Hello,

I’ve found a place I like and was told that the property was in a previous chain for 4 months which collapsed, hence it’s back on the market.

Which got me wondering… if a chain takes that long to put together there seems to be quite a big risk of being gazumped? Do you reckon it’s practical to get the seller to put up some kind of refundable ‘deposit’ that they only get back if they don’t gazump me? say £5k or £10k?

Cheers,

Mnbv

Well you can always ask.

If I were the seller I’d tell you to “do one” 🙂 Gazumping is a buyers nightmare and a sellers delight.

No

If I was the seller and you asked me that, (after I stopped laughing) I’d probably ask you for the extra £5k-10k to make sure your offer couldn’t be beaten if it was worrying you that much.

yes thought as much – I’ll probably look elsewhere though rather than take the risk.

Cheers

This is only a problem on the other side of the border.

you are buying so why would they give you a deposit?

I will buy your bike if you give me a £200 deposit ….tempted?

I’ll probably look elsewhere though rather than take the risk

Gazumping is just part of the issue with all house purchases in England. The majority of houses are sold in a chain so why is another house any different?

You could maybe get your lawyer to give them a pre-final sale contract, where they agree to take the house off the market and not accept any further offers for it.

Ask for a lock out agreement for an agreed period.

I will buy your bike if you give me a £200 deposit ….tempted?

Yes, if you’re happy for me to use escrow with a solicitor.

You could maybe get your lawyer to give them a pre-final sale contract, where they agree to take the house off the market and not accept any further offers for it.

Ask for a lock out agreement for an agreed period.

I think money has to change hands for a contract to be binding, so these would effectively be gentlemen’s agreements?

Asking a seller to give a buyer a deposit

Did it not sound daft in your head before you typed it out ?

actually not quite so daft.

My agent has a “good buyer & seller bond” program. Each party puts £1-2k into the bond to protect from gazumping and chipping. TBH the size of the bond is less than the likely size of a chip or gazump, but then Im not in a chain, so if my buyer tried to chip they’d get told to F Off and I’d take their cash and relist. TBH for the value of the property in london the bond would need to be closer to £10-20K each, but it’s rare to have parties have that much liquidity.