It can be heartbreaking to find a home you love, submit an offer, and have it rejected! Especially in a competitive market where there are multiple offers on many homes, it can be frustrating. However, sometimes sellers reject offers and it just isn’t clear why, especially if you are perhaps the only offer. Here are some reasons why a seller might reject your offer that might not be immediately clear. One of the biggest (and unfortunate) things to remember as a buyer is that a seller does not have to accept ANY offer, even if it is above asking price, waives inspections, and is the best offer you think you could have put together. At the end of the day it IS the seller’s decision, and they can accept (or not accept!) any offer, any time. Sometimes, netting as much as possible is more important to the seller than your type of financing, if you’re doing inspections or not, or how long your contract period is. Some sellers want to close as soon as possible and would rather make less money to do so,
Make sure your agent is taking their time to create a relationship with the listing agent and find out what is important to the seller so you can structure your offer accordingly. Some tips to make sure your offer has the best chance of getting accepted? Offer list price or above, especially in competitive markets! Unless a home has been sitting stagnant on the market, sellers are not likely to accept an offer below asking. They have no reason to take less in just a few days or even weeks. Keep your contingencies to a minimum – this includes being strategic about home sale contingencies, inspections, asking for seller help/credits, etc. Keep your timeline for settlement appealing to the seller depending on their needs, including a rent back/post settlement occupancy agreement, or whether they need a fast or extended closing.
Sometimes, sellers reject offers and it has nothing to do with you. As we always try to remember in real estate, agents are in place for a reason, and we don’t always know what is going on “on the other side”. Make sure that you have an amazing lender and agent behind you so that at the end of the day, you know you’ve put your best foot forward with an offer you’re comfortable with. We have lots of tricks up our sleeve as to small ways to make offers more appealing to sellers, and we would love to share them with you!
Reach out to us ANY time for a buyer consultation and we can share some of our magic with you!
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