There are many ways to buy a property, such as shared ownership, rent to buy or help to buy. But when you’ve got a property to sell, the usual method is to hire the services of an estate agent, put your property on the market and then wait for an offer.
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But should you accept the first offer you get? If it’s a low offer, you might be tempted to hold out for a better one. At the other end of the scale, maybe you’re in the fortuitous position of being in receipt of a whole bundle of offers. If that’s the case, should you go for the highest offer? Not necessarily!
There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when deciding whether to refuse or accept an offer on your property and I’ll have a look at them below.
How long has your property been on the market?
If your property’s been on the market for ages without a sniff of interest, then no one would blame you for breathing a huge sigh of relief and saying yes to the first offer you receive. (Saying that though, if your property’s been on the market for ages without a sniff of interest there’s obviously issues with it that need to be looked into and addressed.)
But if your property has only just gone on the market, unless you’ve been made an amazing offer, it might be worth holding on to see what else turns up. Don’t hold out for too long though – the early days of a property going on the market always get the most attention, so waiting longer won’t necessarily mean a better offer will come along.
The financial position of the buyer
If you received an offer on your property but it’s lower than you were hoping for, the financial position of the buyer might swing things in their favour.
For example, if they’re a cash buyer who doesn’t need a mortgage, their offer is solid as your property won’t need to meet the approval of their mortgage company’s surveyor.
Even a buyer who has a mortgage in principle can come unstuck if the computer says no after the surveyor’s been around.
The general position of the buyer
Leading on from the financial position of the buyer, those mortgage-beholden buyers won’t be as quick to complete as a cash buyer. Like everything with the house buying and selling process, finalising a mortgage can take time and, as anyone who’s ever bought or sold a property before knows, the fewer boxes that need to be ticked the better for a smooth sale.
It’s not just mortgages that hold things up though, so if you’re looking for a quick sale, find out the position of your buyer with regard to whether they’re in a chain, looking for a quick sale themselves and whether they’re flexible with exchange/completion date.
Another factor you might want to take into consideration is how interested they seemed when they viewed your property and made an offer. Personality shouldn’t come into a business transaction but it is possible to tell if someone’s genuine or not and whether they’re likely to help things move along quickly so they don’t miss out on their dream home or whether they’ll dither and/or be demanding throughout the whole thing.
As you can see from the above, the highest offer may not necessarily be the best one. Whether you refuse or accept an offer on your property should be based on more than just the offer that’s made. Weigh up the offer with the financial and current situation of the purchaser and see if it matches your needs.
Remember, you can always refuse an offer and ask them to negotiate but don’t get so greedy you end up with no offers at all.