Differences between US & UK real estate transactions

[mrsukyankee]

Because it's SO VERY DIFFERENT, I thought I'd share this link to a Quora explanation. 

The main big one is that even after putting in an offer, it does not mean that the house is officially sold to you. It's not official until about 2-3 months later when, after doing all the lawyer searches and inspections and the like, all the paperwork is done and you exchange keys/pay money. In the middle of all of this, either the buyer or seller can pull out, or the buyer can demand to pay less, or another buyer can come in and make a different offer which the seller accepts and screws you over...yeah, that's why buying and selling over here is crazy and takes forever.

[calico]

Wow. That sounds like hell.