On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 16:12:00 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 14:25:28 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:

On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 14:04:45 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:


Nobody actually said that you you had *accepted* the first offer.
Had you done so, then I agree, it is important to be of your word.
If you hadn't, and wanted to wait for other offers, it would be
completely reasonable to do so, even if they are above your asking
price.

But if I had accepted the first offer, then you agree with me that it
is wrong to then accept a higher offer, yes?

No. I would go back to the first bidder and appraise them of the
situation, inviting them to raise their bid.

Sorry, no can do. That's not how we do things here, I'm afraid. You're
asking me to cheat the first, committed buyer out of his future home,
for heck's sake!


He isn't committed to any degree at all until exchange of contract so
no cheating is involved. I already made the point that he can be
appraised of the situation and invited to rebid. That's perfectly
reasonable. The first potential buyer has the option to push his
solicitor along and get a contract in place pretty quickly, so the
time window can be short.


However, I would have made them aware that I would leave the field
open to other bids until they sign the contract. This is an
encouragement to the purchaser to encourage the agents and parasites
(sorry solicitors) to get a move on.

I don't know why you are so down on solicitors, as they are only doing
a job and not charging a great deal in relation to the value of the
property. Mine will be charging a fixed price (hee hee!) of £300 plus
VAT.

In terms of doing a good job and more to the point, expeditiously,
they do not rank highly at all. The notion of urgency is not in
their vocabulary.




Since we have a system whereby nothing is binding or with penalty
until contracts are exchanged, any bid can be withdrawn up to that
point.

Legally it can. But there are some laws of the jungle that no
legislation can override or excuse. That's why we shake hands on a
deal, or promise to pay the bearer, or agree to buy a property.

You have no idea whether the buyer is genuine in his offer or whether
other circumstances will overtake him and prevent him completing the
offer - even with the best will in the world.
I know somebody who was buying and selling and after they had made an
offer their house burned down.

This is why we have written legal procedures to cover transfer of
property. "Laws of the jungle" in this respect really don't help.
If you feel you want to be very honourable and do deals on a
handshake, that's fine, but it's foolish, because you can't control
all the circumstances on your side and certainly not those of the
other party. It is therefore much better to make the buying and
selling an arm's length arrangement and go no further on commitments
than implied by the legal process. This may sound cold, but it's
honest and everybody knows where they stand. In the long run, people
won't get hurt either.




The vendor also has to consider each bid in the light of what they
understand of the bidder's ability to raise money and complete in the
required timescale.

The vendor must do this *before* accepting the offer. Otherwise it's
no wonder if the buyer then turns out to be a time waster. I believe
there are Ways and Means to establish the bona fides of a genuine
offer.

This is impractical. There can be any number of reasons why a buyer
(even a well intentioned one) pulls out. In a rising market, you
may be able to ask for various credentials. In a falling one, you'll
**** the buyers off. In your current situation, I wouldn't even
think about it.





If you feel otherwise then I would stay out of the property market, or
include a note in the details that you will take the first close
offer. People will be amazed by your naivete and it might help you
make a sale.

People are already aware that I am willing to take a close offer,
because that's what I tell 'em!

Fine. That's entirely reasonable. Their view of "close" may differ to
yours of course.

One offer I had was 20 grand below the asking price. That ain't close!

It might be. That may represent what that person feels is a fair
value for your property. You won't know until you get some
others.

It is possible that the house was put on the market for a way inflated
price by the agents in the first place, on the offchance that a bite
will happen. Have you compared with other nearby properties?


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl