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The 72 hours was a thing put in place by the realtor-- I didn't ask for it.. its just standard wording around here. I've never seen an open ended, no deadline contract. Most contracts around here have a 24 hour clause. We even told the realtor at the end of the 72 hours that we didn't want to walk away, but we needed an answer by the weekend or we would have to keep looking. Because-- while its the perfect property for us... we also need to be moved by a certain date. That's just the reality of the situation.
The sellers ultimately did accept the offer-- apparently this is the first time they've sold a house and bought another at the same time and they were afraid to accept the offer because their offer on the house they want to move to hadn't been accepted yet. The realtor gently explained that if they let the offer on their house get away-- how do they plan on buying the next one?
And yes-- I know offering full list when its over what the comps would likely support may seem foolish and that's fine. I have my reasons on this one.
Glad it worked out.
Strange that the agent had to explain to the sellers that they would need to sell their house before they could buy the next one.
In our 50 years of buying and selling homes, I can think of two agents we worked with who were professional and competent.
We've had agents trot us around to their own listings, talk about how our offer was "insulting," ... list information incorrectly in the MLS, ...
NC makes a big deal out of buyers signing with an agent to be their one and only. Our experience with that is that once we signed, her interest in helping us find a home waned.
Mike seems to be on the more professional/competent end of the scale. So, I am surprised by the idea of writing an open-ended offer.
Maybe some folks are just looking and are in no particular hurry. We are always planning to buy within a month, two at the most. I am not interested in waiting around for who knows how long for a hard-to-get-a-hold of buyer.
If three days have passed and no word, we'd move on. No hard feelings. Just don't want to live in a hotel room forever.
Thanks!
Open-ended offers are most common here.
Anyone with a "Deadline for Acceptance" addendum in their offer better be able to say they are flying home Sunday night, or going on a cruise in a couple of days and won't have service.
And it should be a fat offer if it wants to be accepted.
And, the buyers agent should be calling to confirm terms that would be accommodating to sellers, such as closing date and appliances or other details, and to ask if there are other offers.
Yanno... This is worthy of a CD poll, because practices seem to vary and many emotions seem to come into play.
I don't generally recommend deadlines, and when my clients don't get the house, it is almost always because of price, and second most often because they are financing and are up against cash offers.
Thanks!
Open-ended offers are most common here.
Anyone with a "Deadline for Acceptance" addendum in their offer better be able to say they are flying home Sunday night, or going on a cruise in a couple of days and won't have service.
And it should be a fat offer if it wants to be accepted.
And, the buyers agent should be calling to confirm terms that would be accommodating to sellers, such as closing date and appliances or other details, and to ask if there are other offers.
Yanno... This is worthy of a CD poll, because practices seem to vary and many emotions seem to come into play.
I don't generally recommend deadlines, and when my clients don't get the house, it is almost always because of price, and second most often because they are financing and are up against cash offers.
I think it really comes down to regional "norms". When I bought my first house ever, my buyer's agent suggested we put in a 24hr expiration to the offer (this was in MI). I have to assume his reasoning was that it kept the seller from "shopping around" for better offers and prompted the bird-in-the-hand trade-off decision point.
I honestly have no idea if our most recent purchase had an expiration clause in the offer - it simply didn't come up in our discussions.
Of course you put a deadline on the offer. Otherwise, you might be waiting weeks or months for an answer.
And it's frustrating to want a house, commit to an offer, put in your earnest money, and have to wait for a response.
On the other hand, I get the impression that the deadline hasn't expired, so you have to have pat.
In our contracts here, there is no place for a "deadline" to respond. Why? Because until all parties have agreed on all parts of the contract, and signed off on them, it's not a contract. And, putting one in Special Provisions simply irritates the seller and makes them feel that the buyer is trying to pressure them, not a good way to start off negotiations. A nice email cover letter expressing WHY the buyer NEEDS a prompt response (and being infected with the immediate gratification virus that plagues our society is not a need) works much better.
But these particular sellers may be ambivalent about selling or may think that taking their time is a negotiating tactic, or they may simply have other things going on in their lives that are equally important to them.
Or, and this is likely, this may be why the house is still on the market after three months. While it is usually something about the house, sometimes it's about the sellers and their lacksadaisical approach.
Thanks!
Open-ended offers are most common here.
Anyone with a "Deadline for Acceptance" addendum in their offer better be able to say they are flying home Sunday night, or going on a cruise in a couple of days and won't have service.
And it should be a fat offer if it wants to be accepted.
And, the buyers agent should be calling to confirm terms that would be accommodating to sellers, such as closing date and appliances or other details, and to ask if there are other offers.
Yanno... This is worthy of a CD poll, because practices seem to vary and many emotions seem to come into play.
I don't generally recommend deadlines, and when my clients don't get the house, it is almost always because of price, and second most often because they are financing and are up against cash offers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hooligan
I think it really comes down to regional "norms". When I bought my first house ever, my buyer's agent suggested we put in a 24hr expiration to the offer (this was in MI). I have to assume his reasoning was that it kept the seller from "shopping around" for better offers and prompted the bird-in-the-hand trade-off decision point.
I honestly have no idea if our most recent purchase had an expiration clause in the offer - it simply didn't come up in our discussions.
We have a standard contract form here, which includes an expiration time and date that gets filled in as part of the grid with all of the other contract dates. 24 to 48 hours is the norm. So open-ended offers are non-existent here.
Sorry Mike, but I think you jumped the gun on this one with your somewhat snarky comments regarding the idea of an offer with an expiration, just because that happens to be a different practice than you are used to.
The 72 hours was a thing put in place by the realtor-- I didn't ask for it.. its just standard wording around here. I've never seen an open ended, no deadline contract. Most contracts around here have a 24 hour clause. We even told the realtor at the end of the 72 hours that we didn't want to walk away, but we needed an answer by the weekend or we would have to keep looking. Because-- while its the perfect property for us... we also need to be moved by a certain date. That's just the reality of the situation.
The sellers ultimately did accept the offer-- apparently this is the first time they've sold a house and bought another at the same time and they were afraid to accept the offer because their offer on the house they want to move to hadn't been accepted yet. The realtor gently explained that if they let the offer on their house get away-- how do they plan on buying the next one?
And yes-- I know offering full list when its over what the comps would likely support may seem foolish and that's fine. I have my reasons on this one.
Excellent news! Glad that it was just some ignorance about the process on the part of the sellers, and not any actual barriers to selling.
And while I don't know what the value of the house is, if it's otherwise the right house for you, 7K is pretty minimal in the scheme of things, esp. if it's a somewhat higher value to start with. No one wants to over pay, but there is value to getting what you want when you want/need it.
We have a standard contract form here, which includes an expiration time and date that gets filled in as part of the grid with all of the other contract dates. 24 to 48 hours is the norm. So open-ended offers are non-existent here.
Sorry Mike, but I think you jumped the gun on this one with your somewhat snarky comments regarding the idea of an offer with an expiration, just because that happens to be a different practice than you are used to.
In what context, and for what expressed legal or transactional reason, is there an accept or termination clause in the standard contracts?
Are these REALTOR Association documents, or State documents?
In what context, and for what expressed legal or transactional reason, is there an accept or termination clause in the standard contracts?
Are these REALTOR Association documents, or State documents?
Arizona's realtor docs have a deadline & there's an obligation on the part of the broker/agent to present that offer as soon as reasonably possible as well - so no real excuse for dawdling. If I don't have a response within 72 hours (or at least a notification of why I don't have a response), I have an answer anyway. I don't see a reason for sellers not to respond, except if they're hoping for better offers, which kinda goes against your general "work the offer you have mentality".. If I actually had an offer for every time I was told "an offer is coming", I'd have a lot more offers.
Interesting form.
So, there is no reason for an acceptance deadline other than the State mandates it?
How rampant is gaming offers in Colorado, that the state had to implement a mandatory deadline for acceptance?
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