When an offer lands on the table, it’s easy to get starry-eyed. A high price. A cash buyer. No chain. It all sounds ideal — until it isn’t.
In today’s market, where confidence is fragile and sentiment can shift week to week, even the best-looking deals can come unstuck.
It is also a buyer’s market in many segments — which means if you reject or lose a committed buyer, those other offers that were on the table a few weeks ago may well have vanished.
Buyers move on. They find other properties. So sellers need to make the right call the first time. And that means digging deeper than just who’s offering the most.
A buyer who appears perfect on paper can still cause problems — and as agents, we’re usually the first to sense when something doesn’t feel right.
Strong offers can start to wobble, while the ones that seemed less exciting on day one turn out to be the most committed and straightforward. That’s where experience counts.
But even the best agents can be blindsided — because the deeper you get into a deal, the more moving parts emerge. Solicitors, surveyors, funding sources, family opinions — they all come into play.
The real skill is in understanding which of those moving parts might derail you before it’s too late.
Will Vaughn
Supplied
Take a recent case in Notting Hill. We had a very strong cash buyer keen to secure a freehold. On paper, it was straightforward. But as the transaction unfolded, it began taking longer than expected for very normal, practical reasons.
In the background, the buyer ran a mortgage application — and because that was approved faster than the rest of the deal was progressing, he decided to use the mortgage to complete rather than his own funds.
Perfectly logical from his side, but it meant the “cash” deal we’d all been working to had quietly morphed into a financed one, with the additional layers of process that entails.
And that’s one of the big myths sellers need to unlearn: cash doesn’t always mean speed. Nor does it mean simplicity.
A buyer may be “cash” in the sense that they’re not taking out a mortgage, but the funds might be tied up in offshore accounts or investments that take time to access.
There could be currency complications, tax implications, or delays with anti-money laundering paperwork. Cash isn’t automatically king — and it’s certainly not automatically quick.
So what should sellers be looking for? The key is to work closely with your agent to interrogate each offer properly — not just in terms of the number on the page, but everything that sits behind it.
How prepared is the buyer?
Have they instructed a solicitor? Are they waiting for a related sale to complete? Do they have their mortgage offer in writing, or just in theory? If it’s a cash offer, your agent should confirm proof of funds and where the money is held. If it’s offshore or not readily available, that’s not necessarily a red flag — but it does need to be factored into timing and complexity.
Are they responsive, clear, and decisive — or slow, reactive, and vague? Are they asking relevant questions, or falling down research rabbit holes that suggest cold feet? Tone matters. Silence matters. We’ve seen enough sales to know what healthy momentum looks like — and when something feels off.
A buyer with a strong solicitor — someone who’s pragmatic, proactive, and commercially minded — is often a better bet than a buyer with a high offer and a legal dinosaur who hasn’t touched residential property in 15 years.
We always ask who’s representing the buyer and whether they’re actually instructed. You’d be surprised how many say yes — and then admit they’re still “just getting quotes.”
What’s driving the move?
A buyer with a genuine need — school deadline, new job, growing family — is far more likely to stay the course than someone who just “likes the feel of the house.” Emotional and logistical investment plays a huge role in how people behave under pressure.
This isn’t a new phenomenon. Good agents have always looked past the numbers to assess the real strength of an offer. But in this climate, it’s more critical than ever.
The wrong choice at the start can cost weeks — or worse, leave you back at square one with fewer options and a market that’s moved on without you.
So if you’re selling now, don’t be dazzled by bold numbers or promises of quick deals. Sit down with your agent and go through the offer in detail — the buyer, the solicitor, the timeline, the tone.
The best buyer isn’t always the loudest or flashiest. They’re the one who shows up, stays steady, and actually gets you to completion.
And when you’re selling your home — not just a property — that’s the buyer who really counts.
Will Vaughan is director at House Collective