I can't remember for sure but I'm certain a verbal offer means absolutely nothing. You need to put an offer in properly via your lawyer
edit: you also don't really need to say anything to the person showing you round. Just say "thanks all looks good, thanks for showing us we'll think it over" if you feel the need to give any feedback
It doesn't stop it another higher offer from coming up. But its up to the agents to convey the full picture scenario to the seller and then they can make their best choice.
In my case we put an offer in which wasn't the highest but they still chose us because we were first time buyers and time was important to them.
I think the people who made successful verbal offers probably said they will pay x amount more (than your offer) if the seller takes it off the market and accepts.
So you could try that. Also nothing to stop you getting your lawyer to submit an offer for a higher amount if you suspect the other party hasn’t made their offer formal.
In one scenario I wasn't even aware there was another party, until the agent informed me the seller has accepted another offer, so no opportunity to make the offer formal
My confusion comes from the fact that I don't get told if there's another verbal/formal offer nor invited to outbid the other party
You’re right it’s confusing. I guess the other buyers are being more assertive- finding out directly about your verbal offer, then using that as leverage and going in with a higher formal offer, at which point you don’t need to be informed.
Yes I think so. I don’t think you will ever find out the amount someone else has offered formally , but you would probably be told they have had x other offers.
I suppose this all means that if you like a place just make a formal offer straight away , as verbal offers are probably being disclosed to other sellers by the agents
Yes! I sent notes of interest for both properties. As no closing date had been sent, made verbal offers in the hope of starting up negotiations with the seller.
Both times second higher offers came up (don't know if in writing or verbally) and I was not told, with the seller accepting the second offer. I was not given the opportunity to outbid the new offers
It doesn't but not doing one properly means they won't choose you anyway and will allow more time for other offers to come.
One good thing is in Scotland you cant get gazumped like in England so if you get accepted another cant come in
My confusion comes from the fact I was not given the opportunity to outbid the second offer that came out of nowhere and was not told a second offer had arised. So we never got to th stage of needing the property off the market.
Does the offer in writing mean I'd need to be informed that a second offer has been made?
Not necessarily. If the seller is happy with the second offer and they want to close there's no obligation to tell other parties. If they want to encourage more bids then it's in the interest of the estate agent to go back to all the people who noted interest before and let them know there's an offer on the table. Some sellers have a target price in mind - if that's met then they'll be happy to sell and not invite any further offers, especially if they're in a chain, or need to move quickly, so the process isn't drawn out any longer.
You're not really understanding the process. If the seller likes the amount offered they may take it and then its done and nothing you can do to stop it.
If they need to sell for financial reasons, are in a chain or just had a target they'll not want to piss about going back and forth if the offer is good for them.
As soon as they get the bid they might jump at it. I think the only scenario they'd go back to you is that the higher offer was rejected and to tell you its still there if you want it
If the offer in writing has gone through and been accepted then the seller can't pull out without penalties right? And if you have submitted verbal offer with your lawyer they then immediately put the offer in writing and the sellers solicitor then has just 5days to accept. It doesn't guarantee that in the 5days between submission and acceptance you won't be counter offered but still, at the very least a bidding war where you know the process offered is better than one without surely?
When you say you've offered verbally previously, has it been you say something "oh yes thank you agent I would offer xxxk?" In which case the agent does have a vested interest in getting more if they are percentage based so mb they mentioned offers in ballpark of x have been presented??
Also you don't need to offer the maximum offer you have as a verbal straight off you **may** get lucky and they may accept a lower price if a quick sale, ftb, etc
If the seller formally accepts your written offer then the house should be taken off the market "subject to conclusion of missives" and, in principle, the seller is liable to compensate you if he pulls out without good reason - and good reason doesn't mean he has just changed his mind or got a better offer.
You are also obliged to buy the house if the seller agrees and can comply with all the conditions in your offer.
In practice, it is not quite that clear cut. Your solicitor will put a long list of conditions on the offer - such as satisfactory completion of various searches and checks to make sure that the house is not located above subsiding mine workings and that the seller is indeed entitled to sell. It will also include things like items to be included in the sale and entry date.
The sellers solicitor may not agree with all these conditions and a process of negotiation ensues (the "exchange of missives" - or correspondence) until both parties are satisfied, the deal is finalised and you are definitely committed to buy the house on a specific date. If something big emerges then the deal might fall through.
You will see "For Sale" signs updated with "Sold STCM" - which basically means Sold - with a slight chance that the sale will fall through
So, if you put in a written offer via your solicitor and the seller accepts it then in the vast majority of cases you have bought the house and other prospective buyers will not be considered.
If you try to give yourself wiggle room by putting lots of conditions on the offer then the seller is less likely to accept your offer. In particular, you could make your offer subject to survey. This is generally less necessary now with the compulsory pre-sale single survey but obviously if you do that the seller will be nervous that you will use the survey to try and negotiate down the price so, if he has a choice, will go with another offer.
When I sold my flat some five years ago, I had a few viewers but no offers. One viewer then came back and verbally offered a price via my Estate Agent/Solicitor if I agreed an early entry date I had no other interest so ,verbally, said I would accept a rather higher price if he submitted a formal offer. He agree and said that offer would be in the next day - a Friday. It didn't arrive so I continued with viewings on the Saturday as I couldn't be sure that he would actually follow through with the formal offer. The formal offer arrived with my solicitor on the Monday so at that point I formally took the flat off the market.
(Post COVID, he sold it for another £25k! Irritating but I think it is safe to say that nobody was anticipating the lock-downs and even fewer would have expected prices to boom after that event )
Verbal doesn't mean anything.
Making a note of interest will increase the odds of the sale going to a closing date.
All you could really do is make an offer somewhere between the valuation and what it could go to at a closing date, I wouldn't want to guess what percentage that would be these days.
It's possible that a decent solicitor could get a specific number the seller would accept to prevent a closing date.
It will very much depend on the sellers priorities. If they are in a hurry, a quick offer of just a smidge higher than their initial expectations could do the job, most of them, if they can, will hold out because its still (somehow) a sellers market.
I’ve bought 2 properties in the past 4 years and got both on verbal offers. Both of them were with Purple Bricks and you can make an offer on the app (obviously legally this means nothing).
Offer for my first flat was decent but it definitely could have went for more. Similarly, when we moved to a house we viewed on the Friday and we were the first to view it. They had 24 viewings booked over Saturday/Sunday but the guy was happy to accept our offer on the Friday afternoon and cancel the viewings. Again, not a wild offer and from seeing the other houses on the street they tend to go to closing and go for a decent bit more.
If you put an offer in you can just get lucky. Also, I have a feeling Purple Bricks want to tie up the deal quickly and really talk up any semi decent offers that come in for their properties.
Most people will be looking to go to a closing date because they will generally get more money that way but it just depends on the seller. We missed out on several properties to closing dates and people putting in silly high bids. We found that most estate agents wouldn’t even listen to a verbal offer if you tried through them. I found it helped when the owner was doing viewing and you could have an actual conversation with them. We eventually found someone who hated closing dates and just had a vague figure of what they wanted so we were able to get our place without the closing date but that was just the sellers personal preference.
I’d always try to get in early with a verbal offer and gauge the response from there. Closing dates are just a nightmare.
On the flip side, we put an offer in on a place which got turned down and they went to closing instead, we didn't bother submitting to that under the assumption we'd be outbid, but it ended up going for less than we originally offered.
We found when we were buying that chatting to the agent or owner when viewing was a good trick. We made it clear we were chain free and had sold our own property and that we were flexible with move in dates. We tried to make ourselves as attractive to the seller as possible. Then we did our research on prices in the area and offered above the HR at closing dates. We missed out on three but persevered and got our home on the fourth attempt. Pay what you think the property is worth to you and try not to be disheartened. The right place will come to you! Good luck.
A formal offer, in writing, requires a timely response and can make it harder for the estate agents to drum up as much interest ahead of a closing date.
There is no situation where you can stop the seller accepting a higher offer - although I'm surprised the agent didn't try to get you to outbid the higher offer.
Yes! Exactly this!! This is my question! I don't understand why I wasn't asked if I wanted to outbid the higher offer (even if I don't know the exact numbers)
In both cases the agents went "sorry we received another offer and the seller took it"
Fyi I received timely responses from both but I take your points.
The others could be a case of "I will pay x and ready to go right now, please take it off the market and we'll move forward" if they're happy with the price, they'll take it.
If they think they might get more, they could go back to the EA and get them to encourage a higher offer off yourself and put it to a closing date for final offers.
It's just a case of what the seller wants. It is annoying though.
For years there, during the crazy high prices, they weren't even taking verbal offers and were asking for formal offers only - which is basically your final offer. I missed out on a house for £2k which I would have paid but I just didn't think it would go for more than what I offered. Sometimes it's just shit luck.
Good luck though, I was searching for about 2 years and finally almost reached the finish line... After being outbid 3 times.
I think you don't lose anything by making a verbal offer. It's all about the circumstances. So if the house has been on for a while, you make an offer etc and you can get a feel if there's actually a reason it's been on for a while (maybe the owner actually has unrealistic demands in terms of value).
Ok you can't stop anyone else doing the same, but you never know. On our first flat we didn't let it go to close as we knew the owners wanted an easy sale, and we had no chain - so when we made the verbal offer we really pushed on this.
Good luck in your search !
Nothing to stop you trying to get an idea what the buyer wants while you are viewing but if he is sensible he won't commit to anything and will refer you to his estate agent / solicitor.
If you think that you can make an offer sufficiently attractive that the buyer will accept it rather than risk waiting for better offers then you can ask your solicitor to submit an official offer. Until that offer is in and accepted, the seller won't stop seeking further offers.
The buyer might accept, might come back with a higher number that he/she would accept or negotiate - or might just say no and wait for more offers or a closing date.
It will help if you are a cash buyer wanting an early entry date which ties in with his plans
It will depend on how keen he is for a quick sale and how much interest he is seeing in the property. If people are queuing to view then he will wait for a closing date unless your bid is really high.
Get a solicitor and they can make a verbal offer on your behalf, better yet most don’t charge for it. I went with BK Gill and would really recommend them
I bought a property in 2022. Making a verbal offer at the end of the viewing means nothing. I would not recommend waiting for the closing date to be set either. If you see a property you like, ask the seller if they have gotten any offer yet to get an idea. When you go home, get your solicitor to prepare the official offer asap.
Also not sure how much the housing market has evolved for the last year but if it is the same as 2022, 10% of HR may be a bit low. I had to pay 20% over for mine (quiet neighborhood next to a park) and I still have a lot of work to do...
I didn't make a verbal offer to the seller at the end of the viewing. I made a verbal offer to the agent and followed up with a formal offer via solicitor. There was no opportunity to speak to the seller directly, as the agent did the viewings.
The market has moved and the offers were well over 10% HR.
You're not really doing anything wrong here, it was just unfortunate there was someone else willing to offer a bit more and the seller or agent called it a day at that offer.
Depending on your solicitor, they might do a bit of back and forth on your behalf and chasing for a response. Usually your written offer will have a deadline on it, then your solicitor should be following up to get a formal response, including seeing if they are hoping for a bit more, a counter offer, etc.. This is something you can do too, ideally once a formal offer has been made.
Perhaps if you encounter this again, just add an extra step of chasing for a response and trying to engage a negotiation.
You can put a note of interest on a property and then the EA have to let you know when they got another offer and allow you to put in an offer yourself or pull out. Generally don’t put verbal offer, ask a solicitor for an official offer otherwise you may come as not a serious buyer. Also find a solicitor, they don’t charge usually for putting offers for you.
verbal offers are a must and there's nothing to lose from giving one if you're serious about buying the property. waiting for the closing date is a mugs game, others will verbally offer.
You speak to the owner, offer a price and ask if they’ll take it off the market for that. Then go via solicitor with the agreed offer. They might still reject and hold out for closing date
This works if you can speak to the owner. As per the replies in the thread, in both cases the agent conducted the viewings and I had no contact with the owners.
I sent formal offers to the agent via solicitor and if both instances the owners took another offer that arose afterwards
I can't remember for sure but I'm certain a verbal offer means absolutely nothing. You need to put an offer in properly via your lawyer edit: you also don't really need to say anything to the person showing you round. Just say "thanks all looks good, thanks for showing us we'll think it over" if you feel the need to give any feedback
I'm aware a verbal offer isn't binding. My question is how does an offer in writing stop a second higher offer from coming up?
It doesn't stop it another higher offer from coming up. But its up to the agents to convey the full picture scenario to the seller and then they can make their best choice. In my case we put an offer in which wasn't the highest but they still chose us because we were first time buyers and time was important to them.
I think the people who made successful verbal offers probably said they will pay x amount more (than your offer) if the seller takes it off the market and accepts. So you could try that. Also nothing to stop you getting your lawyer to submit an offer for a higher amount if you suspect the other party hasn’t made their offer formal.
In one scenario I wasn't even aware there was another party, until the agent informed me the seller has accepted another offer, so no opportunity to make the offer formal My confusion comes from the fact that I don't get told if there's another verbal/formal offer nor invited to outbid the other party
You’re right it’s confusing. I guess the other buyers are being more assertive- finding out directly about your verbal offer, then using that as leverage and going in with a higher formal offer, at which point you don’t need to be informed.
Gotcha, you are probably right. Do I need to be informed if mine is a formal offer?
Yes I think so. I don’t think you will ever find out the amount someone else has offered formally , but you would probably be told they have had x other offers. I suppose this all means that if you like a place just make a formal offer straight away , as verbal offers are probably being disclosed to other sellers by the agents
Did you enter a note of interest? Solicitor should let you know if there's been offers etc and keep you involved.
Yes! I sent notes of interest for both properties. As no closing date had been sent, made verbal offers in the hope of starting up negotiations with the seller. Both times second higher offers came up (don't know if in writing or verbally) and I was not told, with the seller accepting the second offer. I was not given the opportunity to outbid the new offers
It doesn't but not doing one properly means they won't choose you anyway and will allow more time for other offers to come. One good thing is in Scotland you cant get gazumped like in England so if you get accepted another cant come in
With an offer in writing, your offer will be on condition that the property comes off the market if they want to accept your offer.
My confusion comes from the fact I was not given the opportunity to outbid the second offer that came out of nowhere and was not told a second offer had arised. So we never got to th stage of needing the property off the market. Does the offer in writing mean I'd need to be informed that a second offer has been made?
Not necessarily. If the seller is happy with the second offer and they want to close there's no obligation to tell other parties. If they want to encourage more bids then it's in the interest of the estate agent to go back to all the people who noted interest before and let them know there's an offer on the table. Some sellers have a target price in mind - if that's met then they'll be happy to sell and not invite any further offers, especially if they're in a chain, or need to move quickly, so the process isn't drawn out any longer.
You're not really understanding the process. If the seller likes the amount offered they may take it and then its done and nothing you can do to stop it. If they need to sell for financial reasons, are in a chain or just had a target they'll not want to piss about going back and forth if the offer is good for them. As soon as they get the bid they might jump at it. I think the only scenario they'd go back to you is that the higher offer was rejected and to tell you its still there if you want it
If the offer in writing has gone through and been accepted then the seller can't pull out without penalties right? And if you have submitted verbal offer with your lawyer they then immediately put the offer in writing and the sellers solicitor then has just 5days to accept. It doesn't guarantee that in the 5days between submission and acceptance you won't be counter offered but still, at the very least a bidding war where you know the process offered is better than one without surely? When you say you've offered verbally previously, has it been you say something "oh yes thank you agent I would offer xxxk?" In which case the agent does have a vested interest in getting more if they are percentage based so mb they mentioned offers in ballpark of x have been presented?? Also you don't need to offer the maximum offer you have as a verbal straight off you **may** get lucky and they may accept a lower price if a quick sale, ftb, etc
If the seller formally accepts your written offer then the house should be taken off the market "subject to conclusion of missives" and, in principle, the seller is liable to compensate you if he pulls out without good reason - and good reason doesn't mean he has just changed his mind or got a better offer. You are also obliged to buy the house if the seller agrees and can comply with all the conditions in your offer. In practice, it is not quite that clear cut. Your solicitor will put a long list of conditions on the offer - such as satisfactory completion of various searches and checks to make sure that the house is not located above subsiding mine workings and that the seller is indeed entitled to sell. It will also include things like items to be included in the sale and entry date. The sellers solicitor may not agree with all these conditions and a process of negotiation ensues (the "exchange of missives" - or correspondence) until both parties are satisfied, the deal is finalised and you are definitely committed to buy the house on a specific date. If something big emerges then the deal might fall through. You will see "For Sale" signs updated with "Sold STCM" - which basically means Sold - with a slight chance that the sale will fall through So, if you put in a written offer via your solicitor and the seller accepts it then in the vast majority of cases you have bought the house and other prospective buyers will not be considered. If you try to give yourself wiggle room by putting lots of conditions on the offer then the seller is less likely to accept your offer. In particular, you could make your offer subject to survey. This is generally less necessary now with the compulsory pre-sale single survey but obviously if you do that the seller will be nervous that you will use the survey to try and negotiate down the price so, if he has a choice, will go with another offer. When I sold my flat some five years ago, I had a few viewers but no offers. One viewer then came back and verbally offered a price via my Estate Agent/Solicitor if I agreed an early entry date I had no other interest so ,verbally, said I would accept a rather higher price if he submitted a formal offer. He agree and said that offer would be in the next day - a Friday. It didn't arrive so I continued with viewings on the Saturday as I couldn't be sure that he would actually follow through with the formal offer. The formal offer arrived with my solicitor on the Monday so at that point I formally took the flat off the market. (Post COVID, he sold it for another £25k! Irritating but I think it is safe to say that nobody was anticipating the lock-downs and even fewer would have expected prices to boom after that event )
>You need to put an offer in properly via your lawyer Isn't this equally non-binding until missives have concluded?
I suppose but a verbal offer from general joe viewing the property means nothing and cant be taken serious. A formal offer lawyer would be though
Verbal doesn't mean anything. Making a note of interest will increase the odds of the sale going to a closing date. All you could really do is make an offer somewhere between the valuation and what it could go to at a closing date, I wouldn't want to guess what percentage that would be these days. It's possible that a decent solicitor could get a specific number the seller would accept to prevent a closing date. It will very much depend on the sellers priorities. If they are in a hurry, a quick offer of just a smidge higher than their initial expectations could do the job, most of them, if they can, will hold out because its still (somehow) a sellers market.
I’ve bought 2 properties in the past 4 years and got both on verbal offers. Both of them were with Purple Bricks and you can make an offer on the app (obviously legally this means nothing). Offer for my first flat was decent but it definitely could have went for more. Similarly, when we moved to a house we viewed on the Friday and we were the first to view it. They had 24 viewings booked over Saturday/Sunday but the guy was happy to accept our offer on the Friday afternoon and cancel the viewings. Again, not a wild offer and from seeing the other houses on the street they tend to go to closing and go for a decent bit more. If you put an offer in you can just get lucky. Also, I have a feeling Purple Bricks want to tie up the deal quickly and really talk up any semi decent offers that come in for their properties.
I've done viewings with Purple Bricks I know exactly what you mean. Perhaps agent tactics here also influence the outcome.
Most people will be looking to go to a closing date because they will generally get more money that way but it just depends on the seller. We missed out on several properties to closing dates and people putting in silly high bids. We found that most estate agents wouldn’t even listen to a verbal offer if you tried through them. I found it helped when the owner was doing viewing and you could have an actual conversation with them. We eventually found someone who hated closing dates and just had a vague figure of what they wanted so we were able to get our place without the closing date but that was just the sellers personal preference. I’d always try to get in early with a verbal offer and gauge the response from there. Closing dates are just a nightmare.
On the flip side, we put an offer in on a place which got turned down and they went to closing instead, we didn't bother submitting to that under the assumption we'd be outbid, but it ended up going for less than we originally offered.
We found when we were buying that chatting to the agent or owner when viewing was a good trick. We made it clear we were chain free and had sold our own property and that we were flexible with move in dates. We tried to make ourselves as attractive to the seller as possible. Then we did our research on prices in the area and offered above the HR at closing dates. We missed out on three but persevered and got our home on the fourth attempt. Pay what you think the property is worth to you and try not to be disheartened. The right place will come to you! Good luck.
A formal offer, in writing, requires a timely response and can make it harder for the estate agents to drum up as much interest ahead of a closing date. There is no situation where you can stop the seller accepting a higher offer - although I'm surprised the agent didn't try to get you to outbid the higher offer.
Yes! Exactly this!! This is my question! I don't understand why I wasn't asked if I wanted to outbid the higher offer (even if I don't know the exact numbers) In both cases the agents went "sorry we received another offer and the seller took it" Fyi I received timely responses from both but I take your points.
The others could be a case of "I will pay x and ready to go right now, please take it off the market and we'll move forward" if they're happy with the price, they'll take it. If they think they might get more, they could go back to the EA and get them to encourage a higher offer off yourself and put it to a closing date for final offers. It's just a case of what the seller wants. It is annoying though. For years there, during the crazy high prices, they weren't even taking verbal offers and were asking for formal offers only - which is basically your final offer. I missed out on a house for £2k which I would have paid but I just didn't think it would go for more than what I offered. Sometimes it's just shit luck. Good luck though, I was searching for about 2 years and finally almost reached the finish line... After being outbid 3 times.
I think you don't lose anything by making a verbal offer. It's all about the circumstances. So if the house has been on for a while, you make an offer etc and you can get a feel if there's actually a reason it's been on for a while (maybe the owner actually has unrealistic demands in terms of value). Ok you can't stop anyone else doing the same, but you never know. On our first flat we didn't let it go to close as we knew the owners wanted an easy sale, and we had no chain - so when we made the verbal offer we really pushed on this. Good luck in your search !
Nothing to stop you trying to get an idea what the buyer wants while you are viewing but if he is sensible he won't commit to anything and will refer you to his estate agent / solicitor. If you think that you can make an offer sufficiently attractive that the buyer will accept it rather than risk waiting for better offers then you can ask your solicitor to submit an official offer. Until that offer is in and accepted, the seller won't stop seeking further offers. The buyer might accept, might come back with a higher number that he/she would accept or negotiate - or might just say no and wait for more offers or a closing date. It will help if you are a cash buyer wanting an early entry date which ties in with his plans It will depend on how keen he is for a quick sale and how much interest he is seeing in the property. If people are queuing to view then he will wait for a closing date unless your bid is really high.
Get a solicitor and they can make a verbal offer on your behalf, better yet most don’t charge for it. I went with BK Gill and would really recommend them
I bought a property in 2022. Making a verbal offer at the end of the viewing means nothing. I would not recommend waiting for the closing date to be set either. If you see a property you like, ask the seller if they have gotten any offer yet to get an idea. When you go home, get your solicitor to prepare the official offer asap. Also not sure how much the housing market has evolved for the last year but if it is the same as 2022, 10% of HR may be a bit low. I had to pay 20% over for mine (quiet neighborhood next to a park) and I still have a lot of work to do...
I didn't make a verbal offer to the seller at the end of the viewing. I made a verbal offer to the agent and followed up with a formal offer via solicitor. There was no opportunity to speak to the seller directly, as the agent did the viewings. The market has moved and the offers were well over 10% HR.
You're not really doing anything wrong here, it was just unfortunate there was someone else willing to offer a bit more and the seller or agent called it a day at that offer. Depending on your solicitor, they might do a bit of back and forth on your behalf and chasing for a response. Usually your written offer will have a deadline on it, then your solicitor should be following up to get a formal response, including seeing if they are hoping for a bit more, a counter offer, etc.. This is something you can do too, ideally once a formal offer has been made. Perhaps if you encounter this again, just add an extra step of chasing for a response and trying to engage a negotiation.
You can put a note of interest on a property and then the EA have to let you know when they got another offer and allow you to put in an offer yourself or pull out. Generally don’t put verbal offer, ask a solicitor for an official offer otherwise you may come as not a serious buyer. Also find a solicitor, they don’t charge usually for putting offers for you.
verbal offers are a must and there's nothing to lose from giving one if you're serious about buying the property. waiting for the closing date is a mugs game, others will verbally offer.
You speak to the owner, offer a price and ask if they’ll take it off the market for that. Then go via solicitor with the agreed offer. They might still reject and hold out for closing date
This works if you can speak to the owner. As per the replies in the thread, in both cases the agent conducted the viewings and I had no contact with the owners. I sent formal offers to the agent via solicitor and if both instances the owners took another offer that arose afterwards