Advice on making an offer

[Househuntinghenrietta]

I'm currently in the process of making an offer on a property. Someone else has offered the same as us, so it's gone to best and final and we are coming up with our offer letter. The vendors have already found somewhere else to rent and are ready to go quickly. DH has suggested that in our offer letter we give the vendors the option of renting the property to us before completion so they get some income whilst our conveyancing completes.

I don't think us offering to rent the house is a good idea and might make us sound a bit weird. Surely the vendors would have concerns about this and it gives them more admin.

Any other ideas for us standing out from the other bidder? We will be writing honestly about how we love the area having lived there for a long time etc

I work for an EA. Solicitors don't usually recommend this because if the sale doesn't actually complete for some reason, they would have a big problem in getting you out again.

I have known a few situations where it has happened though.

Agree with you, the renting suggestion isn't a sound one.

Tonnes of extra admin and risk on their part. If it's mortgaged they'd need permission from their lender, they'd need to declare the income for tax purposes, and if anything went wrong with the purchase they could be stuck with sitting tenants.

I doubt the vendors care how much you love the area. They'll care about your current position, how fast you can move, and whether you have finances confirmed as being in place (AIP, deposit etc).

You’re right, it’s a terrible idea. I would talk about your love for the area, why you like the house, will it be a longterm family home etc. Ultimately, though, money will probably talk — though we chose a slightly lower offer from someone who wasn’t in a chain over our top offer.

Thanks all. As I thought. We will make it clear what our practical position is (pretty good as we have a motivated buyer for our place, agreement in principle, savings etc). Apparently the vendors are interested in who the buyers are, so we will include some background on loving the area and make it clear that we want a family home, not somewhere to go in and rip up for development

Give a clear representation of your position and your chain (not just your buyer, unless they are a FTB or cash, in which case, say so). Include the name of your solicitor also. This together with your AIP will highlight you are a well organised buyer, ready to go. Good luck