What Does Sold Subject to Contract Mean in Uk
Some real estate agents may use “agreed sale” instead of STC sold. Another phrase you can see is “on sale.” This means that an offer has been made but has not yet been accepted and negotiations are still ongoing. However, what happens next in the sale process is essentially the same for the properties offered and in the SSTC. If, before exchanging contracts, another party sabotages your sale and you are outbid, this is called gazumping. However, don`t just assume that money is the reason for gazumping. Sellers may also be attracted to a buyer who can close faster or who is also a cash buyer. A property marked as STC sold (Subject to Contract) means that an offer has been accepted and the real estate agent has withdrawn it from the market – but the contracts have not yet been exchanged. Yes, a real estate STC sold can unfortunately still fail. In addition to third parties making offers that the seller accepts, research and surveys can raise issues with the property that were not obvious before. This could lead the buyer to pull out if it is too serious a problem for them to want to deal with. This period during which a property is sold in accordance with the contract gives both the buyer and seller time to get to a point where both are satisfied with the transaction in progress. For example, if structural issues are detected with the property or the kitchen needs to be updated urgently, the price may need to be lowered so that the buyer feels like they are doing a fair deal.
Otherwise, the seller may need to resolve the issue before the sale in order to sell at the originally agreed price. Sold contractually means that a sale of a property has been agreed, but no formal contract has been signed. The sale is not complete because the final contract making the sale legally binding has not been signed and exchanged. Both parties are always free to change their minds about the transaction. The term “STC sold” means that an offer has been made for the property and has been formally accepted by the seller. The sale of STC means that there is now a preliminary non-legally binding agreement. Although STC sold contains the word “sold”, the sale is not complete because the final contract making the sale legally binding has not been signed and exchanged, and the sale may fail for various reasons, including gazumping. The process required to get the sale to exchange contracts is ongoing and at this point, no money has changed hands. So you are the seller of a property that is now listed as sold in accordance with the contract. What does this mean for you in concrete terms? Yes, unfortunately this is possible because the ability to withdraw from the sale is available to both the buyer and seller at this stage. Gazumping isn`t the only reason a sale can fail.
The STC sold is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Sold STC protects both buyer and seller because it allows them to move from selling to exchanging contracts. It can protect the buyer if potential concerns are raised during the investigation, such as: structural or planning concerns, as the sale phase of the CTS allows the buyer to renegotiate their initial offer or withdraw from the sale altogether. The seller can also opt out if they are concerned that the buyer will have difficulties with the financing or if they feel that the process is taking too long. That`s a good question because the whole scene can seem useless if you can be admired at any time. However, the truth is that the chances of the gazumping actually happening are extremely low and the STC phase sold is actually a win-win sales phase for both parties. As mentioned earlier, SSTC does not exist in Scotland, and once an offer for a house has been accepted, you will no longer be able to see it or make an offer yourself. It is possible to make an offer for a house that will be sold STC.
The property is technically still available, as the contract is still pending. It should be noted that in our real estate auctions, we would normally change the property to Sold (without the contract label).