Is it "normal" for Seller to take DAYS to Counter? (contingency, appraisal)
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That doesn't make sense. Simply add it to Special Provisions. If the seller changes the contract, that is called a negotiation and it will need to be accepted by the buyer.
So if the seller sits on an offer because they are expecting 2-3 more before the weekend is over what's a buyer going to do ?
The Buyer can always withdraw an offer. Giving sellers a deadline in our hot market gets your offer pushed to the bottom of the line.
That doesn't make sense. Simply add it to Special Provisions. If the seller changes the contract, that is called a negotiation and it will need to be accepted by the buyer.
But there is no requirement on the part of the seller to respond within the time period written into Special Provisions (which you're not supposed to do, anyway), so it's fruitless to put it in there and serves to do little more than irritate some (most, in my limited experience with agents who actually try to do this here) sellers and give them the impression of demanding buyers who they might not want to work with.
Far better to put it in a nice cover letter, which doesn't give the impression that you don't have a clue what a contract is and doesn't come across as a demand but a request.
As they say in real estate, "time is of the essence". More than likely, the sellers know what price they're shooting for and have already calculated their profit (if any) after paying commissions, mortgage payoff, etc.
They know where their numbers are, so I'm not sure why they would need days deciding what and if to counter (or accept). If they're just waiting for potential other offers, then I agree that's rude. I would also expect my broker to reach out to sellers' broker to ask what's up and when to expect an answer. Who knows - maybe someone's out of town and they weren't intentionally meaning to sit on the offer. But if that wasn't the case, I agree that OP should be annoyed (at least I would be). If sellers are waiting for a better offer, their broker should tell them that more often than not, their first offer is usually going to be their best. Always work an offer, as you never know if/when another one will come.
Since there's no time period in this contract, and since the seller may be awaiting offers from this past weekend, one would think they'd be in Thursday or Friday.
You might find out exactly when a contract is binding...when ratified by both sides? ratified and received in some fashion by both sides? Until that time, you are free to continue looking and if you find another place as you place an offer on another house you should let your current seller know that you are withdrawing your contract on his house...and there is usually a legal way to do that too.
Don't burn bridges though. We have had a favorite property a few times where the other offer was taken for some very good reasons...including personal, emotional ones. We were nice about it and let them know we still had an interest if anything happened...and let the listing realtor know too (the realtor usually kept a better note on that than the seller). And after as long as six months later, after trying to work it out and failing, they called us. And, by then, they were sometimes willing to sell at a lower price.
Purchasing a home, first or second is very emotional and waiting to hear back on an offer is excruciating! 48 hours doesn't seem unreasonable to me. I typically give the realtor/seller 24 hours to respond, although I hope to have already talked to the listing realtor about whether or not the seller is in town because that causes delays. Here in Alaska, people are out of town for work or play very often! Once the offer is submitted, I follow up to make sure it's been received and ask when the realtor is presenting the offer and when can we expect to hear back. If the home is receiving a lot of showing activity and it just came on the market, it might be hard for the seller to respond ASAP because they might receive another offer, and sell their home for more. Hopefully the realtors are keeping open communication, but not all realtors are created equal. This is happening to my buyers right now and the listing realtor is providing an update as to why we won't hear back within the time frame we requested. Every market is a little different, as is every party involved in the real estate transaction is different. It sounds like you need a little more information, so you can quell your frustration. Sometimes you can't get all the facts immediately, but I recommend you ask your realtor what the delays are. If they aren't receiving an answer, this could be an indicator that you'll need to hang tight throughout the transaction and/or you are dealing with a seller that needs more time to digest your offer.
Listing agent is out of town and/or slow
Sellers are out of town and/or slow
Seller's attorney/accountant/adviser may be out of town and/or slow
Any one of the above has a technology breakdown; email, fax, phone
In my market with many 2nd home, out of town sellers, it is common for it to take two or three days to get a response. Coastal NC probably is similar with the 2nd home sellers. Between the time lag of your agent getting the offer sent, the listing agent receiving the offer, getting it to the seller, seller checking their email or voice mail, consulting their account and/or lawyer, it seems unreasonable to always expect a response in 24 hours. If yoiu like the house, simmer down and wait for a response. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by withdrawing the offer to prove a point.
Take a breath and don't pressure the seller. They may dislike the impatience as much as you dislike the wait. Your agent did nothing wrong by not specifying a deadline and in fact may have not specified one because she knew that it might take a few days.
The NCAR forms are well thought out. There is no response date baked in because there is absolutely no intrinsic material need demonstrated for a response date demand in a real estate offer.
Buyers can use the Standard NCAR Additional Provisions Addendum to scratch that itch. The first item in that addendum allows the buyer to input a date when the Offer will lapse unless accepted. I almost never see it used. We have some of the best real estate markets in the country, and successfully convey billions of dollars in real estate without demanding that the sellers respond at some immaterial time frame.
Not quick enough? A buyer should go buy that other house they will like better at a better price from someone who will respond quicker.
These threads are always entertaining. With no intrinsic material need for a response date, and customs from other areas injected into NC real estate custom and practice, we always see Real Estate Testosterone run amok.
Listing agent is out of town and/or slow
Sellers are out of town and/or slow
Seller's attorney/accountant/adviser may be out of town and/or slow
Any one of the above has a technology breakdown; email, fax, phone
In my market with many 2nd home, out of town sellers, it is common for it to take two or three days to get a response. Coastal NC probably is similar with the 2nd home sellers. Between the time lag of your agent getting the offer sent, the listing agent receiving the offer, getting it to the seller, seller checking their email or voice mail, consulting their account and/or lawyer, it seems unreasonable to always expect a response in 24 hours. If yoiu like the house, simmer down and wait for a response. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by withdrawing the offer to prove a point.
Take a breath and don't pressure the seller. They may dislike the impatience as much as you dislike the wait. Your agent did nothing wrong by not specifying a deadline and in fact may have not specified one because she knew that it might take a few days.
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You could always look at another house. Sellers are not at your beck and call.
