bandrui

Again very good value for money. A lovely house. Not a fan of the oil central heating though and though I really enjoyed my travels through Wales, there was this sense of "gloominess" in the samller towns that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Perhaps due to economic conditions.

bandrui

Would this be the case when we see "Offers in excess of £x" as the price on Rightmove?

bandrui

That is very beautiful Sally, and really tastefully finished in all regards.

Pistolpete2

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...nt/9463155.stm

Pistolpete2

In England and Wales that's just the guide. In Scotland that's the way you do their sealed bids.

bandrui

Fantastic. I've always wanted a library. And that greenhouse... WOW!

bandrui

Now we're talking! Now if I could find that in England for the same price.

Pistolpete2

Rockbeare just east of Exeter, close to the airport, but not too close, and close to Whimple for rail.

Clearly Rockbeare is a desirable locale.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-32308445.html

johnh009

Not sure, maybe they are just trying to establish a minimum price in this case. I am sure when a property is "Under Offer" that other offers can be placed. Isn't that what they call gazumping?

sallysimmons

Yes. It happened to me in the past - it's very common because in the UK system there's no legal commitment until quite late in the process. Here in the US, once you make your offer, you have to put it in writing and pay a deposit. If you back out after that, you lose your deposit. I think that's a better system.

It's also very common in the UK for buyers to back out quite a while after they've placed their offer. Because there's no legal commitment, they are free to do it and it causes all kinds of problems.

And something that's now happening more frequently in the UK is "gazundering" (stupid word!). This is when you offer to buy a property, your offer is accepted and everything proceeds. Then just before you're due to sign contracts, you go back to the vendor and say that you've decided the house isn't worth as much as you thought and you're now only willing to pay X amount. This leaves the vendor having to either accept your lower offer or start looking for a new buyer all over again.

Pistolpete2

Yes, but on the other side of the table that is why the issue of gazumping is looked upon so poorly in the UK. Buyers engage the services of a lawyer and typically a surveyor to check over the property as soon as their offer is accepted. So they are already starting to accumulate buyer costs. The surveyor could uncover issues which mean there is a need for price adjustment or justifiable withdrawal, such as subsidence, serious rising damp, mundic or whatever. The lawyer could uncover right of way or strange title issues which similarly trigger a withdrawal. On the other hand they could have done all of this investigative work and still be prepared to go and the vendor gazumps.

sallysimmons

I agree that it's looked on unfavorably by some and I would never do it. I'm just saying it's very common.

Pistolpete2

Indeed it is very common and I'm thinking that in a thinnish (low sales volume) market as we have right now and where there is no consensus as to where prices are going from one month (or often one week) to the next plus good seasonal weather which puts their property in a better "light" you could see more vendors having second thoughts about that offer they just accepted in terms of price.

johnh009

So a property under offer is not an accepted offer, only potentially.

Pistolpete2

I wouldn't say not an accepted offer because there has been an offer and it has been accepted but offer and acceptance does not mean there is a contract under the laws of contract in this case as there still has to be the actual exchange of the contracts, at which point it then becomes sold subject to contract.

In contract law you have to be clear as to what it is you are actually dealing with therefore with the price offer and acceptance you've tied down the price bit. When you exchange contracts you've ironed out exactly what condition the property is in and what "strings" are or are not attached to the property inside and out.