So you have found the perfect family home, or ideal investment, great, time to make an
offer.
Give the agent who is looking after the property a call and get a
Sale and Purchase Agreement
from them. The agent will most likely ask you what price you intend to offer, don't tell them,
if they feel it is too little they will try and talk you out of putting the figure on an
agreement. The reason is they have to present the offer to the vendors once it has been put on
the agreement.
It is best to get it faxed to you then you can put the offer you want on the agreement without
the added pressure of an agent breathing down your neck.
There are some terms on the Sale and Purchase agreement that are worth knowing.
- Price (or Offer) - This is different from the asking price. That is the price the
vendor is looking for. The price in this case is the Price you are willing to pay, ensuring you
have done all your research you should have a good idea what the property is worth to you.
- Deposit - Usually 10% of the price if the sale becomes unconditional. The rest of the
price will be paid at a date specified in the agreement. The deposit is usually refundable
if the agreement remains conditional, however the deposit may become non-refundable if the
sale becomes unconditional.
- Conditions of Sale - These are conditions a Seller can add to an agreement. The sale will
not become unconditional until this conditions are met. Some examples may be: "Subject to
Finance", "Subject to House Sale" etc. These can be anything that needs to be completed before
you can proceed with the sale. The vendor can reject the sale on this conditions if they
see fit.
- Settlement & Possession Dates - This is the date which the remainder of the price is paid
to the vendor and the keys and transfer of ownership takes place on the property. You can
specify a date if you wish or something more open like '10 working days after agreement
becomes unconditional'.
- Chattels - These are items the vendor will sell with the house. These can include
almost anything. Usually items fixed to the house or wired to the house a re usually left,
such as the oven, heat pumps etc, however you can seeking clarification if you are unsure.
Any other items such as dishwashers, fridges, aerials etc should be detailed on the sale
& Purchase agreement.
- Conditional / Unconditional - A conditional offer is what it says. The potential
purchaser has put certain conditions to the purchase. These may be as simple as
"Subject to Finance" or as detailed as the purchaser sees fit. The vendor may reject
any conditional offer for any reason; they may not wish to wait for another property to be
sold, for example.
An Unconditional offer is when all the conditions of a conditional offer have been met or
there are no conditionals stipulated on the agreement and the vendor has to just accept
the price the purchaser is offering.
Now you solicitor gets to earn their money. They will go through all the details of the sale
for you, check title and prepare all the documentation.
All that's left is for you to take possession on the agreed date and hand over the money.
It maybe wise on longer delays between the sale and the possession date to specify a
pre-settlement to ensure the property is in the same state as when you agreed to
purchase it.
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