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Original poster

We offered more but other buyer is chain free. Lost cause?

33 replies

sellotape12 · 13/05/2023 16:30

I’m so anxious and tired of trying to move! We finally found a property and now it’s a waiting game. We made a good, decisive timely offer to the agent, who’s told us the other offer on the table is slightly less £ but they’re chain free. We have a FTB underneath us (they’re organised, patient and flexible on timings). Is it a lost cause for us? We are reasonably proceeded with our own sale but don’t see how we can compete with a chain free buyer 😞 Has this even happened to you? Anything I can do to try improve our position? I’d even do a note through the letterbox unless that’s cringe.

The vendor whose house we want to buy a family with twins and so they’re trying to time getting in to schools in Sept. They asked via the agent if we ‘could be patient’ about their onward purchase, whatever that means.

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TheSnowyOwl · 13/05/2023 16:31

All you can do is wait and hope. It might depend why the other buyers are chain free and what their expectations or situation is.

dreamersdown · 13/05/2023 20:18

Not a lost cause at all! We beat out some chain free people (we were selling to FTB) because the seller liked our pitch/ that we offered more. It’s not over until it’s over.

Malbab · 13/05/2023 20:38

Yes happened several times to us we changed our house to BTL and released equity so we're not in chain but lost to 'cash buyer', when we're in chain second time, we lost to people who already sold and in no chain, 😕 but we persevered and now moved to a house we wanted, do it is possible.

Original poster
sellotape12 · 13/05/2023 22:27

@Malbab that sounds so tough! I’m glad you’re somewhere that feels like home now

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Original poster
sellotape12 · 13/05/2023 22:29

Ugh @dreamersdown thank you, I’m so nervous. When you say pitch, did that compromise certain flexibilities about moving (other than money), or do you mean there was an emotive pitch too?

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RM2013 · 13/05/2023 22:47

We were accepted over a chain free buyer (we were already STC and our buyers were FTB). We had to do a bit of haggling (explaining that we already had a mortgage in principle and a buyer already a few weeks down the line) and our offer was more than the chain free buyer but it was touch and go which offer they accepted

dreamersdown · 14/05/2023 15:02

I guess both - we were clear that we’d move on their timeline but they also wanted it to go to a family etc - we were clear that we were local and had strong ties, wanted to raise growing children there etc

Original poster
sellotape12 · 14/05/2023 15:11

@dreamersdown okay thank you so much for applying. This is exactly our position. We have offered asking price because the street and neighbourhood is so important to us and we know they do community events which we’d like to take part in. Do you think it’s worth putting a note under the door this afternoon before the decision is made on Monday? I never know if these things work or just make people uncomfortable. We did actually already bump into the vendors when we were having a look on the street, and they seem like a really nice, regular family.

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Original poster
sellotape12 · 14/05/2023 15:11

Replying * not applying

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Malbab · 14/05/2023 15:39

That doesn't work we tried to 'pitch' as our daughters best friend ived in the road as how we were committed to that road etc but it didn't make any difference, but now thinking back that house would have been a nightmare money sucking pit!
It will only come across as being desperate which u want to avoid as then the sellers will try and take advantage

dreamersdown · 14/05/2023 15:43

@Malbab i don’t agree. Each time we’ve sold we haven’t gone with the highest bid, but the person who was in the best position and we thought would be most committed (eg people with kids in local schools; with local family)

Tromso · 14/05/2023 15:44

As a seller, a note through the door would annoy me personally. It's a business transaction and I would expect everyone involved to respect that and treat it as such.

However I know not all sellers are like me!

PurpleBananaSmoothie · 14/05/2023 15:59

a note through the door is really going to depend on the seller. Some people want their house to remain a family home and local. Some don’t. We weren’t interested in who bought ours. We actually wanted someone who wasn’t a FTB as our house needs some work (new kitchen, bathroom, landscaping) and thought a FTB would get cold feet with ours. We bought the house as FTB and know that you don’t have the spare money to do the house up and so someone in a position that has some equity from a house sale would be able to do the work quicker.

For some people it is just the highest price and for some people it is who is in the best position. For a family with twins in school, I would say the best offer is the more committed one. They’ve already said they want to move in September to minimise disruption to school. If you do a note I would highlight the research of the area you’ve done and show you are committed to this purchase, you aren’t going to string them along and cause a whole load of stress at the beginning of the new school year. I would also highlight that you have solicitors in place and you will reach out to a surveyor in the next few days if accepted.

pecantoucan · 14/05/2023 16:02

Tromso · 14/05/2023 15:44

As a seller, a note through the door would annoy me personally. It's a business transaction and I would expect everyone involved to respect that and treat it as such.

However I know not all sellers are like me!

Same. I wouldn't want contact like that. I'd consider upping your offer personally

gotmychristmasmiracle · 14/05/2023 16:22

Don't understand why moving in September would be less disruptive for schools 🤷‍♀️ sounds like they've not found anything and you or they will end up homeless for a period of time tbh.

GOW56 · 14/05/2023 16:28

Definitely don't out a note through the door. I think that would be annoying. I'm not sure why it would matter to the that you really want to move to their house. Presumably everyone wanting to buy it would feel the same.
Sorry but you just have to wait and see. If you don't get this house something else will come up

BlueMongoose · 14/05/2023 17:31

A lot of 'chain free' buyers really aren't. So don't despair, many vendors know this sort of thing.

Original poster
sellotape12 · 14/05/2023 18:05

Yeah I’m not going to do the note. It won’t make a difference and we need to keep emotion out of it. Just going to try and forget it until we know and appreciate what we have right now.

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Merrow · 15/05/2023 06:54

I would have found a note through the door a little intrusive (although my sister received one and liked it) but the estate agent did pass on a note with the offers. In our case the higher bidder was the one whose note we liked (young couple putting down roots Vs cash only buyer looking for an investment property), but I think if the offers were comparable we'd have gone with the people we liked.

LadyPenelope68 · 15/05/2023 06:59

sellotape12 · 14/05/2023 15:11

@dreamersdown okay thank you so much for applying. This is exactly our position. We have offered asking price because the street and neighbourhood is so important to us and we know they do community events which we’d like to take part in. Do you think it’s worth putting a note under the door this afternoon before the decision is made on Monday? I never know if these things work or just make people uncomfortable. We did actually already bump into the vendors when we were having a look on the street, and they seem like a really nice, regular family.

As a seller, I’d be totally off even selling to you if you started putting notes through my door - it’s hassling the seller. I’ve employed an estate agent to deal with the sale, I’d be going with the person in the best position (as in no chain), not someone who offered more but was in a chain. As for going for the “emotive pitch” that’s bonkers, it’s a house sale, a business transaction, don’t start with sob stories.

gotmychristmasmiracle · 15/05/2023 07:34

Todays the day, I think your going to get it 🤞 let us know!

Original poster
sellotape12 · 15/05/2023 11:52

We didn’t get it 😞 they went with the chain-free buyer. The agent asked them to up their offer and they did.

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DancingQueen2019 · 15/05/2023 12:30

hi @sellotape12 sorry to hear that.
if its any consolation we were in exactly the same position mid april.
we LOVED the property, put in an offer £10k over asking, but unfortunately one other buyer (FTB!) put in an offer too and the vendors went with them. it was frustrating as we were the first to view and put our offer in a week before everyone else.
everyone said to me it happens for a reason and something different/better will come along, well one month later we are viewing a property on wednesday which is on one of my top 2 roads, with a better driveway and better location with bus links which will be handy when my son is teenage.
onwards and upwards. xx

DancingQueen2019 · 15/05/2023 12:32

oh and another thought, you may wish to let the agent know that you are still interested in the property, should anything happen with that buyer. x you know mortgages/survey/cold feet type thing.

Original poster
sellotape12 · 15/05/2023 13:09

Thank you @DancingQueen2019 it’s so true. In this situation, the house was the one that miraculously came to market after we lost out on another. Better street (the steam street!), closer to the train…. Just as we were about to give up this one came to market.

It’s so hard. I don’t know how people move often and flip houses for fun. Getting a family home is brutal. I know people like to say don’t get emotionally attached but of course you do! That’s human nature.
Please cross fingers the chain-free buyer isn’t as robust as we think.
Thanks all

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