There are a number of legislative changes that come into force from August 1st 2007 which affect the home selling process. Rightmove is currently in the process of comprehensively updating our website information to ensure our content is as accurate as possible. Please come back soon to see our brand new Selling Guide.
Congratulations. You have accepted an offer on your home. Now, you can start the legal work of passing home ownership on to your buyer.
Accept offer
England & Wales
Once you accept an offer...
- The property can be advertised as "Sold Subject to Contract or Under Offer." This means simply that, barring any higher offers or unforeseen problems with the property, your home is sold.
- At this point, you are not committed to the sale, and may entertain higher bids from other buyers. This is called gazumping.
- Likewise, the buyer is not committed to the sale. If, for any reason, he decides not to go through with the purchase, he can pull out now without penalty.
- If the survey highlights any factors that the buyer thinks should be reflected in the price, he may try to re-negotiate.
See Legal work in England & Wales for more information
Scotland
Once you accept an offer:
- It is legally binding
- Usually, the buyer will have arranged surveys and solicitors before making an offer on the property.
See Legal work in Scotland for more information
Next steps checklist
These are the steps you'll need to go through before moving day.
- Offer accepted
- Review your budget
How much will you net from the sale after all expenses are paid? - Agree to take property off the market
See Negotiations: Parting Advice before taking this step - Agree costs of solicitors in writing
- Go through Conveyancing Process
- Set exchange date
- Set a completion date
- Notify all contacts about your new address. Contacts checklist
- Exchange contracts
- Arrange to drop off keys