Prior to officially agreeing a sale, it is important that we know exactly what the position of your buyer(s) is, so that there are no nasty surprises at the last minute and time and money is not wasted.
When we register potential buyers, we like to get to know them anyway, as this helps us to better understand where they are coming from and what they are looking for, and what their time frame and buying position is. This helps us to better match them to the right properties.
When you actually receive an offer though, this is when it is really important to better understand and vet the prospective purchaser. It is very easy to get distracted by the amount someone is offering, but it is almost more important to understand the buyers’ expectations in terms of time-frames and ability to live up to their offer.
We often get people telling us that they are a “cash buyer”, but this term is often widely misinterpreted. Some people think that if they don’t have a property to sell (i.e. they are “chain free”) that they are a cash buyer, even if in reality they require a mortgage or are waiting on inheritance money or a work bonus. Some people think that they are cash purchasers because they don’t require a mortgage, which may be the case, but they do have a property to sell (i.e. they will be cash once sold). Some buyers tell us that they have sold their property, which turns out to mean that they have a sale agreed on their property but have only just agreed it and are a long way off being “sold”. Sometimes, they are under offer but their agent hasn’t bothered to check the position of their buyer and it turns out the chain is incomplete or has just not been fully portrayed to the buyer. Clarifying these points is really important and as a standard practice we will always check exactly what the position of your buyer is prior to moving forwards with the sale.
We carry out chain checks where the buyer is selling and ask for proof of funds if they are supposedly cash, and proof of finance, in the form of a mortgage agreement in principle, if they require a mortgage.
We think it is important to discuss timeframes with both sellers and buyers at the beginning of the process to ensure everyone is on the same page. For example, if the buyers funds aren’t due to come through until a specific date, or if we cannot sell the property until probate has come through but the buyer needs it to be sooner for school catchment purposes, it is best to deal with that at the beginning of the process rather than put pressure on both parties further down the line. Dealing with expectations is a big part of our job.
