MM wrote:
My buyer is obviously very keen, as he has already ordered the
surveyor for tomorrow morning 8:30 am!

I intend in the next day or two to view some properties in my selected
area. As one of them has already had considerable interest expressed
in it (allegedly!), would I be being stupid by putting in an offer as
soon as I have seen it? Or should I wait until my buyer's surveyor has
reported back?


In my experience when you find the property you want, you know it pretty
much straight away and there's not much point waiting around when that
happens. You are in no way commited until you exchange contracts, which
will be weeks down the line, though sellers will expect to see your
survey done asap as a measure of seriousness on your part (it's the
first indication they have that you are spending an money).


Does an offer have to be in writing at the first instance or can I
confirm in writing on my return? How will the estate agent of the
target property know that I am genuine? Perhaps I should take along
some relevant photcopies (from my solicitor, for example)?

The agent will probably want it in writing but will take it verbally in
the first instance. But they will already have tried to establish how
good a bet you are if they are any good. If you want to bolster that
with paperwork it can't hurt, but I've found they tend to believe you.

It's a good idea to get a mortgage offer in principle, and some lenders
are much quicker than others. Halifax and Alliance and Leicester get the
surveyer out within a week, I've heard Woolwich can take up to six
weeks, for example, which can make people antsy.

However, it looks like it's turning into a buyer's marker, so perhaps
you should be focusing on your purchaser and worrying less about finding
somewhere - if prices take a tumble then you will see a lot more on the
market all of a sudden.