What Is Gazumping? How to Protect Yourself When Buying

Quick answer

Gazumping is when a seller accepts your offer, then accepts a higher offer from someone else before contracts are exchanged. In England and Wales it's legal, because an accepted offer isn't a binding contract. It's frustrating — and it can cost you survey and legal fees — but there are steps that reduce the risk.

How gazumping happens

1. You make an offer and it's accepted.
2. You instruct a solicitor, book a survey and apply for your mortgage.
3. Another buyer offers more, or a buyer who missed out comes back.
4. The seller accepts the higher offer, or asks you to match it.

It's most common in busy markets where homes attract lots of interest.

Gazumping vs gazundering

• Gazumping: the seller swaps to a higher offer.
• Gazundering: the buyer cuts their offer just before exchange.

Both are legal in England and Wales, and both rely on nothing being binding until exchange.

How to reduce your risk

• Ask for the listing to come down. Request that the property is marked Sold STC and viewings stop once your offer is accepted.
• Move quickly. Have your solicitor, survey and mortgage lined up before you offer, so the gap between acceptance and exchange is short.
• Consider a lock-out agreement. A written agreement where the seller agrees not to deal with other buyers for a set period. Ask your solicitor about it.
• Stay in regular contact with the agent, so problems surface early.
• Make an offer you can defend. If your figure is well below the evidence, the seller is more tempted by a higher bid. If it's grounded in comparable sales, a rival offer that's much higher is less likely to stack up with a lender's valuation.

If you've been gazumped

• Ask whether the seller would consider a matched or revised offer — but only within your maximum.
• Don't chase the price upwards without checking the evidence. Overpaying to "win" can cause problems with your mortgage valuation later.
• Keep in touch: gazumping buyers can pull out too.

For agreeing a firm price in the first place, read how to make an offer on a house in the UK.

Know your ceiling before you bid

An Offer Smart report compares the asking price with comparable sold prices and local £/sq ft, so you know the most it makes sense to pay — useful if you're ever asked to match a rival bid.