Gazumping!

[TheOriginalLongsider]

Having been gazumped twice recently, I think its about time we took something good from Scotland and make this unlawful !

[Burt]

You have my sympathy....not gazumped but buyer pulled out Saturday when we were due to exchange contracts Monday this week

Didn't even give us a credible reason, whole chain collapsed, solicitors costs incurred etc.

[dsr]

Having been gazumped twice recently, I think its about time we took something good from Scotland and make this unlawful !

Agreed. There's no sense to the English way that I can see. Fortunately I've never had to move house (except with my parents) so I haven't been affected.

[Hendrickxz]

Flaming nightmare, there needs to be a change in the law as OP said. People just think they can pi** you about how they like. Lost seven weeks selling a property because the guy just strung us along. Gave the impression he could buy the house from his loose change, but when it came to his lo and behold, he actually needed to sell his first. Originally he said he was a "cash buyer". He eventually disappeared into the undergrowth and we never heard another thing.

[UpTheBeehole]

A woman at work has been mega messed about recently, and it's been making her ill with the stress. She accepted quite a low offer as she just wanted this house off her hands, and having been told that everything had been progressing well, learned that the buyer hadn't applied for a mortgage yet and there could be doubt as to whether they'd be given one.

She accepted the low offer because this buyer said there was money waiting and it would be a quick no-chain sale.

[WadingInDeeper]

Too much greed and not enough integrity with some people.

I've never been gazumped, but we once had numerous offers for one house. We just said the first one who met the asking price, when they started wanting to start knocking money off we said no and it went to the next on the list. I couldn't accept an offer, then pull out because a better one comes along, but its always been at the back of my mind that it could happen to me until we've exchanged contracts.

[Darthlaw]

I often wonder how 'creative' the estate agents get with their backstories. So many times I've heard of estate agents claiming buyers have the cash / no chain only for it to turn out otherwise. Worse still, I've heard of buyers coming for a second viewing and claiming that they never said they were cash buyers.

[Overthehill]

[quote="UpTheBeehole"]A woman at work has been mega messed about recently, and it's been making her ill with the stress. She accepted quite a low offer as she just wanted this house off her hands, and having been told that everything had been progressing well, learned that the buyer hadn't applied for a mortgage yet and there could be doubt as to whether they'd be given one.

I know someone who had a similar experience recently, it turned out the buyer was a mate of the estate agent and they knew along the buyer didn't have a mortgage. Eventuality when the buyer did get a mortgage, they then demanded the sale was completed within two weeks.
It all work out OK in the end though, they moved yesterday.

Thinking about this, I must be mad, I just put my house on the market!
Crikey what have I just let myself in for?

[piston broke]

Totally agree anybody accepting a gazump should pay a penalty.

Yet when the very sensible idea for the seller to get one survey, available to all prospective purchasers, was put forward people went nuts. Leaving themselves with the possibility of getting 3 or 4 surveys before obtaining their property.

[fatboy47]

The Scottish system has it's drawbacks, the main one being that anyone with a brain will need to have a credible survey carried out if they intend to lodge a legally binding offer....which effectively means that a couple of dozen surveys may be carried out on the same property for the same date...making it a license to print money for surveyors, who have often been known to merely send a copy of the survey they did for another bidder whilst charging up to a grand for same.

It's also every bit as much of a goldmine for the solicitors handling these so called sealed bids.

I twice circumnavigated the Scottish minefield by making bids for properties with a 3 day acceptance clause.....which took me out of the sealed bid circus.

[KateR]

it is a pretty bad way of dealing with sales and no sense of integrity, obviously where money is concerned most people want the most for what they are selling and obviously a home is the largest outlay for the majority.

In Texas an offer is legally binding so you have to be careful, you can make low offers and sellers must respond and can not talk to anyone else (including agents) In 2013 hubby found a place but I was in the UK, he decided because he is smart to put a very low offer in, hoping to keep it going until I returned 3 weeks later and could see the place, I had seen pictures and liked it. His low offer was very very surprisingly accepted but with a caveat to close the deal within 10 days, he had a survey done and went back and said things needed doing and gave a list with another reduction. They haggled but reduced a nice sum and more than was anticipated for the repair work to fix a few things after a week. Day after that final price agreement the agent contacted our agent and said someone from a previous visit to hubby's had made an offer substantially more than ours and that if it was not closed on the 10 days after the final price agreement then they would go with the new bidder!

The deal was closed the day after I arrived, we exchanged papers and keys and I got to see my new home only after we had bought it, it was also on the day the offer would expire, it was a nervous time wondering whether we would close but not sure how Scotland law compares.

here I agree the law needs to be changed.

[smudge]

We had agreed a price arranged for money to be transferred.
On the day contracts were to be exchanged seller suddenly decided he wanted more.
Cost us another two thousand.
Not nice.

[hampsteadclaret]

I think this thread is as much about gazundering [essentially the buyer lowers the price they will pay, at the last minute, threatening your next already agreed purchase] as it is about gazumping - where the seller asks you for more money at the last minute as he/she may have had a higher offer from some one else [or they TELL you that they have]..a minefield whichever end of it you're at.

It really should be possible to draft legislation, which works fairly and sensibly for most people...oh hang on a minute.