Private Offer Tracker guide · England & Wales
The Private Offer Tracker.
Step by step.
A plain-English walk through the whole process for both vendors and buyers, from the first invitation to an agreed price. The tool proposes no figure and gives no advice. It is a neutral, timestamped record of the offers you both make.
Step 1
The invitation
The vendor starts the process by inviting a buyer to exchange offers.
From their workbench, the vendor invites a buyer who has registered interest in the property. The buyer then receives an email invitation and a message in their FYSH inbox. To begin, the buyer opens the Private Offer Tracker from their workbench menu, or follows the link in the email, where a short summary of the property and the waiting invitation appears.
Think of it as a calm, private room where only the two of you discuss price. You take it in turns, every figure is saved with a time and date, and nothing is public. A buyer takes part in one exchange at a time.
Step 2
Accepting the invitation
The buyer accepts, and the exchange opens.
When ready, the buyer selects Accept and the exchange becomes active straight away. Because the vendor sent the invitation, the first move belongs to the buyer.
There is no cost to accept, and accepting only opens the private room so the two of you can discuss price. An invitation that is never accepted simply lapses on its own.
Step 3
The opening offer
The buyer makes the first offer.
The buyer enters the opening offer as a whole amount in pounds, and may add a short note with any conditions that matter, for example that the offer depends on a survey or a particular completion date.
Before the offer is sent, FYSH checks that the figure looks sensible. If it sits a long way from the asking price, a gentle reminder appears to check a digit has not been missed or added. The figure can be corrected, or sent as it stands if it really is what was meant.
Step 4
The back and forth
You exchange offers in turns until the figures meet.
After the opening offer it is the vendor's turn. They may accept it, or reply with a counter, which is their own suggested figure. Then it is the buyer's turn again. The two figures usually move closer together until they meet. Both sides always see the latest offer on the table and whose turn it is, so there is never any doubt about the next step.
| Move | Who | Example figure |
|---|---|---|
| Opening offer | Buyer | £560,000 |
| Counter | Vendor | £590,000 |
| Counter | Buyer | £572,000 |
| Counter | Vendor | £582,000 |
| Accept | Buyer | £582,000 agreed |
Neither side can make two offers in a row. Waiting for the other to respond is normal and expected. A figure you have not yet sent can still be edited before it goes.
Step 5
Your private limits
Each side can set a private limit that is theirs alone.
The buyer can set a private ceiling, the most they are willing to pay. The vendor can set a private floor, the least they are willing to accept. FYSH keeps each one to itself and shows a quiet reminder as offers get close. These limits are advisory only. They never send an offer for you and never restrict what you can do, and neither party ever sees the other's private figure.
The private limit and the sensible figure check are the only guards in the tool. It never proposes a number and never nudges either side in any direction.
Step 6
Pausing the conversation
Either side can take a short break without losing time.
Sometimes a little time is needed. Either side can pause the exchange for up to 24 hours. An exchange stays open for a window of seven days from the last activity, and every offer resets that clock, so it only runs down when the conversation goes quiet. While a pause is in place the clock stops, so a pause never counts against you, and the conversation picks up exactly where it left off.
Step 7
When several buyers are interested
A popular property stays private for every buyer.
A vendor may hold a separate exchange with each interested buyer. This changes nothing about any single exchange. Each one is entirely private. A buyer never sees another buyer, never sees anyone else's figures, and is never told whether other conversations exist.
When a vendor wishes to settle between several buyers, they may open a best and final round. Every buyer in the round is shown one figure only, the current leading offer, and never who made it. Each buyer then has 48 hours to submit a single best and final offer above that figure, or to stay exactly as they are. The vendor decides once the window closes.
Once sent it cannot be changed or withdrawn, so enter the most you genuinely wish to offer, and it must be higher than the figure shown. The leading figure is the only thing ever revealed, and only during a round.
Step 8
Agreeing and concluding
Either side accepts, then the vendor locks the record.
When an offer on the table suits the other party, they accept it. Either side can be the one to accept. The moment an offer is accepted, the exchange moves to an agreed state and the price is settled.
The vendor then formally concludes the session. This locks the full record so it can never be changed, and the property shows that an offer has been accepted. Both parties receive a confirmation and a link to download a tidy summary of the whole exchange.
Step 9
After agreement
The sale moves into the legal stage and the listing moves along its status ladder.
With a price agreed and the session concluded, the sale moves into the legal stage, known as conveyancing. The buyer instructs a solicitor or licensed conveyancer and shares the summary, which sets out the agreed figure and the history behind it. FYSH is a classified advertising platform, not a conveyancer or legal adviser, so the legal steps are handled by regulated professionals you appoint.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Offer accepted | The vendor has accepted a price and the property is no longer openly for sale. |
| Sold subject to contract | The sale is agreed and progressing through conveyancing, not yet legally complete. |
| Sold | The sale has completed. |
Step 10
If it does not work out
Not every exchange ends in a sale, and that is perfectly normal.
- Either side may step away. Either party can withdraw at any time while the exchange is live.
- One side may simply stop responding. If there is no reply within the window of seven days, the session closes on its own and is marked as expired.
- Both may decide the gap between the figures is too wide, and agree to leave it there.
If an agreed sale later falls through, perhaps a chain breaks or circumstances change, either side can record it and the property simply returns to for sale. The record of the agreed price stays exactly as it was and is not reopened.
The buyers who were interested are told the property is available again, so anyone still keen can enquire afresh, and the vendor may then start a new exchange.
Reference
Quick reference
The words you will meet, in one place.
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Offer | A figure one party proposes. |
| Counter | A figure proposed in reply. |
| Standing offer | The most recent figure on the table, waiting for a reply. |
| Private ceiling | The most a buyer is willing to pay. Seen only by the buyer. |
| Private floor | The least a vendor is willing to accept. Seen only by the vendor. |
| Pause | A short break of up to 24 hours that stops the clock. |
| Best and final | A single, final offer a buyer may submit during a best and final round. It cannot be changed once sent. |
| Leading offer | The one figure shown to every buyer during a best and final round, the highest offer on the table. |
| Accept | Agreeing to the latest figure, which settles the price. |
| Concluded | The point where the price is locked and the record is finalised. |
| Offer accepted | The vendor has accepted an offer. The property is no longer openly for sale, before conveyancing begins. |
| Sold subject to contract | The sale is agreed and progressing through conveyancing, not yet legally complete. |
| Sold | The sale has completed. |
| Expired | A session that closed because there was no reply within seven days. |
| Withdraw | Stepping away from a live exchange, which either party may do at any time. |
This guide is for general information and does not form part of any contract. FYSH does not provide legal advice. Please take independent advice from your solicitor or conveyancer. For role specific detail, see the buyer guide and the vendor guide.