As a resident of Scotland, where an offer to buy a house is binding, I'm just amazed that English (and Welsh?) law allows a seller to pull out at pretty much any time, and that this then leads to these kinds of games.
I know relatively little about the process in Scotland, but I suspect that there is not quite as much difference from E&W as it might appear, other than a difference in vocabulary - in particular, a difference in meaning of "offer to buy" in the different places.
In E&W, there is a point at which there is a binding agreement for the buyer to buy (and for the seller to sell), but this is called "Exchange of Contracts" - which is presumably essentially the same as 'making an offer to buy' in Scotland. However, I presume that, even in Scotland, there is often a period of possible inspections (and maybe potential negotiations?) prior to the (binding) offer to buy being made - and that would seem essentially equivalent to what goes on prior to Exchange of Contracts in E&W.
As far as I can see, the main difference is that in E&W, an "offer" will often/usually have been made at the start of that 'period of possible inspections (and maybe potential negotiations?)' - but that is only an essentially 'informal'
provisional offer ('subject to contract') and, as you imply, is in no way binding on the buyer (or seller). I would suspect that in Scotland, a potential buyer may well have 'expressed an interest in buying' prior to making their (binding offer) and, if so, that would be roughly equivalent to the "making an offer" in E&W.
... or have I totally misunderstood the Scottish system?
Kind Regards, John
