property

There is no point putting in an offer on a house unless you are very, very sure that you can pay for it. It sounds so obvious: after all, would you book a holiday you had no way of knowing you would be able to afford?
A year ago, you might well have done, but, as in real life so in the realms of property excess, all that nonsense has had to stop. The most important thing you can do is show your seller that you have the money to continue with your purchase. That means having already sold your own property or otherwise being sufficiently liquid, or having a concrete mortgage offer, one your solicitor can confirm.
"A lot of sellers will not make a decision unless there is proof of funds," says Jonathan Cunliffe, of Savills' Truro office. "Someone in a chain is not going to get the same sort of discount as a cash buyer."