House Buying 102

Finally common sense has prevailed. I've struggled a lot with the concept in Sweden that a listed price is not necessarily THE price. And that the seller is under no obligation to make any decision at any predetermined time. Such was the case with our house hunting endeavours. For me, I'm used to the concept of "Here's my offer, accept it or reject it. Now". Everyone knows where they stand. In Sweden it appears that the seller holds all the cards. There appears to be little interest in the idea of an offer and acceptance. Certainly amongst real estate agents. If you want to buy a property, you submit a bid price. Fair enough. However, the seller might decide to see what other interest is out there, and may choose to wait weeks, or even months, before telling you whether you are successful or not. You, as the buyer, have no idea how long it will be. Now how is that fair in a society that is manic about being fair and equal ? However, we managed to find the holy grail over the weekend. A house we liked, and a seller with a fixed purchase price. His comment of " The first person who will pay my asking price will buy my house " was music to my ears. Some days home feels a little closer. Now we have to give our obligatory 3 months notice to our landlord, so we'll be paying for 2 properties for a while. But at least we're now there.