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When I make an offer on a property that is likely not to make the seller pleased, but enticing enough they may consider it I submit the written offer and give the seller 24 hours to execute. Offers like that can be leveraged for better ones and I don't want to be used like that. And once the 24 hours lapses without the signed contract back, I don't even consider the property anymore, despite any protestations from the selling agent. I also make that clear when the written offer is made.
When I make an offer on a property that is likely not to make the seller pleased, but enticing enough they may consider it I submit the written offer and give the seller 24 hours to execute. Offers like that can be leveraged for better ones and I don't want to be used like that. And once the 24 hours lapses without the signed contract back, I don't even consider the property anymore, despite any protestations from the selling agent. I also make that clear when the written offer is made.
I have a similar practice. In my experience, this drives some agents nuts.
We used to honor our word (verbally accepting the offer), but apparently that's not the case anymore. What's worse is that so many people think it's fine and dandy for a seller to verbally accept the offer and then change their mind. I believe in keeping my word and have been known to take less money because I verbally agreed to something and was not willing to renege on something I agreed to.
It cuts both ways. In most cases, it is the buyer who reneges on the deal simply because they have so many escape clauses baked into the agreement. Here, the OP faced a discomfort for half a day. For a seller, the discomfort is much more traumatic - they come to know after days and weeks that the buyer could not get the financing through or did not like the home inspection.
And by that time, their other buyers who were showing interest have also moved on.
it is indeed not about what MY honor is, but what yours is.
I dont make verbal house sale contracts. I dont take verbal offers over the phone on things I sell. If someone makes a offer on a house verbally it means nothing to me and I'm not going to agree to it.
Say someone offers me 500,000 for a house I own. Ok say I agree. Now he looks at the house and he finds 80,000 in repairs and damages. I still want 500,000 because that's what we agreed to and since they are so honorable they will pay me no questions asked. Right? Sure they will. They will walk away as fast as they could.
But as far as when I agree to something when you are here in front of me with the offer in hand or submitted a offer then if I agree with it then I do it. Because that means you're serious. But you as a agent know that a verbal offer is worth the paper it's written on. I don't know any agent that will take a verbal offer to a client. They may tell the client that a verbal was offered to which as the client I would laugh at.
You can sit there and say integrity this and integrity that and and that's great. If I agree to something I go through with it. I have integrity. I'm just not gonna get trapped in a verbal offer when everyone else is submitting a written offer as is the case for real estate transactions.
i had a applicant on a rental who I negotiated a offer for a rental $100 less than what I had it advertised for. But they were in front of me and we were negotiating. I had no issue doing it. And I had a few who offered more but weren't qualified. The applicant took my offer. I liked them and they were more than qualified. They have been with me 4 years. No rent raises. They pay on time and the place is spotless.
A verbal offer, is not a complete offer. A verbal offer, is so incomplete that no one has any idea of what the actual written contract (offer) will contain.
Example: O.K. I will take $350,000 for the property. Send the contract to me. When I get it, there are so many weasel clauses (reasons to cancel the sale), etc., I am no longer interested in the offer.
The buyer like the OP says the seller reneged on a verbal acceptance.
The seller says, no one in their right minds would accept such an offer, when they saw all the conditions the buyer put into the written version of the offer it completely changes the offer.
When I make an offer on a property that is likely not to make the seller pleased, but enticing enough they may consider it I submit the written offer and give the seller 24 hours to execute. Offers like that can be leveraged for better ones and I don't want to be used like that. And once the 24 hours lapses without the signed contract back, I don't even consider the property anymore, despite any protestations from the selling agent. I also make that clear when the written offer is made.
This is the right approach. Whether it is 24 hours or end of business day, one does not want to be a stalking horse unless one is compensated for it. When your offer expires in 24 hours it can no longer be used as a leverage tool unless the agent for the seller is willing to misrepresent the status of the offers. I hope that doesn't happen often.
A seller rarely has anything to mull over. Hence, a very short time for response does not make it less likely that a deal will be reached.
However, instead of slamming the door on negotiations, after expiration, I am usually willing to entertain a written offer from the seller, which if signed by me, creates a contract. But, like you, I never make a new offer.
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by emotiioo
I have a similar practice. In my experience, this drives some agents nuts.
We had an offer that was insulting. We declined by counter.
The prospect made another offer that was just as insulting and we declined by not replying.
The prospect wanted to make another, and their agent wanted to know if it was worthwhile. We told our representative that if the offer was a nickel improvement, to tell agent to save her effort, and to raise our asking by 4% which is still 30% below our original price, Spring 2017.
We don't need to sell, and investing a few thousands this year into the property beautification.
I dont make verbal house sale contracts. I dont take verbal offers over the phone on things I sell. If someone makes a offer on a house verbally it means nothing to me and I'm not going to agree to it.
...
But as far as when I agree to something when you are here in front of me with the offer in hand or submitted a offer then if I agree with it then I do it. Because that means you're serious. But you as a agent know that a verbal offer is worth the paper it's written on. I don't know any agent that will take a verbal offer to a client. They may tell the client that a verbal was offered to which as the client I would laugh at.
You can sit there and say integrity this and integrity that and and that's great.
sorry, that was the generic "my" and the generic "you". I wasn't questioning your integrity, it was merely a statement of why we do need things in writing. We all know what our own integrity is. We never really know the other's until they have a chance to show it.
. . . . I don't know any agent that will take a verbal offer to a client.
. . . .
I don't know about the rules where you are, but here every offer must be conveyed to the client. It is not the agent's place to screen offers they determine are not enforceable, advisable or whatever. Failure to do so is grounds for discipline for both lawyers and real estate professionals.
I would appreciate an outside perspective on this situation. I visited an open house and ended up liking the home. The listing agent had a conversation with my agent following the open house asking if I was interested in the property as they had just received an offer.
The home was enough out of my budget that after a conversation with my agent, I decided that I did not want to go through with an offer as I felt it wouldn't be strong enough to compete. My agent relayed this information to the listing agent being direct about what the offer would be and why we were not putting one in at this time.
According to the listing agent, while my offer would not be as financially strong, apparently my terms were better (conventional loan, ability to close quicker) so the listing agent encouraged an offer to be put in. So I put in an offer. The offer was verbally accepted by the seller. Everything was signed on my end but at the last minute the seller reneged on the verbal offer and went with the other offer.
I get that money talks and that I'll never know what the true intentions here were. What frustrates me is that I wasn't going to put an offer in to begin with. I was encouraged by the seller and then led to believe for the better part of a day that my offer was the one that was being accepted after having a verbal commitment. Have you seen this type of situation before? Any thoughts on how to avoid this type of situation in the future?
Houses are homes and homes are part of the family. People aren’t always rational despite what economists would have us believe.
I would not take it personally. It is their property and they likely feel bad about drawing you in but oh well.
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