The Scottish system is terrible in areas of high demand.
You get people slamming in insane offers just to scoop places, usually middle age folk using them to rent as a retirement plan.
( Slippery Mick ‏, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 15:46, 2 replies, latest was 10 years ago)

it needs a bit of a reform
in a shop, if they give you an invitation to treat, to say you can buy that sandwich for a fiver, you pick the sandwich up and take it to the till. you offer to buy it. at that point, the shop doesn't wrestle the sandwich off you and sell it to the man behind you for £6. it accepts your offer and completes the transaction.

this simple formula should apply to house transactions: accepting an offer is binding, subject to the buyer complying with timescales etc.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 15:48, Reply)

Who pays £5 for a sarnie?
oh...
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 15:52, Reply)

You can get two for less than a quid in Wilkinson

( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 16:06, Reply)

What's a Wilkinson?
Is it a northern thing?
(Baggenfrock get fucked, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 16:10, Reply)

I'm no economist
but my intuition is that the wild west English system would tend to inflate prices more quickly than the binding Scottish one.
(Baggenfrock get fucked, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 15:54, Reply)

Except in areas of high wealth and high demand.
Where people whack 50 grand on a blind offer just to secure it because they know they're getting it back on inflation and rent.

See that 50 grand? That's not covered by your mortgage. How on earth do you expect a first time buyer to have that and a deposit?
( Slippery Mick ‏, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 15:59, Reply)

How would that be different in the English system?
Except that anyone else can come along at any time up to exchange and put in an even higher offer.
(Baggenfrock get fucked, Wed 1 Oct 2014, 16:04, Reply)