Sold STC

[mayastern]

Is it usual to try and view a property that is sold STC? Will EAs usually let you?

If you were the seller would you allow it?

No and no.

No, no and no

No. Absolutely no.

Thanks. I was just wondering what is normal as we have only bought a new build before

No and No.

I’m going against the grain and say it’s worth asking.

we went to see one stc. Had a good chat with the sellers and it turned out the buyers financing had fallen through. I think the family had promised the deposit then couldn’t follow up.

anyway the offer was a good one, they weren’t in a rush and were fine with waiting while they tried to refinance, but in the meantime they didn’t see why they shouldn’t keep showing the property. If anyone matched the offer and were in a better position they’d go with them.

they probably will say no, and should say no, but you could make some enquiries with the EA.

@Notanotherusernameunavailable - thank you for your perspective. I will have a think about it as I don't want to come across badly to the EA!

Why not? Legally the EA has to pass in any offer before contracts are exchanged. It’s that way for a reason. Maybe the buyer over promised on speed or will try bid down the price last minute, and in that case if you are waiting in the wings it’s a good thing. That’s life people.

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But on the flip side, buyers will routinely get a friend to call up the agent and ask to view it to make sure the seller is keeping faith on it being off the market. If I'm buying and I get wind that the vendor is still showing it, I'd pull out. So it's a risky strategy for the vendor. I always make board down and off RM as a condition of the offer.

It seems like there's no right answer! I would hate for it to happen to me though, that's why I'm reticent

You could always ask the EA to let you know if the sale falls through as you might be interested in viewing. That way you will be kept on their mailing list for first dibs.

It doesn't hurt to ask. You really don't need to concern yourself about what an EA thinks of you.

as a Seller, I'd let you view it. I can't see the problem. As it's STC I wouldn't accept an offer from you, but would be happy to let you know if the sale fell through.

There is a right answer and most EAs won’t allow new viewings on houses that are SSTC.

Any buyer with any sense makes their offer dependent on the property being taken off the market. On that basis it would be wrong for sellers to accept viewings, and probably the estate agent would say no. HOWEVER loads of things fall through for all kinds of reasons, and if a seller loses a buyer they will be desperate to get another one to keep their moving hopes alive. So it makes sense if you really like the house to talk to the estate agent and make sure they know to call you if the opportunity opens up again.

Yes that’s what I would do. Just tell the EA I would be interested in viewing it if the sale fell through.

You can ask, but I wouldn't offer without it being taken off the market.

Happened to us last year. Was marked as sold stc on Right Move. We were proceeding quickly and had offered asking price. Somebody begged to see it via a second agent who had been marketing it and gazumped us. We lost the property.

So from the new buyers perspective they got the property they wanted, the seller got more money. We got a solicitors bill and a lot of misery.

It’s a shitty thing to do. It’s an even shittier system that allows it.

That is shitty indeed that the owners of the property allowed it. And also the EA. But I would say the EA only did that because the owner had gone multi agency so the second EA didn’t already have their commission lined up.

It shouldn’t happen even with multi agency, and it normally doesn’t. But it is slightly more likely in that scenario if you also have both an unethical EA & Seller.

Why is it shitty? It’s a free market. You could have offered more.

Also, if the survey had been ugly or you couldn’t get financing you’d have had no qualms about pulling out of the transaction. Is anyone who pulls out of a transaction shitty then? Plenty of people on this forum advise renegotiation on the back of a dodgy roof but that OK? It can’t be asymmetric...

I do agree that it’s a shitty system btw.

@kidcrazy They offered considerably more and we couldn’t raise the funds. We had spent money in good faith progressing the sale, having had an offer accepted and the property was off the market. If you don’t see it as shitty conduct then that says a lot about you.

If there had been massive survey issues (there weren’t) then that’s a totally different situation; you offer subject to survey because what you are prepared to pay is based say on the house being X. If the property turns out to be Z then that is a totally different situation to gazumping.

I guess you also think it’s fine to suddenly gazunder the day of exchange … I mean it’s legally allowed right? Let’s all act like dicks with no integrity just because we can. It’s free market as you say.

Your mindset is interesting. You want to reserve the right to pull out if the circumstances suit you (survey, funding issues etc.), but the seller is morally obliged not to change their mind when the circumstance change…

I’d ring the EA and let them know you’re interested should anything fall through. They’ll likely keep you on a list and give you a call if anything happens. It’s also not totally unheard of that when an offer is accepted it is agreed between the buyer and seller that viewings continue until solicitors are instructed by the buyer and their survey is booked in. If it’s newly gone under offer you may still be able to view, no reputable agent though would allow that unless there was an agreement such as the one above. As a buyer though I’d be reluctant to do that though as it can call get a bit messy.