How to make an offer on a home you want to buy as a cash buyer with no mortgage or borrowing required.

For the Google Doc Version you can edit yourself Click Here

Introduction and explanation.

This suggested email template is free for anyone to use, at your own risk and discretion, in part or whole as a base from which to send your offer in on a home (not investment) you have decided you’d like to offer on.

It is intended to give you the best possible chance of having your offer accepted, whether you are the only person offering, or you are one of many people making competing offers.

YOU WILL NEED TO GO THROUGH IT LINE BY LINE, DELETE I/WE OR ME/OUR AS APPROPRIATE AND COMPLETE ALL THE DETAILS SPECIFIC TO YOUR OFFER! 😎

Firstly, are you actually a “Cash Buyer”?

In order to be taken seriously, do not make the mistake some buyers make of referring to themselves as a ‘cash buyer’ when they aren’t yet in a position to proceed.

Being a “cash buyer” to an estate agent or seller means the following things:

1. You have available, cleared funds to the full value of the offer you’re making.
2. There is no time delay in securing possession of the funds
3. They are your funds, not subject to tax or commission or any other ‘handling’ fee that may reduce the amount available.

Example: You ARE a cash buyer if you have your funds in a Bank or Building Society account with little or no withdrawal notice required, or in stocks or shares that are immediately saleable, liquid stocks such as major PLC traded stocks. 

You are NOT (yet) a cash buyer if:

1. You own shares in private company that you need to sell
2. You own another property that you need to sell first which has not yet exchanged
3. Your intended funds are offshore or cannot be cleared by lawyers as of verifiable origin.

The absolute best possible scenario for you as a cash buyer is to already have appointed your conveyancers (compulsory legal representation for your property purchase) who have approved your source of funds as meeting AML (Anti money laundering) requirements, who have verified your identity, and whose contact details can be included in your offer.

What to know before starting

The offer email wording below sounds formal, but it’s not a legal document. It’s intended to lay your position out very clearly, manage expectations and minimise the chances of avoidable fall-throughs. It does not make you legally liable for anything, (except perhaps if the seller agrees to the suggested point in italics where you each agree to cover 50% of the other’s direct costs if either of you withdraw because you changed your mind). 

Remember: Sellers are seeking speed and certainty as well as price. The objective of your offer email is to make your offer the most compelling, most credible and most attractive offer, over and above the financial offer amount itself. You want to show seriousness, preparedness, and above all proceedability.

This email is designed to make agents say “These guys aren’t messing around, they know their stuff!” and give you the best chance of having your offer recommended.

Making your offer by email is preferable than doing it over the phone or in person, for several reasons, including the fact that it makes it easier for the agent to communicate it to the seller without missing out any of the points you are including. 

You do NOT need to explain your offer. No one cares why, they only care how much and what you are offering. No one will be offended, and if they are, they’ll get over it.

The only reason agents ask you to explain your offer amount is because it opens up the opportunity for them to dismantle your price objections and out negotiate you. The only answer you need to give is: “This is the highest amount I’m comfortable paying for that property given my circumstances.”

Agents won’t stop showing you properties if they believe you are a serious buyer, even if your offers are low. Your low offers can be helpful to agents in their efforts to get sellers to reduce unrealistic asking prices.

To be able to use this template, you will need:

1. Proof of funds, either a screenshot of your balance of funds, or confirmation from a professional such as an accountant or financial advisor who can confirm you have “sufficient available funds to proceed with this purchase.” If you have provided source of funds information to your conveyancers, they may also be able to help you with ‘proof of funds’.
2. Already selected a conveyancing firm (you can talk to my award-winning conveyancing partners here: https://mhwc.co.uk/conveyancing 
3. Have your Property Search Pack ready to purchase. As a cash buyer (with no borrowing required), “Property Search Packs” are optional, but it makes sense to get one. Lenders require them to check there are no serious problems that would affect the property’s future value. When spending a large sum of your money on a property, you need to know if there are problems before buying.If you do decide to buy a search pack (which I recommend)  you should include in your offer that you are ready to order it immediately if your offer is accepted. (you can do so here https://mhwc.co.uk/property-pack ) 
4. Made up your mind that you are happy to proceed if your offer is accepted. (Many people have their offers accepted then find they don’t want to proceed anyway). Are you certain this is the home you want to buy and live in? Good agents will sense uncertainty and may not recommend your offer if they think you’re unsure.
5. Taken care to determine your personal maximum offer amount for the particular property, taking into account any maintenance and repair costs that may be necessary. Unless you are an experienced construction specialist yourself, always get a structural survey done (or a ‘snagging report’ on new builds).

The Suggested Email Template:

Here’s the Email, intended for use by Cash buyers buying a home. You can copy and paste it from this page, or you can open the public Google Doc version, and copy and paste from there.

(You do NOT need to request permission to share it, you can just click “File > Make a Copy” to open your own version of it which you can then personalise).

Subject Line: (First and Final) Offer for the x-bed flat/house on [insert full property address inc flat no, street number and postcode]

Dear [Agent name],

Subject to Survey and Contract.

Firstly, please acknowledge receipt of this offer by return. 

Please also confirm when you have communicated it to the property owner.

I/we would like to make an offer to purchase the above property. If the offer is accepted, I/we can proceed with the transaction immediately. 

I/we will book the survey and order the property search pack on day one, to help shorten the transaction time.

Please find attached:

1. [Document/screenshot/email] confirming the source of my/our funds.
2. The name and contact details of the Conveyancing firm who I/we have instructed to represent me in this purchase, who have already approved my/our source of funds.

Please find the details (and conditions) of my/our offer below:

Offer Amount: £xxx,xxx, subject to survey and contract.

This is my/our only offer. It is not an ‘opening bid’. I am /We are serious about my/our intention to purchase this property, so we have bid the maximum comfortable amount for the circumstances and in the prevailing market conditions. If this amount is not acceptable, I/we will respectfully discontinue my/our interest in this property and continue my/our search elsewhere. I/We hope this saves both parties any wasted time.

Requested Timeline for a response: [7/14/28 days as appropriate to your circumstances]. If I/we have not had a decision by the close of business on [insert date], then the offer will be automatically withdrawn. This is to allow me/us to continue our search for a home and be able to make other offers without being unreasonably delayed by third parties.

I/We will undertake not to make an offer on any other home during this time, although I/we may continue viewing other homes unless we receive an acceptance of the offer. Please assume I/we will be continuing our search elsewhere until I/we have had positive confirmation of this offer being accepted.

I/We reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time (until acceptance as described below) in the event I/we wish to make an offer on another home elsewhere without delay.

Target exchange date:

In the event the seller fails to be ready to exchange contracts for any reason by [insert reasonable cutoff date, typically 6 months from offer acceptance] we may begin searching for alternative homes as a backup in the event this transaction fails.

[Suggested request, entirely optional:

If the seller withdraws from the transaction through a change of heart or circumstances, after our transaction costs have started to be incurred, we would request their agreement in advance that they would cover 50% of our direct transaction costs (invoices provided), eg conveyancing, any surveys, as a sign of their equal commitment to the transaction. 

This may not be a deal-breaker, but would need to know of any reason why they wouldn’t want to agree to this.

We would be willing to offer the same in return: In the event we withdraw from the transaction through a change of heart (as opposed to circumstances beyond our control, eg lender refusal, poor survey results, or the seller not meeting the agreed target exchange date) then we would be willing to cover 50% of the seller’s professional costs directly incurred as a result of this failed transaction.]

I/We will only cease viewing other homes when the Memorandum of Sale has been issued for this transaction.

I/We hope the owner of the property finds our offer acceptable, [in particular our wish that both parties show equal commitment to the transaction].

IWe look forward to your immediate acknowledgment of our offer by return, and subsequent confirmation that it has been communicated in full to the owner.

Best wishes.

[Your name/s]

Email ends.

Remember, double check you have been through every line, deleted I/We and me/us, my/our as appropriate and filled out:

1. The full property address in the subject line
2. The offer amount
3. How long you are prepared to wait for an answer (7, 14 or 28 days)
4. The precise target exchange dates as appropriate
5. Anything else you need to that I have forgotten to mention!

What you send is down to you. I only hope this suggested template was helpful. 

Good luck! 

Charlie Lamdin  – 11 June 2024