How to Deal with Gazundering

In the conveyancing process, there are many factors which can influence a property's value. Naturally, buyers will try to negotiate their offers, so they can get the property of their dreams for a reasonable price.

Whereas negotiating is sometimes valid, other times they can lower their offer last minute, knowing you will accept it just so you don't have to start the selling process anew.

The process of selling a house can be very complicated, no matter what side you're on. Offers can be withdrawn or negotiated and it can take a while for you to find the perfect buyer (or the property of your dreams).

If you're trying to sell and finally feel like it's all getting close to an end, what happens if your buyer suddenly reduces their offer? This is called: gazundering. It is a tactic which buyers use, so that they can buy a property for less. Not wanting to deal with extra costs and time can make sellers feel forced to accept a lower offer.

Both gazundering and gazumping are legal since neither party is legally bound to buy or sell until exchange of contracts takes place. In some cases, gazundering after surveys can happen, but then it is reasonable for a buyer to change their offer, as house surveys can reveal defects to the property.

This might make you feel discouraged about selling your property, but thankfully, there are ways you can protect yourself against it.

Setting a realistic selling price on your property will help you avoid being gazundered. You should always be honest with potential buyers about any problems with the property, as not doing so will entitle them to renegotiate their offers.

If you're unsure of how much to ask for your property, you can always get a market valuation report. This will guide you on setting a price and you can always show the report to potential buyers when enquiries will inevitably be raised.

Setting a time for exchange of contracts, and possibly speeding the process, will help keep all parties focused on the transaction.

If you reduce the time between offer and exchange, the chances of you being gazundered are lowered. During this process, it is essential you communicate with your buyer and answer any enquiries they raise on the property. Being transparent will prevent them from changing their minds or their offers.

Carefully choosing your legal representatives will be extremely beneficial during the selling process. A solicitor or conveyancer with a lot of knowledge about the market will be able to recognize if your buyer's gazundering tactics are fair.

In addition to that, having an experienced party acting in your name will ensure that the selling process is dealt with swiftly. Our experienced panel of solicitors will make sure you're not being gazundered.

The reason why sellers feel forced to accept lower offers is that they don't want to start the process of finding a buyer anew. They fear it may take too long for them to sell their property and they don't want to pay for solicitor's fees if the deal falls through.

However, there are ways around this. Our no sale, no fee conveyancing policy protects sellers in case their sale doesn't get finalised. This ensures that if your buyer tries to use gazundering tactics on you and the deal falls through, you will not be liable to pay for your solicitor's fees.

A solution to this problem is to ask for a non refundable deposit. This way, buyers are committed to moving forward with the transaction and they are less likely to try to lower their offer.

While this will still not legally bind them to complete the purchase, it will help you get a sense of who is serious about buying your property.