Time Is Of The Essence Or Is It, When It Comes To Making An Offer?
Have you ever been put into this situation with one of your deals? You put a property up for sale, put the sign out in the yard, MLS, Craig’s List etc. and soon after you get an offer. Great. The price was low than listed and you are given a written counter- offer. The problem is they don’t respond. In the mean time another offer is made.
Here is where it get’s sticky, the first couple calls back and says we will accept your counter offer. They give hint to bring suit against you knowing the other offer is in place if you don’t sell them the house. What should you do and what options do you have?
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind. Most standard contracts have a “time of the essence” clause which gives the parties involved a specific or specified time to respond.
This is usually 48-72 hours or whatever is deemed appropriate for the deal at hand. If no decision is met during this time frame all bets are off, and your offer is automatically voided. This of course frees up the position of the homeowner to re-market the property to the next willing and able buyer.
Double check your counter-offer that was presented, just to make sure as to not worry about any lose ends. Please note: even if the clause was not stated in your contract it would be unlikely a lawsuit would force a sale on this property because undue hardship to both parties really never took place.
Keep in mind for any and all future offers that a time frame of 48-72 hours is a good practice to get into. I have also added one step further by putting an hour deadline as well.
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