What is Gazumping and How to Avoid it?

Gazumping is when a seller accepts a higher offer from another buyer after accepting a previous one. This usually happens before contracts are exchanged. This is legal in England and Wales because sellers can accept better offers from other buyers without legal consequences, unless they have signed a lockout or exclusivity agreement. Buyers can reduce the risk of gazumping by being proactive, responsive in communication, and using a fast, transparent conveyancing service to reach exchange sooner. 

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What Does Gazumping Mean in England and Wales? 

Gazumping occurs before contracts are exchanged, when sellers accept a higher offer for their property, even after verbally accepting a prior offer. 

Gazumping is legal in England and Wales, but the transaction is not binding until exchange. It’s not like in Scotland, where a verbal acceptance of the offer is considered legally binding. 

Unless contracts have been formally exchanged, sellers are legally allowed to: 

• Accept a better offer from another buyer 

• Withdraw from an existing sale without consequences 

• Change the agreed price from the initial quote 

This puts buyers at risk, especially after they’ve paid for property surveys (£400-£1,400), local searches (£250-£450), mortgage application fees (£1,500, which include arrangement and booking fees), and other legal work. 

Why Does Gazumping Happen? 

There are three reasons why gazumping happens: a higher offer, the transaction taking too long, or the seller not being confident that the buyer can reach completion. 

• Higher offer. Sellers may accept a better offer, or the market conditions allow them to raise the price. 

• Transaction is slow. Delayed surveys, searches, mortgage approvals, etc., increase the risk of the seller reconsidering. 

• Buyer readiness concerns. If the buyer seems financially or legally unable to complete, the seller may choose another buyer. 

What Is The Difference Between Gazumping vs Gazundering? 

Gazumping is when the seller accepts a higher offer from another buyer, while gazundering is when the buyer lowers or withdraws their offer close to completion. 

Both situations are equally frustrating for the buyer and seller, especially since they are legally allowed. After all, property transactions are only legally binding after contracts are exchanged. 

Gazumping can leave the buyer with financial losses if they’ve already paid for property searches, mortgage application fees, and other costs. 

Gazundering, on the other hand, can force the seller to accept the lower offer, especially if the transaction is part of a property chain or if they are under pressure from a tight deadline. 

How Can You Reduce the Risk of Being Gazumped? 

You can ask the seller to sign either a lock-out or an exclusivity agreement to reduce the risk of gazumping. 

A lock-out agreement requires a buyer to pay a fee to secure the property for a set period. The seller is not allowed to accept other offers during this time. 

An exclusivity agreement binds the seller to the buyer and prevents the seller from negotiating with another buyer for a specified period. 

Apart from these two, there’s another way to lower the risk of gazumping. Reduce the time between accepting the offer and exchanging contracts. 

Here are tips to reduce the risk of being gazumped. 

Get legally and financially ready 

Getting ready early reduces the conveyancing timeline and the risk of gazumping. Among the things you can do are: 

• Get a mortgage agreement in principle 

• Instruct a conveyancer right after your offer is accepted 

• Be ready with your proof of funds and ID 

Go through the conveyancing process quickly 

The shorter the conveyancing, the less room there is for gazumping. Use digital onboarding and automated ID verification as well as AI-driven tools that can detect title and legal issues before they slow down the case progress. You can also order local searches immediately. 

Regularly communicate with the seller 

Building trust with sellers decreases the chances of gazumping. Regular communication with sellers keeps them updated on progress. When they know which surveys, mortgage applications, and other legal work are in process, it’s a sign the buyer is serious about reaching completion. 

Avail of Home Buyer Protection Insurance 

A Home Buyer Protection Insurance does not stop gazumping, but it softens the financial blow on buyers by covering conveyancing fees and survey costs. 

This can minimise a buyer’s losses, allowing them to continue looking for another property. 

How Conveyancers Can Help Lower the Risk of Gazumping? 

Conveyancing services should be designed to enable faster exchanges and ensure transparency to reduce the risk of gazumping. 

These can happen through the following solutions: 

Proactive service for faster exchange 

Proactive measures lead to faster exchange like: 

• Early local searches 

• Use of AI-driven risk detection tools for title issues 

• Local conveyancing expertise to identify location-specific risks and nuances 

• Structured case management processes to reduce delays 

Complete transparency 

Transparency allows buyers and sellers to promptly prepare for the next step, keeping the conveyancing process moving. This is possible through the help of: 

• A dedicated team (account manager and conveyancing professional) to provide proactive updates and weekly reports to show: 

• What’s been completed  

• What’s outstanding  

• What happens next  

• A 24/7 online Client Portal that shows milestones, documents, and next steps in real-time 

Staying updated allows buyers to keep track of case progress and be ready with the next set of documents. This minimises delays. 

Predictable costs 

This can help clients be financially ready with conveyancing costs. This is possible through: 

• Transparent fixed legal fees (for standard conveyancing services) 

• Itemised disbursement fees 

• No Move, No Legal Fee guarantee: if the transaction fails through no fault of the client, the quoted legal fees will be waived (except the initial file setup fee and any disbursement fees already paid) 

Although the fixed legal fees and itemised disbursement fees are accurate at the time of quotation, keep in mind that issues could arise along the way, like title issues, additional searches, and new assessments. These incur extra costs. Make sure the conveyancer will immediately inform you of any additional costs to help you prepare financially. 

Conveyancing services designed for speed 

Look for conveyancing services specifically designed for speed. 

For example, Muve Lightspeed is an upgrade service that targets exchange in as little as 5 weeks (for freehold properties) or 8 weeks (for leasehold properties). While this is subject to third-party timelines, Muve has a 75% success rate so far. 

Another conveyancing service, Muve Forward, which targets exchange in 16 to 18 weeks (freehold and leasehold properties, respectively), is designed to speed up the process, achieving an average conveyancing timeline of 8 to 12 weeks (from offer acceptance to exchange). 

Lower the Risk of Gazumping with Muve 

Gazumping, although legal, is frustrating for buyers in England and Wales due to non-recoverable costs, such as property searches and mortgage fees. They can lose an average of £2,000+, which adds to the financial risk of buying a property. 

But with quick conveyancing, you can reduce the risk of gazumping and keep the property you want to buy. Working with Muve will give you speed, transparency, and local conveyancing expertise, helping reduce the risk of losing the property to another buyer. 

Find out more about Muve’s fast, digital-first conveyancing services. Get your conveyancing quote within a minute.