2024 has started with a bang in terms of property sales. While predictions were for a slow start with interest rate uncertainty putting a brake on mortgages, plus the cold weather affecting viewings, reality is proving the opposite to be true. Serious buyers and sellers are out in force, at least in and around Ripon and Thirsk.
But this optimism is also creeping into over-optimism in some areas, not least the notion of being proceedable when it comes to making a house purchase. While we have seen a higher than expected number of house sales already this year, several other would-be deals have been proposed without someone in the chain being able to progress their purchase due to an unsold house. Naturally, the end result is frustration all round, as four or five people with mortgage agreements or cash in place to buy their dream home wait for the over-optimist to sell their own des-res somewhere down the chain.
In this fast-moving and dynamic housing market, you need to have all your ducks in a row before making that all important offer. Has your buyer got anything to sell? If so, are they actually on the market, or just thinking about it? When they say they’ve sold, who to? Someone who has the wherewithal to complete a purchase, or someone who just likes the idea of buying their house? Have they appointed a solicitor or at least got an estate agent who can confirm their position?
Essentially, being proceedable means having the money, or the promise of the money, to make the purchase, and if that requires a sale, make sure your buyer is ready to proceed. Otherwise any offer you might want to make could sound hollow and run the risk that a vendor might not take you seriously.
