How To Make Sure You Are Not Gazumped When Striking A Property Deal
How can I make sure I'm not gazumped?
Gazumping is the practice where a seller decides they want to accept a price. You then start the buying process--solicitors, surveyors, that sort of thing--and at a later date someone else comes in with a higher offer and they decide they're going to accept the higher offer, leaving you with solicitor's costs and surveyor's cost;. It's a very unwelcome practice. Avoiding gazumping is a very difficult thing. To be honest with you, most transactions in England and Wales take an average of six to eight weeks to go through, which is far too long. It's probably why we get so much gazumping.The way to avoid gazumping, the only sensible way of avoiding gazumping, is to have a very good solicitor. Don't use Auntie Mable's solicitor in Sevenoaks because they're cheap and did the probate valuation. That's not going to work. You need a solicitor who knows what they're doing. Secondly, make sure all your finances are in place, you've got a mortgage agreement in principle, and that the only thing your mortgage company's waiting for is a valuation. Those two things alone: a good solicitor, and a good mortgage broker or mortgage offer already issued, are going to ensure that you're going to buy your property in 2-3 weeks.There are things called “non-refundable deposits,” which we hear mentioned. The acceptance of a non-refundable deposit by a seller tends to guarantee your position, but are you going to want to hand over five or ten thousand pounds, without any recourse, to someone? It's a very unknown practice and I personally would very strongly advise against the use of non-refundable deposits.
