Accepting an offer on a house

Getting an offer on your house is brilliant news. But should you accept the first offer you get? Should the type of buyer matter? And how can you secure the best price? Here’s how to weigh it all up, protect your money and what happens next.

Rebecca Gamble Consumer Journalist

KEY INFORMATION

In summary

• Buyers often start by putting in a lower offer, expecting you to negotiate. Make sure your estate agent negotiates the highest price possible before accepting an offer on a house.
• If you have multiple offers on your house, you may decide to move to sealed bids.
• Consider the buyer’s position. For example, first time and cash buyers are quicker than those in a chain.
• The sale isn’t legally binding until you exchange contracts. Anything could happen e.g. your buyer could reduce their offer and you’re also free to pull out until exchange.
• The process of accepting an offer on a house to completion typically takes 12-16 weeks.

Offers on your house

If you’re getting offers through on your house, congratulations! Accepting an offer on a house means you’ll agree to sell your property to a buyer for an agreed price. This is known as ‘Sold Subject to Contract.’

What to consider when accepting an offer on a house

There are some key questions to ask before you accept an offer.

1. Is the offer the highest you’re likely to achieve?

• Negotiate the best offer: It’s fairly standard for potential buyers to make a lower opening offer and then negotiate upwards on price. So make sure you negotiate the highest price you can before accepting an offer on a house. The good news for you is that as the seller, the estate agent will negotiate on your behalf.
• Make sure you’re happy with the offer: A good estate agent will guide you on how good the final offer is in the current local market. It’s important to take their advice but you have the final decision as to whether you accept it or wait and hope for an offer from another prospective buyer. Bear in mind that estate agents only get their fee when your sale completes so while they might want you to accept the first offer, they do also have a vested interest in recommending the best, most reliable buyer.

2. What’s the buyer’s financial position?

As well as considering how much a buyer offers on your house, a buyer’s financial position is an important factor in deciding whether to accept an offer on a house or not. For example:

• Cash buyers may be able to move faster as they won’t need to apply for a mortgage or be dependent on another sale going through in order to buy your house. Some sellers may accept a lower offer from a cash buyer as a result. Read our guide on Cash buyers.
• First time buyers have the benefit of not having a chain below them, which may speed up the sale. People who have already sold their home and are currently living in rented accommodation are in a similar situation.
• In a chain: If a buyer requires someone to buy their home in order for them to buy yours, this is called being in property chain. It can cause delays and there is also more risk of the sale falling down. But most property transactions are with people in a chain so you’re unlikely to be able to avoid this.
• Accepting an offer from someone who hasn’t sold: In most cases, the least appealing offer you’ll get is from someone who still hasn’t sold their house yet. They may be waiting for an offer or may not have even put their property on the market. This could take some time and you’ll have no option but to wait. If you’re not in a rush, and the buyers are very keen on your house and made a very good offer, you may be happy to wait and for your move to take a little longer.

3. What’s your buyer’s timescale for moving?

Ask about the buyer’s timescale for moving before accepting an offer on a house. For example, if they have already agreed a sale on their home, how far along is this process? If you have a date you want to have moved by, are they likely to be able to fit in with that?

A good legal team is key to a smooth move. Compare conveyancing quotes from regulated and reviewed conveyancing solicitors that cover your area today:

How to decide which offer to accept on your house?

If you receive more than one offer on your house, you have two choices:

• Choose the buyer that has either made the highest offer or who is most likely to be able to complete the sale quickly, such as an offer from a cash buyer.
• Move to sealed bids, which is where potential buyers are invited to submit their offer in a sealed envelope by a particular date and time. No bidder knows how much the other participants have bid. All bids are opened at the same time by the estate agent and the highest bidder is usually the winner. These are usually popular in a “hot” housing market. Read more in our guide on Sealed bids.

How soon should you respond to an offer on a house?

It’s fairly standard to respond to an offer on your house within 24-48 hours, allowing you time to mull the offer over.

To respond, you’ll tell your estate agents your thoughts and tell them to accept or not on your behalf. You may choose to go back with a counter offer.

Process of accepting an offer on a house

1. Tell your estate agent to accept. The buyer may have included conditions in their offer, such as insisting that the property is taken off the market and that no more viewings are conducted. You can discuss whether you’re willing to accept this with your estate agent.
2. You may set your own conditions. For example, accepting subject to their solicitor engaging with your solicitor by the end of the week or them having a survey booked and completed by the end of the month. This ensures the buyer has some skin in the game so they are less likely to pull out. Another commonly requested condition is that the buyer commits to exchange by a certain date.
3. Your estate agent should email you confirmation of your offer, details of the buyer and their conveyancing solicitor’s contact details and any conditions.

What happens after I’ve accepted an offer on my house?

1. Once you have accepted an offer on your house, you need to formally instruct a conveyancing solicitor. Use our free tool to get instant conveyancing quotes from regulated and reviewed conveyancing solicitors that cover your area.
2. To help you choose your conveyancing solicitor for your house sale, read our guide on How to choose a conveyancer/ solicitor. And to get the best service at the best price, make sure you shop around and compare conveyancing quotes — customers who use our quote tool save on average £490.
3. The subsequent steps in the legal process for your sale are set out in our guide The Conveyancing Process Explained for Sellers.
4. You should be prepared for further house visits from the prospective buyer and a visit from their surveyor and possibly their mortgage valuer. Keeping on top of the paperwork will now be key to a quick sale. Dig out all the documents you need to sell a house.
5. Protect your sale. Around 1 in 3 house sales collapse and if this happens, you may be faced with a bill from your conveyancer. However, you can take out Home Sellers Protection Insurance which pays you back for your legal costs if the sale goes wrong, such as if your buyer’s searches turn up something that derails your sale or the mortgage lender’s valuation causes a drop in your buyer’s offer. Find out more in our guide on Home Sellers Protection Insurance.

Can I keep my house on the market after accepting an offer?

Yes, you can keep your house on the market after accepting an offer because the sale isn’t legally binding until you exchange contracts. Although most buyers will make an offer on the condition that the property is removed from the market.

Don’t feel you have to keep your home on the market. One of the joys of having accepted an offer is that you no longer have to keep the house tidy or deal with estate agent appointments.

While people say you shouldn’t plan for failure, there are circumstances in which you may want to keep your house on the market after accepting an offer, just in case it falls through. For example if:

• The buyer has made an offer well below the asking price
• The buyer isn’t proceedable because they haven’t agreed a sale on their existing property
• The buyer is part of a long and complex chain

Can I accept two offers on a house?

If you’ve accepted an offer on your house in England and Wales but you haven’t exchanged contracts yet, you can still accept an offer from another buyer. This is known as gazumping.

What is gazumping?

Gazumping is when a seller accepts an offer from a buyer even though they have already accepted an offer. In most cases, this is because a higher offer has been made but sometimes timing could be an issue. For example, if the buyer is taking too long to have a survey, the seller may decide to reject their offer in favour of one from a buyer who is in a better position to move more quickly.

According to 2024 research by Market Financial Solution, 37% of UK homebuyers have been gazumped – a figure that has grown by 6% in the last two years.

Accepting two offers in a contract race

A different circumstance in which a seller accepts two offers on a house is if there’s a ‘contract race’. This means the seller’s conveyancer sends the contract to both potential buyers and whoever is ready to exchange contracts first buys the house. However, contract races are rare and can cause a significant amount of stress for the buyer and seller.

What is gazundering?

Gazundering is when your buyer lowers their offer at the last minute, usually just before exchange of contracts. If this happens when you’re in a chain, then it could impact your ability to afford the purchase of your home.

You can decide to accept the lower offer, many people do as they feel they’re over a barrel and just want to move. Or you could try to negotiate a middle ground or refuse the offer, knowing this means your sale could fall down.

Gazundering can be devastating to your move.

Can I pull out after accepting an offer on my house?

Yes, you can pull out of a sale after accepting an offer on your house at any point until exchange of contracts. However, if you pull out between exchange of contracts and completion, you’ll almost certainly pay major penalties. Although it’s extremely rare for anyone to pull out after exchange of contracts.

How long does it take from accepting an offer on a house to completion?

It can typically take between 12-16 weeks to get from accepting an offer on a house to completion. But this can vary widely, for example if there’s no mortgage involved it can be quicker. But if there are delays, such as with getting Local authority searches back, or if there’s a bad house survey it can take longer. Read more in our guide to How long does conveyancing take?

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