"I've Changed My Mind."
On Friday at 3:00 pm I put a new home listing on the San Diego market. By Sunday, we had multiple offers and were over asking price. Out of the offers, two were particularly strong and the sellers accepted one of them. Before letting the other agents know, I confirmed with the buyers' agent to make sure they wanted the home (yes, they did and even visited the home a second time and "loved" it).
This morning the buyers
' agent let me know that the buyers had "changed their mind."
While I understand buyers canceling escrow for different reasons, a change of heart within 12 hours of getting the home makes me believe they put in an offer without really wanting it. With short sales and REOs it seems common for buyers to put many offers out there since they have a slim chance of getting any of them. I have several buyers who have had to put in 15 or so offers over many, many months until getting one, and it's almost anticlimactic when they actually get their offer accepted. I get it. However, this is a traditional sale and the sellers took all offers very seriously, respected the offers' expiration dates, and negotiated in good faith.
It seems that these buyers were not really committed to buying the home. If they weren't, they shouldn't have put an offer in. All this did was create extra work for everyone and an illusion of commitment. The other buyers who made an offer and were truly committed were probably disappointed that their offer wasn't accepted. It's not so easy for another buyer to hear that they can now have the home only because the first choice no longer wants it.
So, to buyers: An offer is serious and can result in a contract to purchase. You shouldn't just throw out offers to see if anything will stick. When you are making an offer you should do this only because you really want the home. Don't make an offer unless you are truly motivated to buy it. If you don't really want it, don't bother making an offer. Move on to something you really want.
Deborah Engel, Prudential California Realty, is a recognized San Diego and Carmel Valley Realtor for top client satisfaction. If you'd like to learn more about Deborah, visit her website, www.PropertyByDeb.com, email her, Deb@PropertyByDeb.com, or call her at 858-829-1989.
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