Back Up Offers - The Silent Enemy.

Well said and buyers need to made aware that the potential is there for backup offers. And it may just get them pushed to being the backup offer!

Have you had many back up offers lately?  I've been hearing about multiple offers on "hot" properties from everyone I know.

Very informative post Gabrielle. By the way, you are up way too early out there.

Yes, sometimes the greatest part of our job is managing expectations.  The buyer needs to read the part of the purchase agreement that refers to MAJOR DEFECTS

Good information. I just received a back-up offer on a property. The buyer had made an offer in the begining from a lazy broker who usually handles investment properties. The offer was low, not even filled out correctly (adress missing on the pages, only the last name of my seller) and we went went with another well written offer with a nice letter attached about how much the buyers loved the house. It turns out so did this couple. They are now with another agent and wrote a nice letter also! It's a shame..it does matter if your agent cares!

Gabrielle, The home inspection repairs is not the opportunity to make a resale house a new house. In Maryland, the sellers don't really have to repair anything if they don't want. The risk is that the buyer will walk. As agents, we all know that there is a point at which the sellers will push back and push back hard. We don't want to be at that point...but maybe just below it. Rich

Gabrielle - Good morning!  Some agents misunderstand and think that a listing agent has a duty to tell them if there is a back up offer.  Not so in our area and I also caution my buyers to be thoughtful in their repair requests and then warn if the seller plays hard ball there may be a reason.  Great points for all to consider, nice reflective post!

Gabrielle,

Your writing flows so easily; it's a pleasure to read.  Are you the artist for the "peeking eyes?"  That's a cool graphic!

Mike in Tucson

Good morning Gabrielle, great points.  I only wish we had more back up offers for our listings.  Then, on the other hand, we don't often recommend back up offers for our buyers, unless there's some exceptional circumstances.

Lots of buyers are over negotiating. Sometimes they  just talk  themselves out of the deal.

We now have an alternative we can use in our offers that allows the buyer to pay a small option fee, inspect anything they want and walk for any or no reason. If they don't walk, (and 98% of them don't) the fee goes to the earnest money and a bit more of that is added. There has been push back from old school agents who don't know how to use it effectively but I love it. The home inspection is NOT the NEXT opportunity to renegotiate the already negotiated price by nickle and diming the seller.

On the flip side, just because a seller has a backup offer doesn't mean s/he should be quick to refuse all repairs. In NC if the repair is more than cosmetic it may well require disclosure so the problem doesn't go away just because they refuse to fix it. The back up offer will find it and may, legally, need to be told even if they don't find it.

Buyers and sellers, when educated and advised by experienced agents, should almost always be able to complete a contract without one or both feeling cheated or abused, back up offer or not. Besides, who wants to start the process all over again?

Great topic! Thanks for bringing it up!

Very informative post. Nothing like another interested party to spur people to action or inaction as the case may be.

DW