Young first time buyers are losing out on buying property due to gazumping by investment buyers.

My daughter has worked and saved hard for over four years to have a 10% deposit for her first home. She recently found a small flat, one bedroom, one bathroom with lounge/kitchen that needed a bit of work doing but she could afford the mortgage and 10% deposit. She placed an offer of the asking price and was told her offer on the property had been accepted by the vendor. When the agent told one other interested party that their offer of the asking price would not be accepted as my daughter had offered the asking price, they immediately said they would increase their offer by £3,000. My daughter could not match this price, so the vendor chose the buyer who offered £3,000 extra, even though he had agreed to my daughters offer the previous day. GAZUMPED!

Scotland have conveyancing law that when a verbal offer has been accepted the vendor is not able to accept other offers. Second, third, fourth homes for let to buy are making the rich poor divide wider. How do our children buy their first home with heartless investors to compete with?

There is no point in help to buy schemes set up by the government, they pay lip service to our next generation as a property investor can just increase their bid and essentially out price our next generation. Prices are pushed up by this practise and our next generation find themselves even further away from owning a small home of their own.

If the English government would like to help our young get on the property ladder bring in the same law as Scotland. Verbal acceptance is as good as written acceptance. Stop gazumping our young out of the housing market!