Sold STC

Subject to contract and under offer a guide for buyers and sellers:

Under offer (UO) or otherwise known as sold subject to contract (STC) are both common phrases used by commercial Estate Agents. Under offer or sold subject to contract means that the owner of a property has accepted a buyer offer but the necessary legal paperwork has not yet been completed. Essentially what this means is that a price has been agreed between the two parties. Under offer, however, is also commonly used by commercial Estate Agents to refer to properties where an offer has been submitted but not yet accepted by the seller.

After a property is regarded as sold STC

Can I put an offer on a property that has been sold subject to contract?

It is possible to put an offer on a property that has been sold STC and also in some cases you can still view the property. Although it is possible to still try to obtain the property the likelihood is low as an informal agreement has already been made. On the other hand, not all hope is lost as research has shown that sales are falling through more than ever with a rise of 12.26% since 2019. Additionally, if you catch the property early on the parties may only be in the beginning stages of drawing up their legal agreements. Notably, the property owner is under no obligation to go through with the seller's offer at this point.

To summarise if you have found a property that is perfect for your needs you can place an offer. For ethical reasons this may be frowned upon however in some instances the new offer is accepted by the buyer, this happens most frequently for financial reasons i.e. if your offer is higher than the original.