So far I have found out:

In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.

"Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a lease.

But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally this
should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
"lessee"). But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)

On 27/11/2023 01:07, Stefan Ram wrote:
> So far I have found out:
>
> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>
> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a lease.
>
> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally this
> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
> "lessee"). But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)
>
>

My rather dated experience is that if UK Estate Agencies want to brag
about having just let out a property, they do not replace the existing
'To Let' sign. They just place an additional piece of cardboard on top
of the sign ('Let By') showing the property has already been let. (Some
leave these signs for so long after the event that some owners uproot
the post and put it out of sight.)

This page suggests that a very small minority of agencies abbreviate 'To
Let' to 'Let'. Not much of an abbreviation. (I can see only one example.)

https://tinyurl.com/mvaxm7kj

In article <Let-20231127010433@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de says...
>
> So far I have found out:
>
> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>
> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a lease.
>
> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally this
> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
> "lessee").

Tenant, not lessee.

But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)

"Let" means "It's been let." The name of the agency
will be on the same sign.

It's an advert exhibiting the successful work done by
that letting agency.

Janet

On 27 Nov 2023, Janet wrote

> In article <Let-20231127010433@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
> ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de says...
>>
>> So far I have found out:
>>
>> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>>
>> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a
lease.
>>
>> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally
this
>> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
>> "lessee").
>
> Tenant, not lessee.
>
>
> But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
>> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)
>
> "Let" means "It's been let." The name of the agency
> will be on the same sign.
>
> It's an advert exhibiting the successful work done by
> that letting agency.

It goes with "SOLD" (in VERY LARGE LETTERS), with "subject to
contract" or "stc" (in very small letters).

--
Cheers, Harvey

On Mon, 27 Nov 2023 13:12:17 GMT, HVS <office@REMOVETHISwhhvs.co.uk>
wrote:

>On 27 Nov 2023, Janet wrote
>
>> In article <Let-20231127010433@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
>> ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de says...
>>>
>>> So far I have found out:
>>>
>>> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>>>
>>> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a
>lease.
>>>
>>> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally
>this
>>> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
>>> "lessee").
>>
>> Tenant, not lessee.
>>
>>
>> But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
>>> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)
>>
>> "Let" means "It's been let." The name of the agency
>> will be on the same sign.
>>
>> It's an advert exhibiting the successful work done by
>> that letting agency.
>
>It goes with "SOLD" (in VERY LARGE LETTERS), with "subject to
>contract" or "stc" (in very small letters).

In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer has
been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.

--

Tony Cooper - Orlando,Florida

Le 27/11/2023 à 14:37, TonyCooper a écrit :
>
> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer has
> been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.

Often "Under offer" hereabouts.

On 27-Nov-23 15:10, Hibou wrote:
> Le 27/11/2023 à 14:37, TonyCooper a écrit :
>>
>> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer has
>> been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.
>
> Often "Under offer" hereabouts.

AIUI, property sales in the UK (some parts of - Scotland as ever is
different) take much longer to process than the norm in most parts of
the US. Therefore that sign which is an advert for the Estate Agent,
can stay up there for a really long time.

--
Sam Plusnet

TonyCooper asserted that:
> On Mon, 27 Nov 2023 13:12:17 GMT, HVS <office@REMOVETHISwhhvs.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> On 27 Nov 2023, Janet wrote
>>
>>> In article <Let-20231127010433@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
>>> ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de says...
>>>>
>>>> So far I have found out:
>>>>
>>>> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>>>>
>>>> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a lease.
>>>>
>>>> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally this
>>>> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
>>>> "lessee").
>>>
>>> Tenant, not lessee.
>>>
>>>
>>> But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
>>>> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)
>>>
>>> "Let" means "It's been let." The name of the agency
>>> will be on the same sign.
>>>
>>> It's an advert exhibiting the successful work done by
>>> that letting agency.
>>
>> It goes with "SOLD" (in VERY LARGE LETTERS), with "subject to
>> contract" or "stc" (in very small letters).
>
> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer has
> been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.

Over on my side, we seem to see "SOLD" on signs, and "offer pending" in
searches.

/dps "bigger letters"

--
"It wasn't just a splash in the pan"
-- lectricbikes.com

Sam Plusnet pounded on thar keyboard to tell us
> On 27-Nov-23 15:10, Hibou wrote:
>> Le 27/11/2023 à 14:37, TonyCooper a écrit :
>>>
>>> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer has
>>> been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.
>>
>> Often "Under offer" hereabouts.
>
> AIUI, property sales in the UK (some parts of - Scotland as ever is
> different) take much longer to process than the norm in most parts of the US.
> Therefore that sign which is an advert for the Estate Agent, can stay up
> there for a really long time.

The norm seems to be a 30-day escrow for most house sales. The 30 days
include the time spent by a title company verifying the property
description and that the seller has a clear-enough grip on the title to
be entitled to sell.

[Fine print, of course, is that the title may be held by a finance
company, until the loan is paid off, which is usually by the sale
proceeds on closing day. Other titles may be in the seller's hands
already, but with a lien on the property which is paid off btspocd.]

/dps "s/b pobtspocd, of course, a la JKM"

My understanding, weak as it is, is that large commercial properties
take longer.

--
"It wasn't just a splash in the pan"
-- lectricbikes.com

On 27 Nov 2023, Sam Plusnet wrote

> On 27-Nov-23 15:10, Hibou wrote:
>> Le 27/11/2023 à 14:37, TonyCooper a écrit :
>>>
>>> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer
>>> has been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.
>>
>> Often "Under offer" hereabouts.
>
> AIUI, property sales in the UK (some parts of - Scotland as ever
> is different) take much longer to process than the norm in most
> parts of the US.

The biggest difference between the house I bought in Canada and the
(counts on fingers) five I've bought in England is that accepting an
offer under the English system is completely non-binding on either
party. The buyer doesn't put down any deposit when an offer is
accepted, and there is no penalty if either party backs out before a
contract is signed.

The "subject to contract" period between having an offer accepted and
signing a binding contract takes at least a few weeks -- I don't
think that six to eight weeks is unusual -- during which time the
buyer arranges a mortgage (assuming it's not a cash sale) and
commissions any necessary surveys (a formal valuation, structural
survey, flood-risk if appropriate).

There's still no penalty for either party backing out, though: if the
seller decides to pull out -- say to accept a better offer -- the
buyer is out of pocket for the (sometimes substantial) cost of the
surveys that they've paid for. Similarly, if the buyer pulls out for
no reason, the seller doesn't have any claim against the buyer for
their costs (lost opportunity of taking the property off the market
for a month or two, or the costs of surveys for their next house if
that purchase collapses when their buyer pulls out).

Frankly, it's a crazy system -- the buyer should have to put down a
deposit of a few thousand pounds which is forfeited if they pull out
without a valid reason (like failing to secure financing), and there
should be some sort of liability to cover the survey costs if the
seller pulls out for a similar non-valid reason.

But there ya' go; that's how the system operates.

--
Cheers, Harvey

On Tue, 28 Nov 2023 02:18:39 -0800, Snidely <snidely.too@gmail.com>
wrote:

>TonyCooper asserted that:
>> On Mon, 27 Nov 2023 13:12:17 GMT, HVS <office@REMOVETHISwhhvs.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 27 Nov 2023, Janet wrote
>>>
>>>> In article <Let-20231127010433@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
>>>> ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de says...
>>>>>
>>>>> So far I have found out:
>>>>>
>>>>> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a lease.
>>>>>
>>>>> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally this
>>>>> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
>>>>> "lessee").
>>>>
>>>> Tenant, not lessee.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
>>>>> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)
>>>>
>>>> "Let" means "It's been let." The name of the agency
>>>> will be on the same sign.
>>>>
>>>> It's an advert exhibiting the successful work done by
>>>> that letting agency.
>>>
>>> It goes with "SOLD" (in VERY LARGE LETTERS), with "subject to
>>> contract" or "stc" (in very small letters).
>>
>> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer has
>> been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.
>
>Over on my side, we seem to see "SOLD" on signs, and "offer pending" in
>searches.
>
>/dps "bigger letters"

The real estate agent wants that sign to remain in place as long as
possible. It's free advertising for the agent and the agent's firm.
It's an ad to other residents of the neighborhood that "I can sell
your house".

That's why the signs with "Offer Pending" and "Sold" sign added remain
in place.

--

Tony Cooper - Orlando,Florida

HVS wrote:

> The biggest difference between the house I bought in Canada and the
> (counts on fingers) five I've bought in England is that accepting an
> offer under the English system is completely non-binding on either
> party. The buyer doesn't put down any deposit when an offer is
> accepted, and there is no penalty if either party backs out before a
> contract is signed.

In Denmark you don't put down any deposit either. A normal agreement is
binding with an oral accept, but bying of property has its own rules.
Only the signature on the "closing document" is binding. The seller
can't pull out. The buyer has 6 days where he can pull out at the cost
of 1% of the price - $3000 for a typical house. The closing document
usually contains reservations - buyer's lawyer must approve and the bank
must accept to provide the loan.

If buyer doesn't pull out, the 'real' contract is set up and signed.

Today many houses, though, are sold without a lawyer taking part. The
estate agents claim that they can handle the papers. Some people don't
even involve an estate agent.

I can see in my documents that it took 2.5 months from I signed the
final contract till I actually moved in.

> The "subject to contract" period between having an offer accepted and
> signing a binding contract takes at least a few weeks -- I don't
> think that six to eight weeks is unusual -- during which time the
> buyer arranges a mortgage (assuming it's not a cash sale) and
> commissions any necessary surveys (a formal valuation, structural
> survey, flood-risk if appropriate).

All cases in Denmark are cash sales in the sense that the seller gets
all the money at once. 30 years ago it was common for the seller to take
a mortgage in the house sold (a 'private' mortgage) and accept some real
estate loans to be paid down to him.

--
Bertel, Denmark

In article <XnsB0CA8F4AE6948whhvans@135.181.20.170>,
HVS <office@REMOVETHISwhhvs.co.uk> wrote:
> On 27 Nov 2023, Sam Plusnet wrote

> > On 27-Nov-23 15:10, Hibou wrote:
> >> Le 27/11/2023 à 14:37, TonyCooper a écrit :
> >>>
> >>> In this area, the sign would read "Offer Pending" when the offer
> >>> has been accepted subject to contingencies such as financing.
> >>
> >> Often "Under offer" hereabouts.
> >
> > AIUI, property sales in the UK (some parts of - Scotland as ever
> > is different) take much longer to process than the norm in most
> > parts of the US.

> The biggest difference between the house I bought in Canada and the
> (counts on fingers) five I've bought in England is that accepting an
> offer under the English system is completely non-binding on either
> party. The buyer doesn't put down any deposit when an offer is
> accepted, and there is no penalty if either party backs out before a

An Englishman's word is his bond - except when buying or selling a house

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

In article <mn.e0917e7ba2985f5a.127094@snitoo>,
Snidely <snidely.too@gmail.com> wrote:

>The norm seems to be a 30-day escrow for most house sales. The 30 days
>include the time spent by a title company verifying the property
>description and that the seller has a clear-enough grip on the title to
>be entitled to sell.

The practice here is that a "binding offer to purchase" is made with a
cash deposit and evidence of adequate financing. The offer is made
subject to contingencies (inspection, appraisal, and clear title),
although with the housing shortage I hear that buyers often waive
these (or offer cash) in order to make their offer more attractive.
Attorneys will search the registry of deeds to ensure that all
outstanding liens are identified and can be released at closing, and
if the purchaser is taking out a mortgage, the lender will insist on a
title insurance policy, which is written by a specialized firm.
(Unfortunately we don't have Torrens title in the US.[1])

The home inspector will usually find some minor things wrong, to make
the buyer feel like they've got their money's worth, and the seller
will be given the option of fixing the problems or accepting the
inspector's cost estimate as an offset against the purchase price.
Once the appraisal is in and approved by the lender, the parties will
schedule a closing, where they "pass papers" and ultimately execute a
new deed, which is subsequently filed in the registry along with the
release of seller's liens and the buyer's mortgage. The whole process
can take three to four months.

When I bought my condo, there was a snag in the sellers' title (they
had an outstanding lien which had been paid off but the lienholder
failed to file a release, requiring a month of additional work on the
part of the lawyers to track down the lienholder's lawyers and get the
paperwork filed) and I ended up having to execute a tenancy agreement
with them for a month before we could actually schedule the closing.

For different types of properties, there can be other kinds of
contingencies and mandatory inspections -- for example: a property
with a septic system may have to have it cleaned, inspected, and
repaired before sale; in many places there are mandatory fire-code
inspections; in condo and coop situations, the trustees may have a
right of first refusal that must be cleared.

-GAWollman

[1] The people who would lose out are the same groups -- lawyers,
real-estate agents, and insurance agents -- who tend to dominate local
politics.
--
Garrett A. Wollman | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
wollman@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future. This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers. | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)

In article <p50cmitm6cqijqkvjas571jn95rbj75kok@4ax.com>,
TonyCooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>The real estate agent wants that sign to remain in place as long as
>possible. It's free advertising for the agent and the agent's firm.
>It's an ad to other residents of the neighborhood that "I can sell
>your house".
>
>That's why the signs with "Offer Pending" and "Sold" sign added remain
>in place.

Also why some HOAs prohibit the signs in the first place.

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
wollman@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future. This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers. | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)

On Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:56:56 -0000 (UTC), wollman@bimajority.org
(Garrett Wollman) wrote:

>In article <mn.e0917e7ba2985f5a.127094@snitoo>,
>Snidely <snidely.too@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>The norm seems to be a 30-day escrow for most house sales. The 30 days
>>include the time spent by a title company verifying the property
>>description and that the seller has a clear-enough grip on the title to
>>be entitled to sell.
>
>The practice here is that a "binding offer to purchase" is made with a
>cash deposit and evidence of adequate financing. The offer is made
>subject to contingencies (inspection, appraisal, and clear title),
>although with the housing shortage I hear that buyers often waive
>these (or offer cash) in order to make their offer more attractive.
>Attorneys will search the registry of deeds to ensure that all
>outstanding liens are identified and can be released at closing, and
>if the purchaser is taking out a mortgage, the lender will insist on a
>title insurance policy, which is written by a specialized firm.
>(Unfortunately we don't have Torrens title in the US.[1])
>
>The home inspector will usually find some minor things wrong, to make
>the buyer feel like they've got their money's worth, and the seller
>will be given the option of fixing the problems or accepting the
>inspector's cost estimate as an offset against the purchase price.
>Once the appraisal is in and approved by the lender, the parties will
>schedule a closing, where they "pass papers" and ultimately execute a
>new deed, which is subsequently filed in the registry along with the
>release of seller's liens and the buyer's mortgage. The whole process
>can take three to four months.
>
>When I bought my condo, there was a snag in the sellers' title (they
>had an outstanding lien which had been paid off but the lienholder
>failed to file a release, requiring a month of additional work on the
>part of the lawyers to track down the lienholder's lawyers and get the
>paperwork filed) and I ended up having to execute a tenancy agreement
>with them for a month before we could actually schedule the closing.
>
>For different types of properties, there can be other kinds of
>contingencies and mandatory inspections -- for example: a property
>with a septic system may have to have it cleaned, inspected, and
>repaired before sale; in many places there are mandatory fire-code
>inspections; in condo and coop situations, the trustees may have a
>right of first refusal that must be cleared.
>
>-GAWollman
>
>[1] The people who would lose out are the same groups -- lawyers,
>real-estate agents, and insurance agents -- who tend to dominate local
>politics.

When we purchased our first house (in Illinois), we were not allowed
to enter the house until after the closing. It was new construction
and bought after viewing the "model".

When we bought our second house, here in Florida, it was also new
construction. We'd put up a deposit on a visit to Florida, but didn't
arrange financing until we actually moved to Florida. The builder
allowed us to move in anyway. We lived there for almost a month
before closing.

--

Tony Cooper - Orlando,Florida

On 00:07 27 Nov 2023, Stefan Ram said:
>
> So far I have found out:
>
> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>
> "Let agreed" means that there is a preliminary agreement on a lease.
>
> But there also seem to be some signs with just "Let". Literally this
> should mean that the house was rented (there is a contract with a
> "lessee"). But I am missing a confirmation of this guess of mine!
> ("Let" could also be a strange way to abbreviate "To Let" ...)

Other than the initial "For Sale" sign, the purpose of these boards is onlt
to advertise the estate agent. To this end, the message on the board can be
misleading (eg "Sold") or just nonsense. The main thing, from the estate
agent's point of view, is that the board makes some claim which justifies
it remaining there.

On 27/11/23 11:07, Stefan Ram wrote:

> In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.

Meanwhile, adolescents cannot resist putting an 'i' between the two word.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

On 01/12/2023 04:19, Peter Moylan wrote:
> On 27/11/23 11:07, Stefan Ram wrote:
>
>>    In London, a "To let" sign on a house means it's for rent.
>
> Meanwhile, adolescents cannot resist putting an 'i' between the two word.
>

<smile> As one adolescent to another, you got there before me </smile>