Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Let me share this experience with you, because I am sooo upset.
Recently, we made an offer for a house we really liked. We agreed on the price with the seller, so attorny review started.
Now, we are told that, the seller got another offer with higher price than ours. The seller says, "I really like you guys, so want you to have the house, but the price is higher from the other person..."
WTF! Although the attorney review hasn't finished, isn't it highly unethical of the seller to have seeked more offers, after we agreed??? Isn't it illegal??? Is there anything we can do to avoid this type of situation next time we make an offer?
Now, we wasted so much time (together with realtor's and mortgage person's time) and also, we have to pay the attorney fee. I am so upset
Nope, this is perfectly legal. There is nothing you can do about it. That is why you should always be on your attorneys case to get in and out of attorney review as soon as possible. This can be done in as little as 1 day.
I must also assume that the other offer is probably significantly higher because I do not believe the owner would entertain it if it was close to yours given that he/she said they like you. Either that or the owner is trying to get you to go higher to create a bit of competition.
Let me share this experience with you, because I am sooo upset.
Recently, we made an offer for a house we really liked. We agreed on the price with the seller, so attorny review started.
Now, we are told that, the seller got another offer with higher price than ours. The seller says, "I really like you guys, so want you to have the house, but the price is higher from the other person..."
WTF! Although the attorney review hasn't finished, isn't it highly unethical of the seller to have seeked more offers, after we agreed??? Isn't it illegal??? Is there anything we can do to avoid this type of situation next time we make an offer?
In NJ, you have three days to cancel out of any contract (I believe). So anything can happen within the 3-day attorney review; you could have cancelled within that time period, too. I don't agree with what happened to you; it stinks. While I was meeting with my mortgage person, completing paperwork, my realtor called me to find out what was going on because she had another realtor that wanted to show the house!! We were on the third day and I would have died, if our deal was bumped by another bid.
Maybe someone knows what the law is about this. This happens too often.
It's legal, however, you can stop it from happening again. Simply have your realtor write in the contract that your offer is contingent upon no more showings. You can also ask that it not be advertised as some agents will continue to advertise a home even after it is out of attorney review. You also should ALWAYS get your attorney to get you out of attorney review as soon as possible. Attorney review is a minimum of three days unless both parties agree to let it concede before then.
Sorry about your situation...I know it's a pretty crappy feeling. Better luck next time.
Thanks guys.
Yes, we wanted to finish the attorney review as soon as possible, but the seller put things we can never agree, such as "seller can void this contract at any time, if he/she can't find a place to go", etc, etc. In hindsight, maybe the seller put that clause intentionally to buy some time, while looking for better offers...
The other offer is 100K more than ours.
Attorney review means nothing...The seller can cancel the sale for various reasons. They dont even have to disclose the reasons. I (the sellor) was out of attorney review and still had to drop the price multiple times in order to complete the sale.
Again..Attorney review is nonsense. DOnt be fooled. Nothing is binding until you sign the final papers.
It is a common sales tactic in Maplewood to list a house at a vastly lower price than it is worth to elicit multiple offers and an auction situation. They do it in Montclair, too.
This happened to me 8 years ago. I was in attorney review when they told me another offer had been made. At the time I thought it was illegal to still be showing the house but they told me it was an offer from someone else who had already seen the house...not sure if it was true or not - pretty sure it was a bluff. It ended up only being for $2000 more so I matched it.
Is it legal to actually name the price the other buyer is offering? I always thought the proper way to do it was to ask for "best and final."
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
