepted.

Thanks everyone, I will speak to the estate agent today and say that I am intending to offer as soon as I have a proceedable offer, which I'm hoping should be the end of the week. I'm not sure that the first people who offered are very reliable anyway as they promised they would call back on Monday whether they were going to raise the offer or not, but weren't answering calls from my EA yesterday. The house I want has been on the market for a while so I would be really unlucky for it to go at this stage.

"The house I want has been on the market for a while so I would be really unlucky for it to go at this stage." Think about this. Either the property is being seen regularly and has been rejected by everyone for whatever reason. Or alternatively, it could be a massive coincidence that someone is about to see it just as you have expressed an interest. Think about your reaction to hearing this. Pressure to make an offer? Increase an existing offer? Just one of a bag of tricks that many EAs use (I know, I used to be one until I saw the error of my ways!) on unsuspecting punters. If I was a gambler, I'd be quite happy to bet the property you are interested in will still be sat there when you are in a position to proceed. By the way, however much you want it, when you speak to the EA I suggest you take very much a nonchalant attitude - plenty more fish in the see and all that - and wait for the backtracking to begin!

Maybe, but it wasn't the EA that told me about the viewing, it was the vendor, who seemed painfully honest about everything else! They did just drop their price last week so that might be what has stimulated interest. In any case, not much I can do, I told the EA that I was interested in making an offer, he told me what they were looking for, which I think is realistic and I can afford, I just need to turn Thursday's second viewing on mine into an offer! Also have a viewing tomorrow night too. I also want the obsessive tidying and cleaning to stop, it's really not in my nature!