Gazumping. Should we do it?

[Itsrainingten]

We viewed a house about 6 weeks ago. Loved it. Had a second viewing and wanted to make an offer. Spoke to seller, explaining we were awaiting an offer on our house first but we had someone who had seen it 3 times and was apparently "just waiting for her husband to return from his business trip on Friday" and then would offer on ours. Well unsurprisingly she then went radio silence. I was in touch with sellers EA regularly letting them know we wanted it but still weren't in a proceedable (?) position. Even put forward a full asking price offer if they'd hold on for us. They didn't want to wait. Fair enough. Well this morning I looked on RM and it says it's SSTC. It wasn't on Friday. Thing is we've literally (like 2 hours ago) accepted an offer on ours so now we ARE proceedable. We are considering getting in touch and offering them £750k - asking price was £735. What do you think? Is this too immoral? Would you do it?

I think you should go for it. You have nothing to lose and you do t owe the other buyer a thing.

Could be a developer wanting to change it to a house of multiple occupation, or student accommodation or released prisoners - not every house sale is a family home.

No it doesn't.

This is business. It’s not personal. If you can afford to make a higher offer - that is fair. They have not exchanged yet. It’s not even morally questionable at this point. Do it and don’t worry about it.

Actually I think you'll find it's the system that's the problem, or it would be illegal. It isn't. And all the ridiculous moral outrage from posts like this is making me feel.less guilty about doing it!
Why is it really so morally wrong? Tell me? If they haven't spent anything on it yet, and only had their offer accepted last week what is so outrageous about that?
You could argue that they came along and swiped it from us, since we'd been in contact pretty much weekly about it (I'm not actually arguing that btw but really it's not that fat fetched an idea)
Why is me being able to afford a little bit more than them (if that is the case) somehow less honourable than them having the money ready to go a few days before us?
Also at what point does the argument not stand? What if, say, it had been bought by a developer who wanted to knock it down, and not a family? Would that make it any less reprehensible?

You do you @Itsrainingten. You obviously think you’re entirely in the right despite your faux enquiry and always intended to gazump 🤷🏻‍♀️

Honestly life is too short and if you don't ask you don't get. Everyone saying it's immoral, the seller doesn't have to accept the offer

Sorry OP, but all the signs from the sellers are that when matters more to them than who when it comes to selling their house. They didn't ask the EA to get an update on your ability to proceed before accepting the other offer, did they? And they were unwilling to wait when you asked earlier on. I think they're just being friendly, kids in the same school etc is nice, but house buying is business. And you have no clue about the other buyers whatsoever - they could be the sellers' best friends for all you know!

Not sure what to advise re gazumping, but just wanted to point out that it sounds like you're trying to justify it to yourself.

Ok @harriethoyle thanks for the permission.
FWIW I'm not sure we'll do it. Depends if they've spent money. Thanks for not explaining exactly why you're so certain I'm a terrible person.
I don't actually believe most people wouldn't do the same in the same circumstances. In fact I reckon there's plenty that would be happy to do it a few days before exchange - like you maybe?
And there's no "faux enquiry" I was (and still am) interested in what others thought about doing it, not on their judgement of me as a person so much!

Yeah this might well be true to be fair. They COULD have asked the EA to contact us before they accepted the other one and they didn't. I hadn't thought about that angle.

I wouldn't gazump but I would tell the estate agent you are proceedable and that you'd love the sellers to know your offer is still on the table. Then you've done all you can.

This. Not sure what the rules are on this but this seems the most ethical thing to do

I didn't think the op had previously made an offer?

Wouldn't this still be "gazumping" though? My offer was originally for full asking price. So unless the offer they accepted was also for that much then I'm still doing the same thing?
I could do that I guess. Might seem like better karma. But really I'm basically doing the exact same thing aren't I?

I never got a response on the offer we made so I guess it is technically still "out there".
That seems like quite a good idea actually. I could just reply on the email chain saying it still stands and that we are now proceedable...

If it really was offer accepted today and no surveys have been instructed and nothing much going on I'd offer.

I'd certainly be ringing up the estate agent to say we were proceedable and wanted to put in an offer even if they then say 'no now it's sold' to get the lie of the land.

I don't think it would have been accepted today, if today its showing in RM. I reckon it was accepted on Friday or Saturday.

I'm not sure id over £15k over as that's a lot but I would definitely put a call in to the estate agent and see what the situation is.

Yeah do it, alls fair in love, war and property.

It's a shitty thing to do to the other people.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone (other than those who have been character assassinating me!) I'm going to follow up on the email chain of where I made the offer. The last contact on the chain was the agent saying he'd put it forward but they'd be unlikely to accept since we weren't in a position to move forward. Nothing since.
I'm just going to reply to that email and say how much we really want the house, and that we are now in a position to proceed. Our buyers are chain free as well so I'll mention that.
I won't up the offer, but leave it as full asking.

That's all you can do, OP.

I think you are doing the right thing- id you hadn’t checked rightmove, i bet you’d already have messaged them this morning.

go back to say you are ready to proceed, have a buyer in place who is chain free, and happy to pay asking price.

They might have accepted below asking so this is a gazzump anyway.

I think your email is the best option for this thread.

I am mighty glad gazumping isn't allowed in Scotland though.

If your ok with gazumping you need to be ok with gazundering.

Ha! You're right I would have done. And then I wouldn't have been having a moral dilemma! Note to self - don't check RM 😁