What you’ll learn
By the end of this step, you should be able to:
- Respond to counter-offers without abandoning an evidence-based limit.
- Confirm the agreed price, inclusions and parties needed for a memorandum of sale.
The decision this lesson prepares you for: How should you handle a counter-offer, and what needs to be confirmed once you agree a price?
Between the first offer and a settled agreement there is usually a short negotiation — and after it, a piece of paper that matters more than it looks: the memorandum of sale. This step is about conceding the right things, nailing down what is included, and converting a verbal 'yes' into an agreed written record that starts the legal process.
Negotiate with more than price
Price is one lever among several: completion-date flexibility, buying speed, included items and certainty all have value to specific sellers. A seller needing a school-year move may take £3,000 less from a buyer who can match their date. Find out (via the agent) what the seller actually wants — it is often cheaper to give than money.
Pin down what is included
Fixtures and fittings disputes are absurdly common. The seller will eventually complete a TA10 fixtures and fittings form listing exactly what stays; at agreement stage, get every promised item — appliances, curtains, sheds, light fittings, the garden bench that sold you the place — recorded in writing with the agent so the TA10 has something to be checked against.
The memorandum of sale
Once terms are agreed, the agent issues a memorandum of sale to both sides and both conveyancers: names, price, property, solicitors, agreed conditions (like off-market status). It is not legally binding — nothing is until exchange — but it is the document that formally starts conveyancing, and errors in it propagate. Check every detail the day it arrives.
Your action list
Practical tips
- Concede slowly and get something each time — a £2,000 rise in exchange for the appliances and a date that suits you is a good trade.
- Keep the agent updated weekly from here on; agents chase chains most energetically for buyers they like.
What can go wrong
- Verbal promises about what stays with the house have a short half-life — if it is not written down now, expect an empty hook where the promise was.
- The memorandum of sale does not secure the property; treating it as a finish line is how buyers relax into the fall-through statistics.
- PropertySquares provides education, not financial or legal advice. Verify current rules and obtain advice for your circumstances before acting.
Check your understanding
Choose an answer to get immediate feedback. This does not affect your saved progress.