Making an offer on a house already under offer

[bettyboo4]

We’re first time buyers with no chain and viewed a house in last year that is our dream house but because of my fiancés work and family/life issues we had to hold off the buying process for a few months.

The house had been on the market for over 5 months before going under offer 2 weeks ago. Shoot me but we called yesterday to put in an offer for the full asking price, cheeky I know and I do feel bad but alls fair in love and property until contracts are exchanged any why shoulder the owner get the best possible price for their property. Not something I would have done on just any house but for us personally this house ticks every single box and more and I genuinely know if we don’t get it we won’t get close to this again.

The house price is higher than most in the area because of the street it’s on and has less/ smaller rooms than other houses that are cheaper in the area (but perfect for us). I assume that’s why it was so hard for them to sell given the price. The owner told us they had an offer on the table for 10k under the asking price and given it was on the market for so long I assume (only assume but they might be wrong) they’ve had to accept a lower offer.

The estate agent sounded shocked and said this doesn’t usually happen but also sounded surprised we was putting in an offer for the full asking price. What’s the likelihood they will accept given we have no chain and potentially a higher offer? Waiting for a call back from the estate agents today after them putting our offer to the owner 😬🤞🏼

Shitty thing to do.

@hummingbird12 A house is not sold fair and square until contracts have been exchanged. They accepted their offer by verbal agreement that is all.

All I can say I hope the people you outbid make a higher offer and you lose it. Shady and spiteful thing to do .

Agreed Picketty, but I limited my comments in the post you quoted to transactional situations. Quite honestly if people would just play by the rules it would be an improvement - plenty don't manage that.

It’s only been under offer for two weeks ! and under offer doesn’t mean much other than accepted price in principle
so I would guess if you’re ready to move forward with a mortgage agreement in principle the owner will accept your offer.

However
I do wish our system of property purchases would change its so stressful for sellers and buyers alike

I didn't realise this still happened- I'd actually assumed this potential issue had been stopped, though thinking about it then that was a daft assumption.
Many, many years ago I was on an exchange council home site - one was set up and I was really happy but then the other person changed their mind - ok. Then a few months later I was asked re a different house that I viewed but wasn't that sure about - when I asked when they wanted to see mine they didn't because turned out it was a 4 way and was the original swap lady wanting mine! 4 way swaps are hard, new lady kept pressing me when I wasn't sure, and original lady then messaged that she'd just swap direct - I took that offer up. Whilst it worked for various reasons as in I finally got to town I needed, I never took to that house, despite loving it on original view, and I think because I always felt slightly bad and that didn't go away - always felt a bit underhand about it. I rationalised it at the time and since, as in probably would have fallen through, most likely would have turned down the one on offer, but never fully convinced myself. I'd definitely just avoid anything like that again for the good of being able to enjoy my home if nothing else!

This. I believe in karma, so this wouldn’t work for me.

Having bought and sold many times, it’s never easy, often unfair.
@bettyboo4 maybe this may be your dream house and you may get it and live in it a long time, maybe your purchase will fall though, it can go either way at any time, as a first time buyer you’ve got a lot to learn.
I’ve sold to people I liked who seemed lovely and trustworthy but shafted us at the last moment, I’ve been guzumped several times (something I’ve not done to anyone else) and lost quite a lot of money, and bought from a man who really didn’t want to sell (divorce) and tried everything to make it hard, some people really just don’t care about anyone but themselves.
House buying and selling has never been easy for me.
OP I hope you develop a bit more empathy in your house buying process.

We were gazumped 2 years ago during the post Covid madness. The survey was booked but the surveyor hadn’t been round yet. He cancelled the appointment and refunded the fee without us requesting it, which was very decent of him.

Although it was awful at the time, I cried, I know now that the house wouldn’t have been right for us.

We went though with the sale of ours anyway and moved into rental. This allowed us the time to really think about what we want from life and where we want to live and we have just had an offer accepted on a new place.

Were you hoping that people would applaud your business acumen and suggest lowering your offer at the last possible moment OP?

You're proud of shafting the other buyers and are now butthurt that other people think you're behaving badly. Own your approach and total lack of empathy, just don't expect sympathy if you get shafted in return or applause if you shaft the vendor as well as the original buyers.

Do you have your mortgage in principal?

Is there scope in your LTV for an offer over the asking price, in case the original buyers match it, and are a better prospect? (They may have started the process, if they come back at a matched price they'd be a better option).

Do you have scope for any issues the survey might show up affecting how much you can borrow? That's always a possibility.

Essentially, do you have wiggle room in your budget?

I do feel bad but alls fair in love and property until contracts are exchanged

So if someone else comes along and proposes to your fiancé and they decide to marry the other person instead of you, that would be fine would it?

I hope the house has mice.

This is how we got gazumped. Stupid vendors only got a couple of grand more in the end though. We'd factored the work we knew needed doing, and told them that. The eventual buyer bartered them down much later. A necessary quick sale became a very, very long sale. Not worth it for the vendor at all! Still gutted about that house, but they got punished.

You do a shitty thing because it’s technically ‘allowed’ (which seems to equal fair in your eyes), then get upset about people judging you for said shitty behaviour…

Not something to gloat about, you’ve literally shafted others and want a round of applause.
Hope you and the seller have a dragged out stress ridden expense filled time as that’s what you have done to the other buyer.

Gazumping should have been done away with decades ago and we should have the Scottish exchange of missives.

People on here who this happens to aren't impressed and I wouldn't do it. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

The system in the U.K. definitely needs changing in the U.K. Both buyer and seller should have to put £2k down immediately on an offer, which is non refundable if they pull out.

I hope in this case the estate agent at least gave the previous buyer an opportunity to offer full asking before putting the other offer to the seller. How depressing for the first person that were accepted. 🙁

It's entirely possible the other buyers hadn't even got out of the blocks on this sale. I was in a situation where a vendor has accepted an offer, then heard nothing from the buyer for a few weeks, so put it back on the market. We offered, the vendor let the silent buyer know out of decency, they then counter offered but the vendor felt more confident with us, so said if we matched that they'd take our offer (final offer scenario to prevent bidding war)... It was ours.

So before anyone lynches op, let's remember the full facts are not known and there may have been reasons other than just price that meant the vendor was happy to switch buyers.

After only two weeks it is unlikely they had invested any money in the process.

I think op has strayed into a grey area but it's not with wishing mice on her for!

Then it would be Sold subject to contract
Two weeks under offer means the buyers finances are being checked. As it’s been two weeks my guess is they didn’t have a mortgage agreement in principle when they offered.
All thats done during the under offer stage is the EA checking moneys and the two sides then agree on the Sale memo siting agreed price.

Once that’s done it’s Sold subject to. Then they book surveys, searches etc

@AzandmeYes of course we have a mortgage in principle, most certainly wouldn’t be putting in an offer like this without one. The house is much higher than the average house purchase especially for first time buyers but we’re willing and able to offer more (within reason) if we have to. When we viewed the house the owner was lovely as they were the one’s who actually had to show us around, as the estate agent had cancelled without informing us. They even showed us around some of the local area within walking distance and kept asking are we definitely chain free so I think that’s what has swayed it for them. They are also divorcing so obviously want a quick sale. I wish we had put in an offer after the viewing because looking back now regardless of the stress we’ve been under it would have been fine. I was heartbroken myself when I had seen that it was under offer so we just had a knee jerk reaction to offer.

If anyone has bad morales it would be the owners of the house
They are the ones that have agreed to sale not the OP

OP is only doing what is best for her and her family

“I hope the house has mice.” 🤣

By the same token, the owners of the house are also doing what is best for their family, by maximising £

(as OP has later updated, this may well be significant given it is a divorce, to maximise the equity for each)

I hope you don't get the house, I hope the people who offered first get it. We were victims of this. All may be fair in love and war but when you've paid for surveys and searches and someone comes along and gazumps you, it doesn't feel very fair.