Beware of Prices that go ...

Beware of Prices that go 'jump' Overnight Pumpkins, scary movies which aren't that scary, fancy dress parties and your door being knocked by little 'monsters' every five minutes.It's coming up to Halloween again and I'm getting in the mood. With two young daughters to boss me around I'll no doubt be off to a party, watching un scary movies and might even be doing the door knocking myself probably dressed as an unconvincing Dracula.But let's get back to the serious business of selling homes.At Benjamin Matthews we never, ever trick our clients and we always treat them really well (see what I did there?).That's why I wanted to use this week's blog to warn you about a housing horror story I heard recently.I've called it The Return of the Ghost Gazumper. And it is a seriously scary story.A seller had agreed a price with a purchaser then a few weeks later raised the price saying they'd received a higher offer from another very interested 'buyer'. This new 'bid' came in after the initial offer had been accepted and the process was very much in motion with surveys having been done, solicitors working on the files etc.This higher offer came in just before exchange of contracts and the prospective buyer was faced with coming up with thousands of pounds more or suffering the agony of losing their ideal home.The trouble was the mystery new 'buyer' didn't even exist. It was a ruse to get more money. Gazumping used to happen a lot in previous years and has marred the reputation of estate agents and indeed property sellers.Thankfully this kind of thing is now very rare but is really, really bad form and we would scare anyone off of trying it. A good agent will not get involved in this sort of phantom offer horror show.Thanks for reading and remember if you have any property questions please don't hesitate to call me on 020 8699 5139 or email: ben@benjamin-matthews.co.ukBen, Pumpkins, scary movies which aren't that scary, fancy dress parties and your door being knocked by little 'monsters' every five minutes.