What would you do?

We listed our house recently and had a broker's open last Thursday and a public open on Saturday. By Sunday morning we had 6 offers! 4 weren't great offers, but we got a full price offer and an offer that was $6,000 over asking. We decided to go with the one that was over asking. The buyer has already scheduled an inspection for Wednesday.

Our agent called us this morning and said there have been other offers that came in, but never mentioned them to us b/c we already accepted a good deal. However, someone just came in with an offer that's $24,000 over asking! That would be around $16,000-$17,000 more in our pocket!

It's super tempting, but if we dropped the one we already committed to and the new one has issues, we'd have burned the original bridge. Plus we feel like we've already given our word and if feels wrong to go back on it just for more money. But dang - that's hard to turn down!

What would you do in a similar situation?

What would you do?

i have not been in the situation from your POV, but the opposite. i was the one buying a house, had an accepted offer (verbal, nothing signed) and completed an inspection. right before we signed any papers, we were told the owners got a higher offer. we couldn't up ours, so we were out of luck. it totally sucked for us, but i can see why they did it.

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You should try to stall the first offer while the higher offer does home inspection.
That is a significant amount of money. Seems like you have a lot of interest.

I've handled a situation like this as a realtor and its not a great position to be in. I always stress that its not a done deal till contracts are signed.

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highest isnt always best. ask both buyers for their financials.

does one have to sell in order to buy?

can one put more than 20% down payment?

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may I ask WHY your agent didnt present ALL offers to you?! thats illegal what he/she did!!!

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if you dont have a CofO for the basement bath, is it in the listing? Grab some sheetrock and get to work! lol

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Message edited 2/6/2017 12:03:37 PM.

Re: What would you do?

Have you signed anything? Has offer one spent money on the appraisal? I would tell offer one if ey have not spent t offer two came in. I would tell offer one and offer two, final and best. This way everyone is on he same page and you are upfront about everything.

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When we were buying our offer was accepted, we had the inspection and before contracts were signed the sellers came back and said they had a higher offer. It was 45k more than our offer so I did not blame them for taking it and we weren't willing to match it. Until contracts are signed I think as a buyer you have to expect things to happen. In my case the sellers were very nice and reimbursed us for the cost of our inspection.

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I'll preface with I'm one of those money isn't everything and believe in good karma people.
To me a deal is a deal even if the contract isn't signed. I'm sure its very tempting but the deal for more can still fall through. My friend recently listed in Massapequa park. Got an offer over asking and all cash. They wound up backing out.

What would you do?

Would you entertain reimbursing for the first inspection? As a buyer I would understand the seller taking the higher offer but I would be upset that I paid for an inspection for no reason.

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So you are free to take the higher offer (and your agent is obligated to present all offers, unless you instruct him not to). As others have said, you aren't legally bound until you sign the contract.

That being said - this market is getting crazy. Sometimes I'm finding that buyers have fear of missing out and come in super high or agree to terms with the sellers that they then later change their mind about.

So I would look beyond price and assess the buyers' terms and situations, first of all.

If the buyers that came in $24K over asking seem qualified and serious, then I would talk to the buyers who have the accepted offer at $6K over, explain that you have a significantly higher offer, and ask if they are willing to come up or if they are at their max. At least you are giving them the option.

They haven't yet invested in the home inspection, so if they can't come up, and you take the highest offer, it's not the end of the world. If you do it the right way, and let them know that you appreciate the offer (and are transparent with them about what's happening), they should understand.

And you are in a good position because you have a few good back ups in case something falls through at the inspection and/or contract phases, which unfortunately does sometimes happen.

ETA - You should be upfront with all buyers about the lack of C/O for the bath. Many attorneys exclude basement bathrooms from the contract (as requiring a C/O) and most banks will overlook it. But nobody likes to feel blindsided. They may be giving value to that bath that they otherwise wouldn't if they knew it wasn't legal. As a buyers' agent, I always ask, but if it hasn't come up, I would disclose it now. C/O issues are common but it's best to be proactive and get all parties on the same page early on. Otherwise, it can cost you good buyers/good deals. If you are honest and upfront, many buyers will work with you about it. It's not a huge deal.

Message edited 2/6/2017 4:12:37 PM.

What would you do?

@Century 21 Dallow - Christine Braun - Thanks so much for your opinion! I would feel ok about being up front with the $6K buyer instead of just dropping them.

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No problem.

Ultimately, it's a business transaction and you have to take the best deal for you, trying to maximize your proceeds but also taking all factors into account.

However, I always believe in being honest and fair to everyone (especially in this crazy market). I think buyers just want to know they've been treated fairly and that there's nothing underhanded going on. It's just a very tough market for buyers, so you shouldn't feel guilty about accepting the best offer for you. I think it's just the way it's done that is key. As others have said: karma. Treat others fairly and with respect and hopefully that comes back to you!

Good luck!

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We went through this exact situation when selling our house in October. We accepted a full price offer. The next day our agent called and said we had an offer $20K over asking. The first buyer already had an inspection scheduled. We asked for financials from the new buyer. They came back stellar. We went with the new offer. We also reimbursed the original buyer for the cost of the inspection. We felt that was the right thing to do.

Keep in mind this is business. If the financials check out go with the higher offer. My husband was conflicted. I was not. When we put our house on the market our goal was to sell the house in the shortest amount of time for the most amount of money. With financials being equal or better why wouldn't you take more $? Until contracts are signed there is no legal obligation on either side.

ETA: We were up front with the original buyer. They were given the opportunity to submit a new offer.

Message edited 2/7/2017 1:48:40 PM.

What would you do?

How's this for a crazy turn of events....

My realtor strongly suggested that the buyer we choose goes through his mortgage company. So he ran the information for the one we originally agreed to (the one that was $6K over asking) and the down payment was suspicious. We said no way, and now we're going with the buyer that was $24K over asking!

Let's just hope this one goes through!! If it doesn't I think we might have another back up. One of the buyers that we turned down (he was $10K less than asking and his realtor wanted an extra 1.5% on top) came to the house multiple times yesterday - trying to convince DH to go with him. He even said he'd raise his offer. Not that we want to be in business with someone that was super pushy, but if he came up in his offer and got his realtor to drop the extra commission, we might have a back-up!

Crazy world, but I'll be glad when it's all over and we're driving away with that check!

Message edited 2/7/2017 4:34:04 PM.

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What do you mean the down payment was "suspicious"?

But yes, always a good idea for your agent to call the loan officers who issued the preapprovals for any buyers you are considering and verifying all the financials.

Of course, you cannot compel a buyer to use a particular lender, but you can ask them to get preapproved by your realtors' preferred lender, to make sure they are financially qualified.

Sometimes these things work out as they should. If the first buyers' financials don't check out, then you can move on to the higher offer, guilt-free!

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