Listed Price vs Offer

luvflyin

luvflyin

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Luvflyin
Have house for sale. First offer came in. $17,000 more than the listed price. Do we have to accept it? Voices in my head from many years ago say yeah, you have to accept it. But it seems maybe that's wrong. What's the skinny on this. It's in Oregon.
 
What are your thoughts on why you would NOT accept it?
What are the details of the offer? Does the offer come with contingencies which you do not like? Financing or inspection or sale of other property or other contingencies? What percent/funds are being provided with the offer as an earnest deposit?
 
That was the "standard game" when we sold in Portland 3 years ago. We had several offers over list, and accepted one about 40k over. Your realtor should know if 17k over is where the game is going to stop, but I do not believe you have a contractual obligation to accept. Even if there is a written obligation, I think there are 100 ways to weasel out if you want to hold out for more. I don't think any of the real estate "contract rituals" actually happen -- and nothing (like, say, earnest money for nonperformance) actually gets enforced by the agents/escrows, you need to sue to enforce contract rights.

Bay area seems to "list" at about 60% of expected sale price, which creates some really skewed games with the realtors. They defend the practice claiming "The bay area is a bidding market" whatever the heck that means. Like many bad things, I suspect this trend will spread over to the rest of the country :D
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
What are your thoughts on why you would NOT accept it?
What are the details of the offer? Does the offer come with contingencies which you do not like? Financing or inspection or sale of other property or other contingencies? What percent/funds are being provided with the offer as an earnest deposit?
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Here's the story. My mom's house. She's pretty much out of the picture, told my sister and I to take care of it. Agent came up with $699,000 as the asking price. Got the $716,000 offer the day after the listing went live on MLS. The offer expires 8 AM tommorrow. There is an open house this weekend. My sister wants to wait until after the open house. Seems like maybe not a bad idea. I told the agent to get an extension on the offer. He got back later and said he'd just let the offer expire.
 
luvflyin said:
Here's the story. My mom's house. She's pretty much out of the picture, told my sister and I to take care of it. Agent came up with $699,000 as the asking price. Got the $716,000 offer the day after the listing went live on MLS. The offer expires 8 AM tommorrow. There is an open house this weekend. My sister wants to wait until after the open house. Seems like maybe not a bad idea. I told the agent to get an extension on the offer. He got back later and said he'd just let the offer expire.
Click to expand...

OH, that's a different thing -- that's a poor man's "option" that some "investor" goons do to lock up the property, decide if it meets their cap/margin requirement, then they flake if it's not a good deal for them.
 
Unless you're in a hurry, why rush? If they really want the house, they'll pony up even more before the open house. If you're in a desirable area with low inventory, the next offer is just around the corner. It's up to your agent to advise you if they think you won't do better than the offer on the table.
 
schmookeeg said:
That was the "standard game" when we sold in Portland 3 years ago. We had several offers over list, and accepted one about 40k over. Your realtor should know if 17k over is where the game is going to stop, but I do not believe you have a contractual obligation to accept. Even if there is a written obligation, I think there are 100 ways to weasel out if you want to hold out for more. I don't think any of the real estate "contract rituals" actually happen -- and nothing (like, say, earnest money for nonperformance) actually gets enforced by the agents/escrows, you need to sue to enforce contract rights.

Bay area seems to "list" at about 60% of expected sale price, which creates some really skewed games with the realtors. They defend the practice claiming "The bay area is a bidding market" whatever the heck that means. Like many bad things, I suspect this trend will spread over to the rest of the country :D
Click to expand...
My daughter sold in Portland just about 3 years ago and yeah, it was a knockdown drag out bidding war. Ended up with about $60,000 over list.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Unless you're in a hurry, why rush? If they really want the house, they'll pony up even more before the open house. If you're in a desirable area with low inventory, the next offer is just around the corner. It's up to your agent to advise you if they think you won't do better than the offer on the table.
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Time is on our side, we don't 'need' to sell right away.
 
I don't really know but if u think about it that would mean everyone has to take the very first offer they get and I don't think that's the case. also, if it's called an 'offer', can't people turn down offers? when selling a house, is there a sell period? I would think there is a period where all offers could be considered. again, I have no clue.
 
FastEddieB said:
Legally? I can’t imagine how. An offer to sell is not a contract.
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Last time I sold a house was in California about 15 years ago. This issue came up. What I remember is being told you have to accept an offer if it is at or over the list price. Supposedly to keep sellers from declining to sell based on demographics.
 
luvflyin said:
The offer expires 8 AM tommorrow. There is an open house this weekend. My sister wants to wait until after the open house. Seems like maybe not a bad idea. I told the agent to get an extension on the offer. He got back later and said he'd just let the offer expire.
Click to expand...
The offer specifically wants you to cancel the open house scheduled for this weekend.

I like your sister's idea.

I would go with the professional advice of your agent who presumable knows the relevant laws for your locality and based on the advice of your agent, let the offer expire.

See what you get over the weekend. It is not just about the offer price but also about the details contained within the offer. It is not a done deal until the closing is completed.

Good Luck !!!
 
Your agent should let them know the seller is not considering any offers until 4:00pm on Tuesday. If they want you to take it off the market, it better be more than $17…more like at least 5-10% over asking, depending on the market and how aggressive the listing price.
 
All cash offers have more credibility than one requesting time to arrange financing. The last house I sold I refused a contingent offer and accepted an all cash offer that, although lower, met my needs. No repercussions. -Skip
 
luvflyin said:
Last time I sold a house was in California about 15 years ago. This issue came up. What I remember is being told you have to accept an offer if it is at or over the list price. Supposedly to keep sellers from declining to sell based on demographics.
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Sounds like your realtor didn't want to drag out the sale holding for better offers. FWIW, I've bought and sold 2 houses in CA with no such requirement.

Nauga,
who is not a land baron
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
What are your thoughts on why you would NOT accept it?
What are the details of the offer? Does the offer come with contingencies which you do not like? Financing or inspection or sale of other property or other contingencies? What percent/funds are being provided with the offer as an earnest deposit?
Click to expand...
No contingencies we don't like. Funny thing though. There is a pond with goldfish in it. "Pond Fish" is one of the things to be included. I emailed the Agent and said 'oh darn, we were hoping to keep the fish for ourselves, lol' She's pre approved for a conventional loan and has 20% to put down. Probably wants to avoid Private Mortgage Insurance
 
Brad Z said:
Your agent should let them know the seller is not considering any offers until 4:00pm on Tuesday. If they want you to take it off the market, it better be more than $17…more like at least 5-10% over asking, depending on the market and how aggressive the listing price.
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He's doing something like that except it's Monday.
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
The offer specifically wants you to cancel the open house scheduled for this weekend.

I like your sister's idea.

I would go with the professional advice of your agent who presumable knows the relevant laws for your locality and based on the advice of your agent, let the offer expire.

See what you get over the weekend. It is not just about the offer price but also about the details contained within the offer. It is not a done deal until the closing is completed.

Good Luck !!!
Click to expand...
Hmm. That could be true. Trying to get the Open House cancelled.
 
Last edited:
Mongoose Aviator said:
The offer specifically wants you to cancel the open house scheduled for this weekend.

I like your sister's idea.

I would go with the professional advice of your agent who presumable knows the relevant laws for your locality and based on the advice of your agent, let the offer expire.

See what you get over the weekend. It is not just about the offer price but also about the details contained within the offer. It is not a done deal until the closing is completed.

Good Luck !!!
Click to expand...
Thx
 
schmookeeg said:
OH, that's a different thing -- that's a poor man's "option" that some "investor" goons do to lock up the property, decide if it meets their cap/margin requirement, then they flake if it's not a good deal for them.
Click to expand...
It's not investors unless they've hired a shill. Suppose she could be an investor though I doubt it. I've found out a lot about her. Doesn't fit.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Unless you're in a hurry, why rush? If they really want the house, they'll pony up even more before the open house. If you're in a desirable area with low inventory, the next offer is just around the corner. It's up to your agent to advise you if they think you won't do better than the offer on the table.
Click to expand...
Well, maybe. You also could turn off a good buyer. They made an offer, over asking price, with a reasonable 24 hour response window. I think if you wanted to wait for after the open house, the ad should have said "offers will be reviewed Sunday at 8pm following open house Saturday"

You may get more, but sometimes the first offer is your best.
 
Why would you not accept it? You wanted X, you're getting X+17.

Sometimes people don't know how to take the win. If someone offered you 17k over your asking price for your airplane, you'd accept instantly.
 
luvflyin said:
Last time I sold a house was in California about 15 years ago. This issue came up. What I remember is being told you have to accept an offer if it is at or over the list price. Supposedly to keep sellers from declining to sell based on demographics.
Click to expand...
I was told the same thing when I sold a house in Georgia ~20 years ago.
 
bflynn said:
Why would you not accept it? You wanted X, you're getting X+17.

Sometimes people don't know how to take the win. If someone offered you 17k over your asking price for your airplane, you'd accept instantly.
Click to expand...
Been explained above, but yeah, we may be:mad2:
 
Half Fast said:
Really? I believe your state legislature and governor just decided I wouldn’t be able to bring several of my firearms with me.
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I was being........
fa·ce·tious

adjective
adjective: facetious
treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant.
"a facetious remark"

I'll take you off my list of potential buyers:(
 
You are not required to accept any offer. Ignore the deadlines, if you are negotiating then you should be back and forth well beyond the expiry of the initial offer. It’s a game of catch, keep tossing the ball.

I would wait at least 7-10 days in this market to give everyone the chance to see the home and to think about it overnight and put in their offers. Then your agent can bid them against each other to get more.

Keep in mind if you mark the house as pending and then the buyer backs out due to inspection or financing then that could scare away future buyers who may think something is wrong with your house. So you want to accept solid offers, Google search the buyers name and determine if they are a first time homebuyer, investor, etc. I would not do a FHA loan when you can get conventional or cash, get a good enough deposit and see if there are any contingencies. I have had first time homebuyers end up not able to get the loan due to buying a new car while pending, I’ve had some banks refuse to give a loan on the house. It wastes a ton of time dealing with FHA, first time homebuyers or people who are not serious. Also check their proof of funds for the down payment. Anything stretching their ability to borrow is a higher risk of not getting the money at closing and you find out much later in the game. Go from there.
 
mandm said:
Then your agent can bid them against each other to get more.
Click to expand...

That’s what’s known as shopping an offer and at least in my state is illegal.

Telling all parties that there are multiple offers and to submit their highest and best to be considered is the legal way to do it.
 
Although not illegal in my state, my brother had a horror story in the same situation:

Got an offer on the first day of the listing for $10k over asking price, which he simply did not respond to, because he had an open house on the weekend. Got a second offer for more on the weekend and took it. Before closing, his realtor called and someone sued/filed an injunction to stop the sale, claiming racism...it was the person making the first offer. He didn't even know the race of the person who made the first offer! Tied the house up for about 18 months in court.
 
luvflyin said:
No contingencies we don't like. Funny thing though. There is a pond with goldfish in it. "Pond Fish" is one of the things to be included. I emailed the Agent and said 'oh darn, we were hoping to keep the fish for ourselves, lol' She's pre approved for a conventional loan and has 20% to put down. Probably wants to avoid Private Mortgage Insurance
Click to expand...
Pre-approved is not the same as having the mortgage.

It is very possible that you could get a cash offer over the weekend from the open house.

imho Cash is King. If you can accept an offer that avoids a financing contingency that would be awesome. Fast Track !!!
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
Pre-approved is not the same as having the mortgage.

It is very possible that you could get a cash offer over the weekend from the open house.

imho Cash is King. If you can accept an offer that avoids a financing contingency that would be awesome. Fast Track !!!
Click to expand...
Yup. A cash buyer is less likely to want a large credit for closing costs.
 
Country Flier said:
Although not illegal in my state, my brother had a horror story in the same situation:

Got an offer on the first day of the listing for $10k over asking price, which he simply did not respond to, because he had an open house on the weekend. Got a second offer for more on the weekend and took it. Before closing, his realtor called and someone sued/filed an injunction to stop the sale, claiming racism...it was the person making the first offer. He didn't even know the race of the person who made the first offer! Tied the house up for about 18 months in court.
Click to expand...
Did he counter sue?
 
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