Help! Should sellers take the house off the market if they accept our offer?

[compostheap]

A bit of background...... DH and I are perfectly happy in our house, but a few weeks ago - after idly browsing on right move - we saw an amazing house about 10 minutes walk away. We went to see it, really like it, and think we can just about stretch to buying it.

The house has been on the market for 6 months with no offers made, and sellers(the executors of a will) have already reduced the price from 550k to 500k. It's been empty for 3 years for complicated reasons, and needs a fair bit doing - new kitchen / bathroom / lots of decorating - although it seems to be structurally sound.

We've offered 460k which they've rejected, but have come back and said they might accept 470-475k, but would want to keep the house on the market until we sell ours. We've had 2 valuations and both estate agents thought ours would sell quite easily - it's in good condition, nice bit of town, and we're near good schools - but I thought the usual thing was to take the house off the market once you've accepted an offer? I don't want to feel pressured into selling ours quickly just so that we don't lose this other house.And my other worry is that we'll spend money on a survey and putting ours on the market when, if we don't succeed in buying this particular house, we don't really want to move.

Any ideas?

Confusingly they seemed to accept an offer of 450k only a few weeks ago, only for the executor to come back and say that it was nowhere near enough and they wouldn't accept less than 500k, so we've already had our hopes up and then dashed already!

It's very usual to keep the house on the market if you haven't sold. You have JO guarantee of how quick you will sell

When we were buying one person wouldn't entertain an offer from us until we had sold, just wouldn't discuss it. And one person wouldn't let us have a viewing!!

Yes, until you have an agreed sale it is usual for your seller to keep their house on the market. Totally reasonable of them. It might take 6 months/a year for you to sell.

As a seller I would only take my house off the market if my buyer was already sale agreed on their property, or wasa cash buyer.

I agree. It is annoying but if you put an offer under the asking price it is only fair that they keep it in the market in the hope to get the price they want or just in case yours take a long time to sell.

But don't feel pressurised, if they sell before you do, you have not lost anything. If your buyer is taking time to complete and you loose the house you want, you can take your house of the market as well.

Annoying but it happens.

You've got things completely about face - the seller has the upper hand here since they have the commodity, why would they remove it from the marketplace when you can't guarantee that you can come up with the money anytime soon? Unless of course you are making a cash offer that can proceed without you selling your existing house.

There is no way I'd take my house off the market to someone who's own house isn't even under offer. Sorry OP, they are right.

I get that everyone is saying that yabu but what is the point of you making an offer and them accepting it if they are going to keep looking for a better price?

What will it cistvyoubto get home buyers report or other selling coststhat would be wasted if they accepted a different offer?

You could take a chance and withdraw your offer. It seems to me that you're helping them sell it at a higher price and paying for the privilege.

It will make it more attractive to other buyers if it's under offer and set the benchmark price other buyers have to beat.

How badly do you want it?

^cost you to

We did as Polter did. The EA was keen to get 2 lots of commission rather than spending more time trying to get an extra £100 ,commission on the first sale and not getting ours.
It worked well. I know he had very little availability for anyone else to view our new house!

Zen: The point is that a non-proceedable buyer isn't really a proper buyer. Just because someone has offered what you're willing to take doesn't mean that it won't take a year (or more) for them to sell their house. Or they may never sell for the price they need to buy yours. During that time, other people in a proceedable position may have offered (and actually bought) your house.

So it's totally understandable why someone would say an offer was acceptable in principle but still keep the house on the market until the buyer was genuinely proceedable.

We didn't even start looking for a house until we'd sold ours because of the risk that we'd find one we love and not be able to get it because we weren't proceedable. Similarly we cared about the position that our buyers were in (we had a best and final offers scenario) because that impacts upon our own position as (easily) proceedable buyers.

Thanks for all the messages. I guess I was surprised because this is our third house move and we've never had this situation before. But, very excitingly - they have now accepted our offer and taken the house off the market until June - hurrah!
I wonder if the part of the country might make a difference as, after reading threads here, I asked a few local friends and they all thought that it was the norm to expect the house to be taken off the market when an offer was accepted. Maybe we do it differently up here!
But thanks again, and wish us luck........