I put an offer in on a house Sunday. It is now Tuesday. My realtor said that the listing agent doesn't answer her calls or call her back. My realtor is very persistent and does a great job, so I know it isn't her. When I got there Sunday to write the offer, another lady was leaving, and I believe she had just written an offer. However she'd have submitted it by yesterday (Monday) so why haven't I gotten my answer yet? My realtor said that putting a time limit on an offer in this market does not work. So there is no time limit. The house is near forclosure, so why are the sellers taking their time? Are they waiting to get more offers in? I offered full asking price, but they are to pay $5,500.00 in seller concessions. I don't think that's a bad offer in this market. Here in MI. the market is really bad. When do you think I should expect a response by? I am getting kind of mad. I want out of this house before it gets cold outside.
2007-10-23 04:56:27 · 6 answers · asked by Olivia 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
It isn't in forclosure yet. The sellers have to say yes or no, then the bank has to approve it. And my realtor didn't say that the offer expires after 48 hours. Maybe there are different laws about that in diff. states,
2007-10-23 05:34:23 · update #1
If the house is already in foreclosure, the offer is in the bank's hands, and they seem to drag their feet when dealing with property foreclosure offers. I know this from persoanl experience. Or, maybe if it is the actual owners, they might be out of town.I know you are anxious , and you should have had a reply by now, but there is nothing you can do if you trust your realtor..
2007-10-23 05:20:37 · answer #1 · answered by Harley Lady 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Some great answers here, particularly acermill's.
As acermill stated, this is a short sale if the bank has to approve it. The problem with short sales is that banks are overwhelemed with them currently and they don't have the staff to deal with the amount of files that are crossing their desks currently (particularly if it's a large national bank).
I'm aware of several short sale deals that have taken weeks, and I know of 1 that is still working after 3 months. It's probably not that the seller doesn't want to get back to you or that the listing agent is snubbing you (althought they should give your agent a call back even if they have no news), but they may be anxiously waiting for an answer as well.
In a short sale the bank is approving an offer where the seller is not getting enough money from the home sale to pay off the full loan amount. The bank has to negotiate with the home owner on how (or if) this money is to be repaid as well as if they want to accept the short sale or just forclose.
This is a new stuff to many agents as well as lenders and has arisen from our sub prime mortgage mess. If you like the house, be patient in my limited sphere I'm aware of deals that have taken as long as 3 + months (also aware of deals that have been resolved in as little as a week).
Even without the short sale side of things, some sellers are just slow. It's not unusual for a response to take up to 5 - 7 days (usually there's a reason that's communicated for the delay). I don't recommend the use of 48 hour to respond BS and I don't recommend seller's weighing options to give in to that pressure either. The buyer wants the house or they wouldn't have wasted their time writing the contract, so any deadline is just smoke. If they're that flaky, it's better to get them out of the way before inspection issues come up anyway. So, give it some time. In this case though, it is probably the bank that's delaying things and not the seller or the agent.
You can always withdraw your offer at anytime if you do get tired of waiting.
Good Luck.
2007-10-23 13:36:57 · answer #2 · answered by DP1980 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No timeline on it means that they reply when they feel like it. If they have other offers coming in then they may wait to see what else comes up. They may also want to see if anyone offers more than asking price. Just depends on the seller. We looked at a place that had been on the market for over a year and was a flip, made a decent offer, they flat declined and said they were asking a price not negotiating-our agent was floored that they did this in the current market. So we wound up getting a place with twice the space and for only $6,000 more than the other place was asking-it is also a flip but it is from a company/group that said after 90 days on the market they want to see it sell and get to the next house to flip not set on it for ever. We close next week. Sometimes these things work out for a good reason. If they want to stall and see if a bidding war occurs-it might not be the place for you. Good luck, hope you can get moved before it gets to nasty outside.
2007-10-23 12:47:55 · answer #3 · answered by VAgirl 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In our area of Texas it is not normal to have deadlines in our contracts. If you put them in the sellers tend to take the entire time you give them. We normally get answers right away without them. If you have no deadline you can normally withdraw your offer or modify it at anytime until it is accepted. So if you now want to add a deadline to your offer you would normally be able to--at least around here.
Most sellers want to answer right away, but some individuals may have a delay wanting to wait and see if they get a second or third offer and yet hold on to yours just in case. They may have a delay that has nothing to do with real estate such as a health issue that has interfered with them getting back with you. Or it may be a problem with their mortgage company in approving a short payoff. It is a shame the listing agent is not returning calls. Maybe the seller is trying to answer you but this agent is the delay!
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If the bank has to approve the contract the sellers are doing a short pay. The sellers agent should still keep you informed but the sellers will normally not sign or agree to the contract until the bank says they will approve the deal and that could take weeks.
2007-10-23 12:45:55 · answer #4 · answered by glenn 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Frankly, these folks do not have to EVER respond to your offer, if they choose to not do so. There is a requirement for real estate agents to submit all offers. There is NO requirement for a seller to respond in any fashion, even though courtesy would dictate that they do so.
The sellers may be waiting for a more attractive offer (sounds like another was written), or they may be countering the other offer. (There is no requirement that they counter YOUR offer.)
Whether or not YOU think it's a good offer is irrelevant. The final decision as to the quality of the offer rests in the seller's hands (and in this case, the bank's hands, since it appears to be a short sale scenario)
2007-10-23 13:06:14 · answer #5 · answered by acermill 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ALWAYS put a time limit on your offer. Something like 48 hours. If the 48 hours pass and there is no acceptance, your offer is void.
Agents are REQUIRED to submit all offers to the owner of the property.
2007-10-23 12:21:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
sounds like the sellers agent is slacking off.
I'll bet the sellers know nothing about it.
2007-10-23 13:03:56 · answer #7 · answered by selery222 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋