One of the questions most frequently asked by house-hunters is: what is the difference between ‘under offer’ and ‘sold subject to contract’?
They have seen both terms applied to properties and assume, reasonably enough, that they must mean different things. In fact, and confusingly, they mean pretty much the same thing. It just depends which estate agent is handling the sale and which form of words they prefer.
Theoretically, a property could be described as ‘under offer’ if an offer had been made on it but rejected by the seller. But most agents would probably not use the term ‘under offer’ in those circumstances. Apart from anything else, the seller would object that it might put off prospective buyers.
So the phrase ‘under offer’ only generally becomes applicable when an offer has been accepted, whether or not at the full asking price, by the owner. Thereafter, the property is deemed to be under offer and legally can be described as such, whether on the estate agent’s board or on websites.
