Q&A

Should I accept offer that’s conditional?

Q I am selling a house on behalf of my aunt. A buyer has come forward with an offer “subject to mortgage approval and survey”. The agent says we should accept the offer on that basis but isn’t this all a bit uncertain? Is this the usual practice?

A It’s entirely usual for offers to be conditional (and there can be several conditions) but what you should understand is that accepting such an offer does not commit you in any way to going ahead with the sale – in the same way as making the offer does not commit the prospective buyer to going through with the sale. Even if they can get the mortgage, and the survey is perfect, they can still walk away any time up to signing of contracts. These days most agents won’t even entertain an offer from a buyer unless the buyer has assured them that they either have the cash or are mortgage approved.

Do we have to have open viewings?

Q Reading your pages there appears to be a trend towards open viewings. Our house has been on the market for nine months with a trickle of viewings. For each viewing we have to get the house ready etc, so a group viewing would suit better. The agent however says our house is not suitable because it has been on the market too long and it is not the norm in our area.

A Open viewings used to be only for houses going to auction but as auctions are now rare, agents are using them to generate interest for private treaty sales. They tend to be when the house first goes on the market – sometimes only in the first or second week and for less than two hours.

And they appear to be working in that agents in Dublin report that open viewings on Saturdays are attracting sizeable crowds. Whether that translates into actual interest is another matter.

There is another theory that open viewings are ideal for assorted tyre kickers and nosey parkers because they can just wander in and that if someone is genuinely interested in buying they’ll make an appointment.

Open viewings are simply another marketing tool so why not sit down with your agent and discuss the overall sales strategy. The key thing is the price – you will already have dropped the price in the past nine months (and if you haven’t then you probably should have) and it may be time to drop it again in line with new market conditions. Then you could relaunch – another marketing tool – at the reduced price.

Also if you have had viewings, the agent should be able to give you feedback on what the buyers liked and didn’t like about your house – that may give you something to work on. If there is another house relatively close to yours with an open viewing then it might be an idea to have your open viewing on the same day. You don’t say where your house is but if it is in a rural area then an open viewing is unlikely to draw any crowds.

Your questions

Send your queries to Property questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irishtimes.com. This column is a readers’ service and is not intended to replace professional advice.