can you put in an offer once another offer is accepted?

[BGlove]

Originally Posted by moneymm22

i had my offer in, was told that the another offer was accepted. I now want to make a higher offer but the agent told me we already accepted an offer and everyone was already told to put in their highest and best offer.

They are not in contract yet.

We made a “highest and best offer” and went 30k over asking. We also had 20% down and everything looked great. Sometimes I feel we overpaid but looking at today’s market I feel we got a great deal. I do t want to know and I am happy we will never know the next offer. I also felt the listing agent couldn’t be bothered in my purchase so not sure if she would have presented her clients an offer after we were accepted.

What was asking and what did you offer? Do you have 20%? What is your new offer?

[BBCjunkie]

Having been to the house-hunting dance on LI multiple times, with both types of agents (seller's and buyer's) my experience has been that the seller's agent tells mine that "we have a first accepted offer and are not taking any more." This happened at least a half dozen times over the years when/if I said I wanted to submit a backup offer. EVERY time.

Now of course I've no idea whether the "sorry, no more offers" response originated from the sellers themselves or from the seller's agent. Or even from the agent I myself was using. My hunch is that the door-slamming probably came from a seller's agent who brought the first accepted offer from his/her own office and didn't want to risk a commission split.

I can't tell you how many times I could not even get a SHOWING appointment for a house because it had a first accepted offer, and that really irked me because I'd make it clear that I was a cash buyer. Whenever I sold a house I always told my agent that I wanted the house shown until the day the contract was signed by both parties. But whether that was what the agent actually told anyone who might have called for a showing, I have no idea. Who knows. I am just glad to finally be done with all that nonsense and games-playing. Decades of experience finally made me distrustful of all realtors' motives and answers, even the ones who were claiming to be working for me as a buyer agent.

[ave1024]

Originally Posted by BBCjunkie

Having been to the house-hunting dance on LI multiple times, with both types of agents (seller's and buyer's) my experience has been that the seller's agent tells mine that "we have a first accepted offer and are not taking any more." This happened at least a half dozen times over the years when/if I said I wanted to submit a backup offer. EVERY time.

Now of course I've no idea whether the "sorry, no more offers" response originated from the sellers themselves or from the seller's agent. Or even from the agent I myself was using. My hunch is that the door-slamming probably came from a seller's agent who brought the first accepted offer from his/her own office and didn't want to risk a commission split.

I can't tell you how many times I could not even get a SHOWING appointment for a house because it had a first accepted offer, and that really irked me because I'd make it clear that I was a cash buyer. Whenever I sold a house I always told my agent that I wanted the house shown until the day the contract was signed by both parties. But whether that was what the agent actually told anyone who might have called for a showing, I have no idea. Who knows. I am just glad to finally be done with all that nonsense and games-playing. Decades of experience finally made me distrustful of all realtors' motives and answers, even the ones who were claiming to be working for me as a buyer agent.

Cash buyers are nice and all, but in a hot market and in the end money at the closing looks the same whether it’s cash from the buyer or cash from the bank.

Cash buyers can be more difficult to deal with at times. They sometimes expect discounts because they feel cash is superior. Sellers know this. In a hot market even if a buyers financing drops out there are usually multiple buyers lined up ready to jump in.

[TomMoser]

Of course you can put in a higher offer after the seller has "accepted" another one. It is up to the seller to decide whether or not to entertain it. Some sellers feel committed after the accept an offer. Others will throw them over for a dime.

Same thing goes for the buyer's side. Util a home is in contract anyone can back out at any time with or without reason.

As for the scenario someone else put forward, a buyer can certainly make offers on multiple homes at the same time.

It's all talk until you are in contract.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

This is the type of stuff that makes a real estate transaction in NY one of the seven rings of hell at least you were decent enough to compensate the other buyer for their inspection it's more than most would do. Down here once you accept the offer the contract is signed and binding, there will usually be an inspection contingency and a mortgage/appraisal contingencies but those are normal steps.

Yup, putting multiple offers in on multiple houses here would actually buy you 5 houses if the offers were all accepted. Everything on LI is in reverse order of the rest of the real estate world.

[nobodysbusiness]

Originally Posted by twingles

Yup, putting multiple offers in on multiple houses here would actually buy you 5 houses if the offers were all accepted. Everything on LI is in reverse order of the rest of the real estate world.

There are no contingencies in your contracts? Weird.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by nobodysbusiness

There are no contingencies in your contracts? Weird.

In our area, Realtors don't write contracts - attorneys do. All we deal with are offers (and negotiations, including exceptions, conditions, etc.) which are used by the attorneys to draw up the actual contracts; this means any offers aren't binding on either party until both, seller and buyer, have signed legal contracts.
So if someone makes multiple offers, chances are they will follow through with the one that gets accepted first...

[Joe461]

Originally Posted by ave1024

They sometimes expect discounts because they feel cash is superior

Because in most cases, cash IS superior. Qualifying for financing is not as easy as is used to be. Many people are turned down because they tried to bite off more than they could chew.

A neighbor recently sold his home. Had a buyer lined up the same weekend he listed it... yes, it's a "hot market" and his home was well priced. He then went ahead and made a deal on his new home (out of state).

Sure enough, the financing fell through. For whatever reason, his old home was no longer a "hot" property. Other interested buyers he originally turned down were either no longer interested or made other deals. He finally sold his home (for less than the original offers) but it was a rough few months when he was stuck with two properties.

Give me a cash deal any day of the week.

Originally Posted by twingles

Yup, putting multiple offers in on multiple houses here would actually buy you 5 houses if the offers were all accepted. Everything on LI is in reverse order of the rest of the real estate world.

While possible, it is highly unlikely that all five offers would be accepted at the same time. There is no contract (real estate or otherwise) until an offer is accepted. Until then, any offer can be withdrawn. "Consideration" (money) is also usually required to have a binding contract between parties.

Some states do real estate contracts without a lawyer (some of them recommending a lawyer be involved). Hardly the "rest of the real estate world." If someone trusts a six-figure purchase to a real estate agent and a pre-printed form full of legal terminology - more power to them. Oliver Wendell Douglas was a lawyer and it still didn't work out as he expected.