Must A Home Seller Respond To Our Offer?
Question: We have made two cash offers for a property and not received a response from the seller even though the property has been on the market for nearly two years. Must the sellers respond?
Answer: No. That your offer is in cash does not matter. That you may have made a full-price offer does not matter to you — though it may matter to the brokers involved.
When a home is placed on the market the seller essentially asks if anyone might be interested in the property and, if so, how much would they bid. The advertised price is not necessarily a final sale price — otherwise sellers would be unable to sell homes for a price above the listing amount.
So, when a buyer makes an offer the sellers have several choices: they can accept it, reject it or make a counter-offer. Or, they can do nothing because no response is required. What they cannot do is make a choice made on the basis of discriminatory factors.
However, let’s say the home is listed for $300,000 and a full price offer meeting all listing requirements is received. Now the situation is different. The broker was hired to bring in a ready, willing and able purchaser willing to buy under certain conditions spelled out in the listing agreement. While the owners may not have to sell, the broker has done his or her job and may be entitled to a full commission.
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Syndicated originally by Content That Works and posted with permission.
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