AmandaVT Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 We're on our second offer and we never got the chance to make an offer on 4 other houses we've liked because they were under contract before we got an offer in. It's gotten me thinking, how do you go about making an offer on a house? Do you decide what the house is worth to you and stick there? Are you willing to get into a bidding war? Do you offer more when there's another offer on the table or coming in to avoid losing the house? We're getting our offer in tonight, but the seller's realtor told our realtor that there's another offer that's supposed to come in tomorrow. Our realtor then told DH and I to make our best offer if we really wanted the house. DH and I discussed and decided to stay put where we're at for price. It's slightly overpriced and in a crappy town (granted it's in a rural area, and it's actual location is nice, but the town itself is not good and we could never use the school system). Our offer is fair I think, but there's a piece of me that's wondering if we should up it to at or over asking price. We're in an area that isn't a hot market by any means. Some houses sell relatively quickly (a few weeks) while others are on the market for more than a year pretty regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicMom Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 It's unethical but I think they always say that. When we made an offer on our house our realtor told us the same thing. What she didn't realize is that I was friends with the seller's niece, who told me there were no other offers on the house and that no one had even looked at it in four months. We stuck to our offer. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristi26 Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 We had another offer in on our house the same night that we made an offer. We stuck to the price that we felt was fair and then said a prayer. Our offer was accepted by the bank that owned the property. I don't think you should change your offer. If that's your house, you'll get it. If not, there's another one out there for you. Good luck! :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I don't have any advice, but good luck! I hope this one works out for you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Don't up your price. If it is ment to be, you will have it. I think it is a little strange there is always "another offer" that comes in when trying to buy a house. hmmm 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Don't up your price. If it is ment to be, you will have it. I think it is a little strange there is always "another offer" that comes in when trying to buy a house. hmmm I know right? The first offer we made, another offer really did come in about 24 hrs later. And the sellers took that one. This one I'm a little suspicious, just because the house only went on the market earlier this week and, we feel it's currently priced a little high. We'll see though. I'm glad we're not off base by deciding what we feel is a fair price and sticking to it. Our realtor has been very good about not pushing us thankfully! Here's the listing - I know I always want to see listings when other people are house hunting! It looks like it's priced fair or low, but it's in the worst town in our county and it's going for only $10k less than the last house we put an offer on. That one was a good bit bigger, a bit nicer and in a much nicer town and neighborhood. http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/326-Stone-Rd_Williamstown_VT_05679_M35138-92306?row=2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I would offer what is fair and you are willing to pay. We looked at many houses when we were looking. We even put in a full price offer for one (and we had cash with no contingencies) and she turned us down thinking she would get a bidding war. We did buy our current house very quickly. It hit the listings overnight. I saw it at 6am, called the realtor right after 8. We got a showing at 11am, put in an offer at noon, and it was accepted at 1pm. It was priced fairly and exactly what we needed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 It's unethical but I think they always say that. This. I think sometimes when they say there is "Another ioffer" its a lie. (Too often for me to trust it on the saying of the other realtor) Don't up your price. If it is ment to be, you will have it. I think it is a little strange there is always "another offer" that comes in when trying to buy a house. hmmm There isn't always. When we bought our latest house, no other offer came in. When we sold my first place (a condo -- the first weekend it was on the market!), another realtor DID tell us that someone wanted to offer on the condo (someone else who had looked at it already). When we got the first offer, we let them know there was another offer. And they decided not to offer and go elsewhere. I was glad. The girl who bought it reminded me of me when I first got the condo. I was leaning her way already. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 It's a beautiful house--I love all the light! We lived in something similar in Canada; it was very spacious but also efficient and easy to heat with the pellet stove. :) It's so hard to judge price. I think it would probably go for something similar where we live, although you do get a lot of land with it. I wouldn't make an offer higher than you are comfortable with; you have to live with the payments, after all. I hope you find out soon!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 What a beautiful house! Fingers are crossed for you! We just made an offer and it was accepted over the weekend. (Still feeling "Wow!" about this.) We are in a hot market, and this house had only been on the market a few days. When we put the offer in, we knew that 6 other people had looked at the house (some were lined up waiting for us to finish, eek). We offered what we felt was fair, but asked them to cover closing. Another offer for the same amount came in that night, and they gave us a counter offer, with the stipulation that we sign by 11 am the next morning or they'd go with the next offer. We were happy with their counter (which was to split closing costs). We would not have gotten into a bidding war. We'd have walked away, and found another house. I hope you get the house! It's beautiful. I can send you a link to ours that's under contract, if you want to see, just for fun. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 What a beautiful house! Fingers are crossed for you! We just made an offer and it was accepted over the weekend. (Still feeling "Wow!" about this.) We are in a hot market, and this house had only been on the market a few days. When we put the offer in, we knew that 6 other people had looked at the house (some were lined up waiting for us to finish, eek). We offered what we felt was fair, but asked them to cover closing. Another offer for the same amount came in that night, and they gave us a counter offer, with the stipulation that we sign by 11 am the next morning or they'd go with the next offer. We were happy with their counter (which was to split closing costs). We would not have gotten into a bidding war. We'd have walked away, and found another house. I hope you get the house! It's beautiful. I can send you a link to ours that's under contract, if you want to see, just for fun. :) ooh please do! or post it here - I love looking at houses! I was house daydreaming yesterday and was looking in the area where I grew up. I texted DH asking him if we could get this house instead. :-) http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/284-Vanderbilt-Ln_Portsmouth_RI_02871_M34073-16176?row=120 And thank you everyone! I hope they accept our offer, but I am being realistic and since our house still isn't under contract, I know it's not a sure thing at all. And there will be other houses if we don't get this one! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 ooh please do! or post it here - I love looking at houses! I was house daydreaming yesterday and was looking in the area where I grew up. I texted DH asking him if we could get this house instead. :-) http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/284-Vanderbilt-Ln_Portsmouth_RI_02871_M34073-16176?row=120 And thank you everyone! I hope they accept our offer, but I am being realistic and since our house still isn't under contract, I know it's not a sure thing at all. And there will be other houses if we don't get this one! All I can think of now when I see places like this is the heating cost. :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 All I can think of now when I see places like this is the heating cost. :svengo: I know! Although that part of RI doesn't get all that cold, they have a nice buffer thanks to the ocean. Growing up, I don't remember too many days where it didn't get above freezing. Up here is a different story though and I know you're in the same boat in ME! The first house we put an offer in on, was 2600 (I think) square feet and the living room had these gorgeous high ceilings. All I could think of was that I would need to start budgeting for propane immediately! This house is a good size though - 1400 sq ft. shouldn't be too hard to heat. We've been spoiled here though. 1000 sq ft and we have radiant heat flooring, so all we use is the water heater to heat the floors up. I think our total heating bill last year was less than $500 for the winter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I know right? The first offer we made, another offer really did come in about 24 hrs later. And the sellers took that one. This one I'm a little suspicious, just because the house only went on the market earlier this week and, we feel it's currently priced a little high. We'll see though. I'm glad we're not off base by deciding what we feel is a fair price and sticking to it. Our realtor has been very good about not pushing us thankfully! Here's the listing - I know I always want to see listings when other people are house hunting! It looks like it's priced fair or low, but it's in the worst town in our county and it's going for only $10k less than the last house we put an offer on. That one was a good bit bigger, a bit nicer and in a much nicer town and neighborhood. http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/326-Stone-Rd_Williamstown_VT_05679_M35138-92306?row=2 I love the natural cherry cabinets and the whole kitchen. And the yard and deck. It looks like a nice house! Personally, I would consider upping your offer if you *really* want this house, but if you can take it or leave it, then stay cool and keep looking. A house is a very long term commitment, so unless you are desperate to move NOW or you LOVE the house, it's fine to be prudent. Realistically, I wouldn't overly sweat the price, because I think of houses as more long term expenditures as opposed to investments. (To be honest, all our real estate purchase have always made us money, but they would have still done so even if we'd paid 5%-10% more than we did. . .) I really identify with my home, so I am willing to pay a premium to get what I want. If it's not just the right house for you, then you can keep looking. It sounds to me like you might not be in a "hot market" but perhaps the segment of the market you are looking at IS hot -- the combination of price/location/updates/whatever that appeals to you seems to be appealing to others, lol. That said, I totally agree that many realtors lie to push up a price and/or get an easier sale. Never show your cards to a realtor unless they are a close personal trusted friend. (Last transaction we did was a very big one for my mom, and I was SOOOO thankful to have a very trusted personal friend as our realtor. Gave me huge, huge peace of mind.) Anyway, at the end of the day, if 10-20k, over the lifetime of owning the home, isn't really a huge deal to you, then IMHO, it's fine to haggle upwards when you find the right house. You don't have to put ALL the money on the table at first (in fact it's BETTER to leave yourself some haggling room! Some people love to haggle! It's a rare house sale that doesn't go back and forth once or twice. That last big sale we did for my mom involved at least 4 counteroffers until we sealed the deal. I think the price went from 10% under asking to about 3% under asking . . . Over a few weeks and at least four contracts . . . some people just love to haggle. Ugh.) So, I'd offer about 1%-2% less than your top price. More important than the exact $ figure is often contingencies. If you can offer a "clean" offer with no contingency for sale of your own house and also with solid financing in place (a pre-approval and/or lots of cash and/or big earnest $), that can make a huge difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 It's unethical but I think they always say that. When we made an offer on our house our realtor told us the same thing. What she didn't realize is that I was friends with the seller's niece, who told me there were no other offers on the house and that no one had even looked at it in four months. We stuck to our offer. I've wondered about that. As a buyer, we've been told there are other offers coming in when we make an offer. As a seller, I've never seen it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 We just bought a house in a very, very hot market. The house was on the market less than 36 hours at which point they stopped taking offers. We decided to go over asking price and at the last minute, DH said we should push it close to the very top of our budget out of fear we would lose the house. We initially went into the house search with the attitude we were not going to compete for a house and rapidly threw that out the window. But, we were competing for a house we really, really wanted in an amazing location. So, never say never, I guess. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 dd bought in a very hot market where escalations were common. (one great house went for $75K over list in under a week. another house she really liked went for $50K over.) in as hot a market as it was - anyone who wasn't willing to put in their best offer in their first shot, lost. (on the good houses anyway - yucky ones sat for a reason) I stalked redfin (takes the listings off the MLS in our area) - and found a house that hit the MLS after her realtor's daily summary was sent to her. we saw it that day. she was the SECOND person to put in an offer on it - that day. (if we'd relied upon the realtors daily summary - it would have been too late.) and dd was doing a series of job interviews for a new job at the same time . .. . and where her realtor earned her commission - she knew how to write an offer with the maximum escalation clause dd could afford included so there would be no back and forth. the next day - a third offer came in. dd's was accepted because she had an escalation clause (and a few other things) - and they didn't. oh - it hit the MLS on Wednesday. she gave them their earnest money deposit Friday morning. over the weekend . . . there were many disappointed couples who called the listing agent wanting to put in an offer, but it was already pending. (the pending hadn't been entered into the MLS.) the listing agent ended up taking the lock box off the house. our agent did enjoy the feedback from other agents when they found out she got that house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 an escalation clause is a bit different. it is specifically for multiple offer situations, and your offer will automatically bump in increments up based upon other offers received. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I hope you get the house! I do think you should stick with your original offer. If there is another offer and it is higher than yours, chances are excellent that you will be asked to raise your offer if you still want the house. Also, don't forget that the higher offer isn't always the better offer. Some buyers make a TON of unreasonable demands on sellers and ask for a lot of extras to be included in the sale. Additionally, they may have a very low downpayment and lousy credit, or simply not be pre-qualified for a mortgage. All of these things could lead a seller to accept the lower offer that seems like it is coming from qualified and reasonable buyers. One other thing -- if the school system isn't very good, that could seriously impact your ability to re-sell the house in the future, so please be sure not to overpay for it now. Good luck -- it looks like a great house and I hope you get it! :) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 For one offer we said X is the offer, plus if there are competing offers we will pay Y more over their offer to a max of Z. Like eBay max bid option. Sadly, I've been surprised multiple times how few real estate people bring this up as an option (maybe because it is more work?). I'm leary of trusting other offers verbally. But with that wording in a contract they can word it to have to show you a copy of the competing offer before your offer is increased. GL! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I think you just have to be willing to lose the house and not get so tied to one house. And it completely depends on the market. when we lived in CA, there were times when it was just expected to offer over the asking price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 The one time we got into a mini-bidding war was for a pre-listing rental in a red-hot market. We knew there were others interested in the property because that was the nature of the market. We set a maximum with the agent of how much higher we were willing to go and wound up paying $100 more per month and a larger security deposit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 You all know it's a major breach of ethics for a Realtor to say there are other offers when there are not? If another agent tells me there are other offers on a home my buyers are interested in and I find out there wasn't....ohhhh boy, what a rodeo that would be. Seriously, up before the board and everything... Multi offers are a fact of life in some markets. I've been listing agent with multis and I've been buyer's agent with multis...I'm in a hot, hot, hot market. Here are ways to make your offer stronger.... These houses are not on 'sale.' Pay at least full price. One clue it's priced fairly is multiple offers. I will occasionally advise my buyers to go over list price. Make your offer clean...do not ask for closing costs, a home warranty, or the refrigerator. Cash wins almost every time. 20% down is strong, too. Conventional loans beat out FHA and VA every time. Do not need to sell a house first...or if you do, make sure you are under contract there first. I've had a couple of buyer multi offer situations this year....if my clients followed my advice, they are living in that home today. If not...well, I'm about to go show a half dozen homes to buyers that don't want to get in a bidding war. Sigh...it's war out there. Be prepared to fight for the home you love. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Yeah, and it is amazing how often at the car dealership the vehicle you are eyeing suddenly has "other" folks about to buy it. I'd back away and say "let them have it" before I'd get into a bidding war or jump to "get" a car or house. In your case, let the realtor know that rather than increase your offer, you think it is fair, and if you don't get the house, oh, well. It may well be a ploy to get you or offer more (which, amazingly, will "win" you the house and increase the commission, right?" )or it may be true, in which case you have made it clear that you aren't getting into a bidding war. Either way, you have made it clear that you are not going to lose your head and be made to spend more than you think reasonable. The realtor could well be sussing you out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 We're on our second offer and we never got the chance to make an offer on 4 other houses we've liked because they were under contract before we got an offer in. It's gotten me thinking, how do you go about making an offer on a house? Do you decide what the house is worth to you and stick there? Are you willing to get into a bidding war? Do you offer more when there's another offer on the table or coming in to avoid losing the house? We're getting our offer in tonight, but the seller's realtor told our realtor that there's another offer that's supposed to come in tomorrow. Our realtor then told DH and I to make our best offer if we really wanted the house. DH and I discussed and decided to stay put where we're at for price. It's slightly overpriced and in a crappy town (granted it's in a rural area, and it's actual location is nice, but the town itself is not good and we could never use the school system). Our offer is fair I think, but there's a piece of me that's wondering if we should up it to at or over asking price. We're in an area that isn't a hot market by any means. Some houses sell relatively quickly (a few weeks) while others are on the market for more than a year pretty regularly. You need to have Purchase Agreements ready to go, and merely fill in the amount when you are ready. And a few blanks, in case there are other terms you know in advance are critical to the Seller, like possession date. I've sold two houses recently and one offered above asking in a bidding war situation. I took it, and it did close, but the other agent was pretty nasty and they attempted to chisel me throughout the transaction. If you really want it, go in a tad high. If yours is a clean offer, that's how you win. If you have contingencies, make sure they aren't onerous. Don't forget auctions. Some of the best houses I bought were at auctions. People don't understand them so it cuts down on the competition. It is just like a regular sale but the bidding is done in front of everyone. Then you pay an earnest money deposit and have 30 or 45 days to close. Line up your financing person for when you are ready. Hint for later, when you sell: Do NOT make repairs, but only offer a dollar amount "in lieu of repairs." Then the quality, type, etc of the repairs is on the Buyer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I have so little experience. We were guided by the Realtor in terms of what to offer. We didn't go with exactly what she suggested, but we took it into account. Our offer was accepted immediately. I do think there are too many factors to give one hard and fast rule. The house we bought had sat on the market for awhile. They even took it off and relisted to make it appear as if it were a new listing. We knew otherwise because we lived 2 houses over. So we had an idea of what "clout" we had in making an offer. Ultimately, what they originally priced it for they would have never gotten. The appraisal came in almost exactly what we offered. It wasn't the sort of place anyone would stretch themselves beyond that to buy either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I sold a house that had 8 offers. I thought people were out of their minds. It was to my benefit but I still think people get carried away. I remember about 12 years ago people were foregoing inspections to make their bid look better. Craziness!! Hope it works out for you! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Did you submit your offer, Amanda? Do you know when you will get a response? Not that I'm anxious to know if you get it or anything........... OK, yes -- I am really hoping you get it!!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Nice house! Big deck and lot and that view is gorgeous! I hope it all works out the best for your family, whether that is this house or another one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Yeah, and it is amazing how often at the car dealership the vehicle you are eyeing suddenly has "other" folks about to buy it. I'd back away and say "let them have it" before I'd get into a bidding war or jump to "get" a car or house. Cars are different because if you lose out on the one you're considering, you can buy an almost identical vehicle somewhere else (vintage cars being the exception). You can't do that with homes unless there are multiple ones for sale in a particular development (which tends not to happen except in brand-new developments). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Checking in, hoping for news! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 I think our offer is fair. We offered pretty close to asking, are putting 20% down, have a good earnest deposit, and the only contingency is that our house needs to sell first. We're getting more aggressive selling here too, so it should sell in time. We did hit a snag though. My realtor got the docs over to me to sign late last night, when I was already in bed. Read through them first thing this morning and learned that the house has no cable or high speed internet. We saw cables in a couple different rooms of the house, so we thought it had cable. Called the two local cable companies today and no service to the house. As far as I can tell, it has satellite internet, which has a horrible reputation here or DSL which has a slightly less horrible reputation. I called the DSL company and no one will be in that can talk to me until Monday morning! So we're in a holding pattern. I don't care that much about TV. As long as I can watch football in the fall/winter, I'm happy, so any basic service will be fine. The Internet is a deal breaker though. DH does a lot of online gaming with his friends that we don't see a lot because they're scattered across the country. And the stories I've heard are about people having no access to even e-mail for weeks at a time and getting charged exorbitant fees for the pleasure of frustrating access. Ugh. On the plus side, I haven't gotten word about any other offers going in today, so maybe it was a bluff or maybe the other buyer saw the same docs I did this morning about the lack of Internet access! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Do not need to sell a house first...or if you do, make sure you are under contract there first. Be prepared to fight for the home you love. sil made an offer on a house that had sat on the market for two years in a very buyer's market. she did contingent on her house selling first - just as the market was turning and they got two more offers. she had to come up with the money for the down payment or she would have lost the house. hot markets have lots of competition for a good house. Cars are different because if you lose out on the one you're considering, you can buy an almost identical vehicle somewhere else (vintage cars being the exception). You can't do that with homes unless there are multiple ones for sale in a particular development (which tends not to happen except in brand-new developments). a house in her neighborhood with the identical floor plan to dd's was listed about a week after she signed the contract to buy her's. differences in updates, but otherwise the same house. the lots were very different. her's is relatively flat (unusual here) and the other was sloping. but like you say about cars - you can usually go buy an identical car from another dealer. I did that on my last new car because the first dealer didn't want to meet my price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I think our offer is fair. We offered pretty close to asking, are putting 20% down, have a good earnest deposit, and the only contingency is that our house needs to sell first. We're getting more aggressive selling here too, so it should sell in time. I have to admit that if I was the seller,your one and only contingency would be a dealbreaker for me and I would not accept your offer. I wouldn't want to wait around until you sold your own home. From a seller's perspective, they don't know if your house is well-priced, if it is in good condition, if it's in a nice neighborhood, or if you are the kind of seller who doesn't keep the house clean for showings and the house is in poor shape with an overgrown yard and strange unidentifiable smells coming from the basement. ;) You know your house is nice and that it should sell soon, but they don't, so they may not want to take a chance of missing out on another offer while they wait for your house to sell. And if your house doesn't sell during the contingency period, won't you lose your deposit if you can't complete the purchase by a certain date? (I could be totally wrong about that, but it would seem that you would lose some money if you had to back out of the deal, right?) I hope you can get an answer soon about the TV and internet issues. I wouldn't agree to buy the house until I knew for sure that high speed internet was available. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 sil made an offer on a house that had sat on the market for two years in a very buyer's market. she did contingent on her house selling first - just as the market was turning and they got two more offers. she had to come up with the money for the down payment or she would have lost the house. hot markets have lots of competition for a good house. I'm concerned that the same thing could happen to Amanda. I would hate to see her worrying about getting her own home sold by a certain date, or that the contract would allow the sellers to keep showing the house and get more offers, like what happened to your SIL. That would be so stressful! Amanda, might it be better to sell your existing home first and then shop for a new one? Or is it a situation where houses you like enough to want to buy them are very few and far between, so you don't want to sell your house before you find a new one? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 I have to admit that if I was the seller,your one and only contingency would be a dealbreaker for me and I would not accept your offer. I wouldn't want to wait around until you sold your own home. From a seller's perspective, they don't know if your house is well-priced, if it is in good condition, if it's in a nice neighborhood, or if you are the kind of seller who doesn't keep the house clean for showings and the house is in poor shape with an overgrown yard and strange unidentifiable smells coming from the basement. ;) You know your house is nice and that it should sell soon, but they don't, so they may not want to take a chance of missing out on another offer while they wait for your house to sell. And if your house doesn't sell during the contingency period, won't you lose your deposit if you can't complete the purchase by a certain date? (I could be totally wrong about that, but it would seem that you would lose some money if you had to back out of the deal, right?) I hope you can get an answer soon about the TV and internet issues. I wouldn't agree to buy the house until I knew for sure that high speed internet was available. I know, itis a big contingency. I had actually mostly stopped looking at houses, planning on waiting until this house was under contract. But then zillow e-mailed me this house when it was listed and we fell in love. If this falls through, I'm going to go back to my not looking at listings plan. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I know, itis a big contingency. I had actually mostly stopped looking at houses, planning on waiting until this house was under contract. But then zillow e-mailed me this house when it was listed and we fell in love. If this falls through, I'm going to go back to my not looking at listings plan. :-) I always say I'm not going to look, but then I look anyway. I am so weak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 I always say I'm not going to look, but then I look anyway. I am so weak. I've been doing some daydreaming house hunting. Looking at properties for millions of dollars is always fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrittanyM Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 My husband is a realtor and I am surprised at the number of times there are more than one offer. One time it was a house that had been on the market for a while and the timing was bizarre. I'm sure the buyers he was representing thought he was lying at first but the other offer ended up getting it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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