“I offer € 215,000!” Do you know that feeling? You are head over heels in love with a house and immediately make an offer. But then it turns out that you have to cancel the purchase due to unforeseen circumstances. Is that possible and what are the consequences? Making an opening bid is a balancing act. It demands a lot from you: analytical skills, patience, stress resistance, and negotiating skills. You can go for it yourself, but if you are not completely sure, a broker is an ideal intermediary.
When is the sale or offer final?
It is tempting to quickly make an offer on a house. Of course, because before you know it, someone else is stealing the loot right in front of you. The principle of bidding first, then thinking (and possibly changing your mind) is not a good idea. After all, an offer is very final and therefore also binding, in other words, before you know it, you have bought a house! Or you can come to an agreement with the seller and sign a preliminary sales agreement or compromise. Sounds nice ‘for now’, right? But nothing is less true. With this agreement, the seller confirms that he will transfer the house to you and that you, the buyer, agree to pay a certain price for this house. So you are both stuck with it. And how solid is solid?
Pay! (or not?)
Saying oops and having a nice laugh isn’t going to help you get rid of it in this case. If you make an offer and the seller accepts it, there is a deal. This means that you actually have to buy the property. If you are lucky, the seller may still agree to cancel the purchase. So be sure to enter into a dialogue with the seller. In reality you commit a breach of contract and the seller can ask for compensation for this . This is often 10% of the purchase price. For that house of € 215,000, that quickly amounts to € 21,500. If things go a little differently, the seller can demand that you actually buy the house through the court.Breach of contract is often equal to 10% of the agreed sales price of the property.
Your options
Rule 1 during your house hunt is simple: keep your wits about you and think carefully! Impulse buying can cause you a lot of drama. If you want to buy a house but you are not quite sure yet and you do not want to run the risk that someone else is ahead of you, you can ask the owner for an option . In that case, the house cannot be sold to anyone else for a certain period of time. If you decide during that time not to buy the house, you are not committed to it. If you are completely sure and want to make a well-considered offer, cover yourself and state the most important things in your offer (such as the duration for which your offer applies, whether you still need to obtain a loan, etc.). You can always contact your lawyer or civil-law notary for this. Then you have a little more certainty that you will not end up with a house on your roof afterwards.
Can I make an offer via message?
Making an offer orally is therefore not recommended. After all, you have no evidence. And that is exactly what you get with a written offer. Is one via SMS, Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger sufficient? You can perfectly come to an agreement on the basis of messages that you exchange via your mobile phone. But if a disagreement arises, that digital evidence is not always sufficient.
