You might have spotted the term Sold STC (Subject to Contract) on property listings while you\u2019ve been searching on Rightmove. But what exactly does sold subject to contract mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In simple terms, Sold STC means the seller has accepted an offer from a prospective buyer for the property. But the sale isn\u2019t yet legally binding, as the conveyancing process hasn\u2019t yet been completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a property is marked as Sold STC (or SSTC), it\u2019s usually no longer advertised to other potential buyers and has effectively been taken off the market. It shows that the seller plans to complete the sale with the buyer that made the offer. So, while the property is marked \u2018sold\u2019, the change of ownership won\u2019t take place until the conveyancing process has been completed, and legal ownership has transferred over to the buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several steps to complete between the property being marked as Sold STC, and the exchange of contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the buyer, this phase triggers the start of the conveyancing process. The amount of time this takes can vary. Often, it depends on how quickly the solicitors and estate agents can handle the process. But at the moment, this process is taking around five months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under offer and Sold STC are both terms regularly used by estate agents to describe buyer\/seller negotiations, but there are some important differences. Notably, they refer to slightly different phases in the property sales process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this sense, under offer is one step behind Sold STC in the property sales process, as the below overview shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How long does it take for a property to go from under offer to sold? It can vary massively, but at the moment, it takes around 60 days on average for a home to sell in Great Britain, from the time it\u2019s listed on Rightmove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buyers generally prefer that a property is marked as Sold STC as soon as possible to deter other potential buyers from making an offer. While this change typically indicates that the property is no longer being actively advertised, there is nothing stopping another buyer from contacting the estate agent and making a higher offer. This practice is known as gazumping \u2013 when someone offers more for a property that\u2019s already under offer, and the seller accepts it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gazumping can obviously be frustrating for buyers who have had an offer accepted, and it\u2019s actually illegal to gazump in Wales and Scotland. To minimise the risk of this happening, several steps can be taken:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a seller\u2019s perspective, marking a property as Sold STC demonstrates good faith and signals commitment to the current buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said, if a higher offer from an alternative buyer comes in, estate agents are required by law to present these to sellers, bound by their duty to act in the best interest of the seller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it might be tempting to accept a higher offer, it\u2019s worth considering the potential downsides:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A property marked as Sold STC may come back onto the market for several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, the sale isn\u2019t legally binding until the exchange of contracts takes place, leaving room for delays to arise, problems to be uncovered, or changes of heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To reduce the risk that a property sale falls through, buyers and sellers can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might have spotted the term Sold STC (Subject to Contract) on property listings while you\u2019ve been searching on Rightmove. But what exactly does sold subject to contract mean? What is Sold STC? In simple terms, Sold STC means the seller has accepted an offer from a prospective buyer for the property. But the sale […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":1258,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6884","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"author_profile":[]},"yoast_head":"\n