In this article, we’ll be looking at offers. Why you shouldn’t delay and the one time that you should!
First of all we’ll look at this from the perspective of a seller.
To use an example of a situation we’ve come across recently, an offer was made on a property that hadn’t been on the market very long. Some viewings took place and a very good offer came as a result of those viewings. However, there were more viewings booked in and the owner was reluctant to accept the offer because of this, wondering if an even better offer could potentially come from the further viewings!
Because of the delay caused in waiting for the further viewings to take place, the original buyer naturally continued to look at other properties in the meantime whilst waiting for an answer. They then found another property that suited them just as much, and had their offer accepted on the alternative property instead, resulting in the seller losing a great opportunity. Of course, to accept an early offer, the offer has to be a good one, but if it is, it’s good to grab it whilst it’s there, or risk losing your buyer altogether!
Looking at things from a buyers point of viewing and using a further example, a buyer recently made an offer on a home and the offer they put forward was considerably lower than the asking price. They were very slow to increase, with a lot of back and forth over the course of around a week. Of course, in the meantime, the home is still on the market with other interest and viewings coming in, which resulted in having to go to ‘best and final’.
This means that when there are multiple offers, those that have offered are asked to put forward their ‘best and final’ offer. The homeowner then makes an informed decision based on the offers and the position of the buyers.
It just so happens that in this scenario, the original buyer was successful, however that buyer is now buying the property for tens of thousands of pounds more than they would have had to pay originally! There was a lower amount that our sellers would have been happy with, however the final amount agreed was pushed up even further due to the competition from other buyers. Had an acceptable offer been made in the first instance and an amount agreed earlier, they may have secured the home before further competition came along.
Offers do need to be carefully considered too. We often find that a high proportion of offers that are made straight away on viewings are subsequently withdrawn. It’s better to be sure that you want to go ahead with the purchase of a home, but when you are sure, our advice is not to delay and to approach with a fair and reasonable offer. You may either miss out on something you love, or you may cost yourself a lot of money.
This goes for buyers and sellers, if you’ve got something good on the table, go for it!
So let’s get onto the one time you should delay. This is when as a buyer, you’re not yet proceedable. This is when you’re reliant on the sale of your current property, but haven’t secured a buyer.
In this circumstance, if you make an offer on a property, your offer isn’t beneficial to either yourself or the seller for a handful of reasons.
Firstly, your offer isn’t as powerful or real. You’re telling the seller that in the future, this is what I can give you, but I can’t do it now.
Also, the amount that’s been offered could change, because you may not get what you were expecting on for your own home, meaning you may have to come back and lower your original offer. This could make the seller feel like they’ve lost that money, when in reality, it wasn’t really there to begin with.
Furthermore, the seller wouldn’t be able to make an informed decision as they don’t know what the chain might be. You may sell to a cash buyer, or you may sell to someone who’s got 2, 3 or even more homes underneath in the chain, which would of course affect any final decision that the seller would make.
When you’re in a position where you can move forward, you’re in a much stronger negotiating position, the seller will know exactly what the chain is, and you don’t have to worry about potentially having to renegotiate based on the offer you get for your home.
Thankyou for reading!
