Is gazumping legal?

Is gazumping legal and can I claim back the £1000 I spent getting a survey done, or am I gonna have to resort to the old tactic of introducing Mr. Vendor to Mr Baseball Bat??

Answer:
It's a yiddish word. Legal but not very nice, although sometimes the purchasers ask for it. There will always be the type who make an offer then sit back and do nothing except save up the deposit. Meanwhile the property goes up 10% or more.
Not in the U.K it aint
It is legal if not very ethical, and theres nothing you can do if you have spent out loads of dosh on surveys etc.. thats the risk you take when you try buying a home
what does the word "gazumping" Mean,

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It was banned here in the UK ages ago (Mid 80's I think)
yes
It's legal in England.
I had to look up what gazumping was. Looks like the ol' ball bat's going to have to come out. Sounds like things aren't finalized until all the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted which takes 10-12 weeks. I know here in America (or Texas at least) the survey isn't ordered until after closing. Nothing is final until your signature is on paper and any money put up is your loss. Sorry :(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gazumping.
My understanding is that it is legal in England and Wales but illegal in Scotland.
In England and Wales a buyer's offer is not legally binding even after acceptance of the offer by the vendor.

When the owner accepts the offer on a property, the buyer will usually not yet have commissioned a building survey nor will the buyer have yet had the opportunity to perform recommended legal checks. So, until written contracts are exchanged either party can pull out at any time.

In the Scotland buyers get their survey done before making a bid to the seller's solicitor so the problem of gazumping is rare there.
In England it is still unfortunately permitted. Immoral undoubtably.
Happened to us 33 years ago and we lost 3 years trying to catch up with the inflation busting price rises til we manged. He is still buried in the back garden
The house is only legally yours, when the contracts are signed.

However, when you have submitted an offer, the seller has accepted it, this is known as a verbal contract. Your estate agents are very bad if they have taken other offers. I know that they want to get the highest commission possible, but a verbal contract should be an almost done deal.

But like I say, you do get some wankers out there. It's terrible when they say they've accepted a higher offer, and you've already forked out. Maybe consider going higher. Unless you think they're lying and just trying to inflate the price.
Sorry, although its unfair I know for a fact its legal, out of order, but legal. You can either gazump the gazumper, or take it on the chin.
Sorry!
Gazumping is legal as long as you've not exchanged contracts yet.
Gazumping is not illegal unfortunately but it is frowned upon in the property business. However, last time I checked, the use of a baseball bat on the vendor in any way other than in a friendly game of baseball is not so legal!!

It's no different to a vendor pulling out of the deal at the last minute, it's legal to do so but extemely annoying when you have spent time and effort on the purchase.
BE CAREFUL since maybe they just want to inflate the price and they are taking advantage of you. Property prices are generally FALLING now and only rising in some areas so do not be intimidated by their selfishness ! Like a used car, threaten to walk away, from the deal, they will reduce the price back down and maybe you can offer less as they wasted your time and emotions with their dishonest nonsense (even though it is technically legal).

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