The viewing apparently went brilliantly.

They loved the kitchen.

Loved the garden.

Loved the road.

Then the estate agent calls.

They've made an offer.

It's the phone call every seller has been waiting for.

Unfortunately, there's quite a large gap between “We'd like to buy your house” and “We are ready to buy your house.”

Before mentally spending the proceeds, find out what's behind the offer.

Have they actually spoken to a mortgage lender?

A buyer needing a mortgage should ideally have a current mortgage agreement in principle.

That's an initial indication from a lender of roughly how much it may be prepared to lend, based on preliminary checks.

It is not a mortgage offer.

The lender still has to examine the buyer's finances properly, assess the property and carry out its valuation.

But compare these two buyers:

Buyer A: “We've got an agreement in principle and our broker has our documents.”

Buyer B: “We're pretty sure we'll be able to borrow enough.”

They're not in quite the same position.

Ask your estate agent what has actually been checked rather than settling for “their finances look fine”.

Where's the deposit coming from?

A buyer may be funding their deposit from savings.

It could be a gift from family.

They may be relying on money from selling another property.

Or they could be buying entirely with cash.

Those are very different situations.

The estate agent will have responsibilities around checking funds, so you don't need to start interrogating prospective buyers about their bank statements yourself.

Instead, ask your agent:

Has proof of funds been checked?

And, importantly:

Does any of that money depend on another property being sold first?

The second answer tells you rather a lot.

Have they appointed a conveyancer?

Someone saying:

“We'll find a solicitor once the offer is accepted”

isn't necessarily a bad buyer.

But someone who has already chosen the person handling their legal work is one step further down the road.

Once instructed, the buyer's conveyancer can start dealing with contracts, searches and questions about the property.

That's when an offer begins turning into an actual transaction.

What's happening behind your buyer?

This can matter enormously.

Your buyer could be:

• a first-time buyer
• renting and therefore chain-free
• a homeowner whose property has already sold
• under offer but waiting for their own sale to progress
• still trying to find a buyer

All five people can genuinely want your house.

They don't all bring the same amount of uncertainty.

If there's a chain, ask your agent to explain it in ordinary English.

How many properties are involved?

Has your buyer actually sold?

How far has their sale progressed?

Is somebody further down the chain still waiting for a buyer?

You don't need to become the detective responsible for six households.

You do need to understand what your own sale depends on.

Watch what happens after the offer

The first few days can tell you something too.

Does the buyer provide identification when requested?

Proof of funds?

Solicitor details?

Mortgage documents?

Do they book the survey?

Does their mortgage application progress?

Nobody buying a house replies instantly to everything. Life continues while conveyancing happens.

But repeated unexplained delays at every small step can become a pattern.

A buyer who gets the paperwork moving is giving you something stronger than enthusiasm.

They're giving you evidence of progress.

Don't confuse progress with certainty

Even a very well-prepared buyer can hit trouble.

The lender's valuation could come in low.

A survey could reveal a problem.

Legal enquiries might uncover something nobody expected.

A property further along the chain could collapse.

And in England, accepting an offer does not normally make the sale legally binding.

That generally happens when contracts are exchanged.

So think of the stages as increasing levels of confidence.

An agreement in principle is better than no mortgage preparation.

A formal mortgage offer is stronger.

A completed survey moves things further.

Legal enquiries being answered is further again.

And exchange is when everybody can finally stop treating the move as merely probable.

The highest offer isn't automatically the best offer

Suppose you receive two offers.

One is £3,000 higher from somebody who hasn't sold their own house, hasn't appointed a conveyancer and still needs to arrange their mortgage.

The other comes from a chain-free buyer with finances checked and legal work ready to start.

Which is better?

There isn't one automatic answer.

£3,000 is still £3,000.

But now you're comparing the whole offer, rather than just the number at the top.

Ask your estate agent for five things:

Mortgage position.
Deposit position.
Conveyancer instructed.
Property-chain position.
Next milestone.

Then keep asking for updates as the sale progresses.

Because “They absolutely love the house” is lovely to hear.

“Their mortgage offer is through and the survey is booked” is considerably nicer.

Property Speak — Translated

Mortgage agreement in principle — An initial indication of how much a lender may be prepared to lend, subject to fuller checks.

Proof of funds — Evidence showing where the buyer's deposit or purchase money is coming from.

Conveyancer — The solicitor or licensed conveyancer handling the legal work involved in buying the property.

Chain-free — A buyer who doesn't need another property sale to complete before they can buy yours.

Exchange of contracts — The point when signed contracts are exchanged and the sale normally becomes legally binding.

If you've sold a Peterborough home before, what made you realise your buyer was serious or that they weren't?

Tell us in the comments.