If your offer has been accepted on a property, you should expect the estate agent to take the property off the market. But you may be wondering when do estate agents take property off market and how long should you wait?
Estate agents should take a property off the market immediately after an offer is accepted and update the Rightmove status to “Under offer sold STC” and update their website within 24 hours. If the estate agent don’t take the property off the market wait to proceed with the purchase until they have.
If this is your first time buying a property as a first time buyer, you will probably benefit from also reading this article “offer on house accepted, now what“. This article includes the 4 main steps to follow after your offer has been accepted, the first of which is to ask for the house to be taken off the market.
How long does it take an agent to take a property off the market?
It should only take an estate agent minutes to take a property off the market once an offer has been accepted. The agent can login to the Rightmove portal to change the status to “Under Offer Sold STC“, which is quick to do. To update their own website should only take minutes to change too.
When should a property be taken off the market?
A property should be taken off the market immediately by the estate agent after an offer has been accepted by the vendor. The only reason why the property isn’t taken off the market is if the seller asks for it to remain on the market or whilst the buyer provides proof they are proceedable.
Will estate agent take house off market?
Most estate agents will take a house off market, but it isn’t up to the agent, and legally they are obliged to continue marketing it until the seller asks for it to be removed. But it is unusual for a property to remain on the market once an offer is accepted.
However, some estate agents will refuse to take the house off the market until you have started the buying process by arranging the survey and you have your mortgage offer. It will be up to you whether you accept this situation, and whether you are happy to risk spending money knowing the property is still being marketed.
But if you are a proceedable buyer, with a mortgage in principle there should be no reason for an estate agent to refuse to take the house off the market. This is especially true if you are a first time buyer or have nothing to sell, as you will be the end of a sales chain in this case.
When will an estate agent take house off the market?
An estate agent will only take a house off the market if you prove you are a proceedable buyer, which means you have a deposit, you are mortgageable (better if you have a mortgage in principle) and you’ve sold your house, have no house to sell or you are a first time buyer.
Steps estate agents should do to take a property off the market
Be sure to check the updated status on Rightmove, check the estate agent’s website, do a drive-by at the property to see if the for sale board has been changed too.
If you are in any doubt, ask a friend or family member to call the agent to enquire about the property. If the estate agent is good to their word, the answer your friend or family member should get is the house is sold.
A more subtle way to do this is to ask your friend or family member to ask about similar properties like yours to see if your property is offered to them by the estate agent.
If your friend or family member are asked if they want to view your property in either scenario, you should call the estate agent immediately to question why this is the case.
Consider withdrawing your offer or ask to arrange another viewing of the property to discuss this with the sellers. The last thing you want to happen is to invest time and money into the buying process, only to find the sellers find another buyer and you get gazumped.
How do you ask a property to be taken off the market?
The best way to ask for a property to be taken off the market is to make it a condition of your offer. When you put your offer forward to the estate agent, ask them to take it off the market so the agent will explain this to the seller when putting the offer forward.
By asking for the property to be taken off the market, you reduce the risk of the property attracting other buyers, which will reduce the risk of being gazumped.
Do you have a right as a buyer to insist the property comes off the market?
You do not have a right as a buyer to insist the property comes off the market until contracts are exchanged. Your only control as a buyer is to tell the estate agent you will not proceed until it is taken off the market or ask to enter into an exclusivity agreement (see below).
However, there is a gentlemen’s agreement that a property is taken off the market once an offer is accepted, which most sellers will agree to.
Paying a deposit to take property off the market
You can pay a pre-contract deposit to take a property off the market, which is worth doing if the sellers are happy to oblige. But instead of paying a pre-contract deposit to the estate agent, it’s much better to enter into a legally binding exclusivity agreement, also known as a lockout agreement.
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When Do Estate Agents Take Property Off Market: How Long It Takes
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been investing in property since purchasing his first commercial property in the 1990's for his own Chartered Accountancy business. But his first property investment project was to turn an old dilapidated restaurant into a large 5-bed home, which he purchased for £117,500 and sold for £450,000 (to see an "after" photo of the house before it was sold see here: About). Russell owns a number of investment properties, which includes houses, flats and HMO's. More recently he has turned his creative side to investing in property using lease options. His largest lease option deal to date was to acquire 12 properties worth over £2 million for just £12, which means he paid just £1 to acquire each property!
