A property is said to be ‘under offer’ when the seller has provisionally accepted an offer from a buyer. The offer can be for the asking price the seller has advertised the property for, but it is more usual for the offer to be below it. The term ‘under offer’ is also occasionally used to describe a scenario whereby the seller has received an offer on their property, but they haven’t yet decided whether they are going to accept it.
Whichever the case may be, if you are looking to buy a property and you see one that is under offer, it may not be too late to put in your own offer. The thing to remember is that for your offer to stand a chance, it should be worth more than the original offer made by the other party interested in the property. This would mean at least putting in an offer for the asking price. Making an offer for more than the asking price would give you a better chance of success, but you should consider whether that price would be worth paying.
If you are on the selling side of the equation, it is a good idea to know how your estate agent works in this area. Some have contracts that prevent you from accepting other offers after you’ve accepted the first one you like. Think of it as an anti-gazumping condition. If this is the case, you must think it through carefully when viewing offers, because the first one you choose is the one you must stick with. This isn’t something all estate agents will require though.
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