How To Make Sure You Are Not Gazundered When Striking A Property Deal

How can I make sure I'm not gazundered?

The practice of gazundering is where a buyer will lower their price just before the exchange of contracts. Before they buy the property, they'll suddenly lower their price, leaving a seller with, perhaps, no choice other than to accept the lower price because they will be out-of-pocket with solicitor's costs and other associated bits and pieces. It's a very frustrating practice and there are very few ways you can stop it. As a seller, the only real way to stop it is to move quickly. What you don't want to do is let the buyer grab the initiative. As long as you keep pushing from the front, you've got a good solicitor, and you answer all the questions quickly, and when you put your property on the market, you need to make sure you have an up-to-date search. Some counselors will take two or three weeks to get a search, so you want those on hand. They're valid for three months, so make sure that's done very quickly. Fill in your fixtures and fittings forms before you put the property on the market so that the moment you agree on a price, all that stuff can be sent over to the buyer's solicitor so that they are not able to get ahead of the game and take the initiative.