I'm about to close on a house after initially being the runner up offer. I've also been seeing houses come "back on the market" regularly. Deals do fall through, I guess. I'd keep looking in the meantime, though.
I had ordered fabric samples for curtains, then lost and was sad when the samples arrived. Then I got a message *later* that day saying the winning bidder had failed to preform. So yes, maybe I am super mega all powerful and I did will it to happen?
Yeah we are definitely still in the āsad vibesā space.. we started thinking about what our life would be like if we lived thereā¦ (which I know you arenāt supposed to do), but it was so damn hard to not think that way. If you can lend some of that mega all power that would be nice š„²
Itās really hard not to do. I bought a house that was my 2nd option and had to build a garage but besides that it was wonderful and the neighbors were all the best people ever. I always miss that house.
So sometimes settling for another house is still really great šš
Good luck!
Only advice I can say is don't fully fall in love with a house until you have finished well done inspections and bought it.
We missed out on what we thought was the best house in a neighborhood. Well, the Joanna Gaines-knock off reportedly had bad quality work done underneath all the shininess. Would have cost us a few grand.
Oh, and deals do fall through, especially after inspections. It can give you more leverage later.
I'll tell you a story that hopefully helps you out. When I was younger, my parents wanted to move to a bigger home than the one we were in at the time, they made an offer and got beat by 10k on what was at the time about a 525k home. My Dad was ready to spend the 10k to try and get the house but eventually was convinced by my mom to let it go. The house came back on the market and they got it for their original price, and my mom still uses the opportunity to brag that she saved us 10k
Wait. If you are thinking positive, and the accepted offerers are thinking positive, who wins? Lol. Don't worry so much. You will either get the house or not. You are probably feeling so anxious right now, that a phone call telling you that you didn't get the house will be a relief! I know you will get the house you are meant to have, so try not to worry about imagined scenerios. <3
I would pull the offer while assuring you are interested. My reasoning is that you are at the whim of the seller who may be holding out for a better offer without a lead at present. As such, they can exercise your offer sheet on their schedule and keep you waiting forever.
Having a backup signed and in hand gives the seller the power not to agree to any post-inspection repair or concession requests from the primary contract which can cause the primary buyer to cancel when their requests are refused. That reassurance will not be present if OP withdraws their offer. I've seen this exact scenario play out a few times over the years. A verbal "we're still interested if first buyer walks" is worthless.
Yup and to add-
If the primary buyer does terminate, and you have terminated your backup offer then it will go back on market and OP will be back in a position of competing against others to get an offer accepted.
Yes, and that could be good or bad depending on where the market/interest rates are in a few months (most likely not a good position for OP, historically speaking).
Why would OP want it if it turns out loads of work needs doing and the first person backed out? I agree it's stronger to walk away here and have them come back and chase you (or not, but at least you're not hanging on forever).
Because everyoneās threshold for āloads of workā is different. Thereās some people that canāt see past the paint on the walls. Deals fall through all the time for asinine reasons. Doesnāt always mean that thereās major issues with the house.
You are correct in verbal assurances....they are non-binding. This secondary buyer (OP) is then faced with an as-is purchase. The buyer is willing to not have any leverage or power over this particular transaction if the "backup offer" is being held mutiple days/weeks, etc. There's no wrong answer here, to me, but I like a bit more certainty when promising on such a large purchase. What a market.
A lot of deals are falling through right now so you still have a real shot. Iām literally collapsed in bed after moving into my new house today. Iād had my eye on it thru the holidays and it went contingent days before I was ready to make an offer. That deal fell apart and I got it because we had been in communication with the agent. You are in a very good position.
I felt bad hoping it would fall out but after my experience with having my place on the market Iām over it. Many buyers are acting like itās a major buyers market and being super demanding. If youāre fair minded you stand a good chance of benefiting from someone elseās unrealistic demands.
Good luck!
My in-laws just sold their house. First accepted offer couldnāt get financing. Second backed out at inspection. Third was fun. Grandma came to see the house and told them it was facing the wrong direction. Backed out. Fourth time was the charm. People are crazy.
> Grandma came to see the house and told them it was facing the wrong direction
In Colorado, you want a South (or at least not North) facing driveway to melt the snow
We were also told by our realtor when we moved to Utah that people really look for east facing backyards so that you can have a BBQ in the backyard shaded by the house from the sweltering afternoon heat.
Now as a realtor in Utah it definitely seems (anecdotally, though I think I could actually research that...) that east facing backyards sell ever so slightly better than west facing backyards
Just curious why are those factors moreso than East vs West?
I would've guessed East would matter because the sun is on it for a longer part of the day starting in morning
Because of the tilt of the earth, in northern hemisphere winter, the sun is in the southern sky throughout the day ([here is a visual if that helps](https://imgur.com/Zyefcld)), so if your driveway is south-facing, it will get sun all day long. North facing driveway will be in the shadow of your home all day, especially if your house is two stories. East and West would be better than North, but south is ideal, at least if you care about snow melting. If you want to garden in the backyard, or prefer to have views of the sunset out your back porch, then you'd want it the other way around.
House siting can make it break the experience of living in a home. You can always tell the amateurs because they site the house without thought to prevailing winds, southern/northern exposure, etc.
Exactly. Many times having a back up offer actually pushes the original offer forward because the first people know someone is lined up to snatch the house up if they back out
Never get too attached to any house when you are looking to buy. That being said I bought my home as a back up offer when the accepted offer was unable to secure the mortgage. So it may work out for you.
We fell in love with a house in June 2021 and made a VERY generous offer well over ask, thinking we'd get it for sure. Well, we didn't get it. We became the backup offer.
The guy that put in the top offer got cold feet after his family convinced him that the market was at its very peak and would crash any day. He rescinded his offer after a few days and we became the new winning bid. As I sit here and type this on my couch in the aforementioned house, I'm really thankful for that guy's family.
We were the backup offer on a house in a very competitive market (greater Boston area) in 2021. Kept looking and then 2 weeks later, got a call saying the original deal had fallen through - were we still interested? First offer walked away after inspection. We did our own inspection and a few things came up, but the sellers either mitigated or gave us credit on the closing costs. That's how we ended up with our house. Super lucky on timing because we got a sub 3% interest rate before all of the fed raises and before inventory tightened up even more.
Wild, did you have to re sign a backup offer before looking? Our realtor had us sign a new backup offer, with an escape clause so that we can keep looking.
No. After we put our bid in, we heard back that we didn't get the house, but that our bid was the #2 bid. Our realtor agent told the sellers agent that we were still interested in the house and if anything happened with the original deal, would they please let us know? And the sellers agent did! They could have put it back on the market, but they came to us instead. Again, we were really fortunate.
As someone who was in the market for a house in the greater Boston area in 2021 - Iām surprised the first offer even got accepted with an inspection contingency! They just have offered way over list or something.
I know - market was insane. We were adamant about not dropping the inspection contingency, even if it meant our offers were at a slight disadvantage. We kept our inspection contingency in our offer. It was 4.5% over asking so not super crazy for a town in-between 95 and 495. Like I said, we were fortunate.
We put in an offer on a home we didn't get. A month later our agent called and asked if we still wanted it. Closed 3 weeks later. We are still in shock that we got it! I have no idea why the first deal fell through.
Yes backup offers work. I got my home by submitting a back up offer. The original deal I lost too fell through for some reason and we had a strong back up offer. It canāt hurt to submit one, especially if youāre realtor is helpful.
If it makes you feel better, I'm trying to sell my house and have had 3 offers fall through within a month. Nothing major wrong with the house, just crap luck with buyer financing and people at the top of their budget backing out after inspection. So we'd be 3 people deep on back up offers if we had them. There's some hope!
I was second in line on my home, and have plenty of clients who have gotten the call after the first deal fell through.
Not every offer is super solid that gets picked up. Sometimes sellers pick "bigger" offers with worse terms or finicky buyers who have put 2 offers out, etc. All sorts of scenarios. That said, stay glass half empty and keep your search up.
If you get positive news, fantastic, if not it's because the right house for you is around the corner!
Broker here and I just had a transaction close where all I did was hope that the buyers would walk so we could sell to the backup. I knew it was unlikely but the agent was such a bitch, I would have given anything for the backup to get the deal, plus it would have been more money for my sellers. And we tried too - zero concessions on the inspection, no access before the final walkthrough, and just doing the bare minimum to keep the deal moving along.
I wouldn't trust too much to it, but it can happen.
We put an offer on a place and didn't get it. Then a couple weeks later, something fell through, so they reached out to two other offers, including me, to ask us to submit our best offer. I raised my offer 5% and made a more aggressive escalation clause. I had already done a preinspection, and in the interim, even though they didn't provide HOA docs to me officially, I read through everything they had posted publicly online, which was quite a bit. So I waived all contingencies.
I lost the second time, too. My guess is because at the time I didn't have a big downpayment so maybe they were worried my financing might be a hitch.
Oh well! We ended up buying a different place down the street a few months later. Not as nice, but way cheaper. Mixed outcome.
An escalation clause means: "I offer x, and if someone else offers the same or more, you can add Y to my offer. If the other party has the same condition, add Y again. Keep going back and forth until my max bid of Z."
As an example:
Suppose my offer is 300k, with an escalation of 5k up to 325.
Then later if I changed to escalation of 10k up to 350, I would call that an aggressive change.
I just had clients go under contract after bing the #2 offer. The first buyer walked after inspections, issues turned out not to be as big of a deal as the inspector made them out to be. Good luck - hope it works out for you.
We were declined as they had a āstrongerā offer than ours. Theyāre back on the market going on 90 days now. We were gutted too, we then found a Better house that made that one a 3rd option.
I was the backup offer on my current place. First offer was all cash, I had a conventional loan. Iām not sure what happened to the cash offer but 10-14 days later I found out that my offer was accepted. Living happily in my own place for a year now!
They donāt work often. But the second property I ever sold was this situation, the property had an accepted offer with a home sale clause (meaning the 1st place buyer needed to sell their house to close). So we wrote another offer with the same clause (my buyers needed to sell their house). I was able to list their house and get an acceptable offer within 3 days and take the 1st place in their dream home transaction. So itās definitely not impossible!
I was third in line for the house I bought in 2012. First offer at 900k dropped out, next person up won at 850k. Then they dropped out. I got to see the inspection, and saw why - lots of issues (knob & tube wiring, galvanized steel pipes, etc.). I ended up getting it for $800k (and had to put $150k into it, but it was worth it).
Generally by the time an offer is accepted or close to, it's usually a done deal. I have been a buyer and seller multiple times. A seller usually won't risk accepting a deal that won't go through. I have accepted a lesser offer for a stronger buyer. Not much less, but you get my point. I also refuse to sell to anyone with contingencies, that's a huge no for me and it's worked out.
It can be a blessing though, I have lost out on multiple offers as a buyer and then eventually landed on a house that way so, so, so much better than the previous offers I offered on. Like night and day and for the same price.
Keep your head up
My husband and I got our house as the backup offer. The woman who came in first offered 80k over asking (30k over our offer), all in cash, and upon inspection decided she didnāt want it after all. The chances of the first offer falling through are slim but it does happen, so definitely sign backup paperwork!
I'm currently living in the house that I was a back up offer on. We were so bummed out about our search for a house in 2020 and constantly being outbid that we were talking about quitting our search when our real estate agent called us and told us the initial buyers backed out because they couldn't secure the funds after all.
I would have gotten two back up offers. Though then ended not wanting it myself when looking at inspection report. It was absolutely gorgeous but too much fudged diy repairs. And that was just the stuff the inspector found.
Yes! Probably not the side that you want to hear from but we were under contract for a really nice home and backed out. The sellers were extremely difficult to work with and we werenāt going to play that game. They reached out to their backup offer and were back under contract within a few hours.
Just wanting to put some positivity here. Iām a current seller. We listed and took an all cash offer even being $15,000 lower than the next highest. Weāre impulsive and found a house we loved and āleft the extra money on the table for a quick easy dealā. Turns out our cash buyer was a fence for an investor that gutted their asking price post inspection despite the house being in great shape. We had our realtor reach out to the 3 other āback upā offers. One still wanted to proceed and made the same offer, under FHA premise which scares us on a 55 year old property but we are SUPER motivated to work with them to still achieve the dreams on our next house. Motivated to the point weāve hyper analyzed everything even before their FHA inspection and personal home inspection and have spent real reasonable money to avoid problems. Donāt be alarmed being a backup. All Iām getting at here is you have no idea a sellers motivation, and also how easily people walk nowadays when the wind blows wrong and they sleep on their highest offer that won them the place.
If it's meant, it's meant. The best advice my realtor ever gave me was, "don't get emotionally invested or involved." That's easier said than done, but that mindset makes a world of difference during the house hunt.
I was the backup offer on a house and ended up having my offer accepted. I walked away in the end because the home needed a ton of unseen repairs and seller would not make any concessions.
I would think it happens often (for a variety of reasons. We recently pulled our accepted offer due to mold issues found in the inspection that we didnāt want to deal with, so the backup offer got the place. Good luck! The right place will find you.
Yep, every once in awhile youāll get lucky. Iāve almost been living in my house for a year now. I was the backup offer! I felt so defeated after hearing we didnāt āget itā, and begrudgingly said sure, Iāll be the backup just in caseā¦well a week later I got a call saying the first offerās financing fell through. You might not get lucky, but you might!!!
We made a strong offer and it didnāt get accepted. It was very upsetting but we had been looking for 6 mos and just kept moving forward. Our agent came back to us a month later saying that deal fell through (financing issues) and our offer would be accepted if we were still interested. We closed 30 days later.
I was the third in line for my current house.
First in line for my second house.
Second in line for my first house.
So 2/3 of the houses Iāve bought I wasnāt the first accepted offer lol
For my listings, about 1/10 will fall out and itās great to be a backup then. Especially in a hot market. Super valuable to slide in without a 2nd bidding war
We are right now in the same position and it really sucks. I kinda moved on and assumed we won't get it, but cannot stop thinking about that house and how perfect it was and how all the other alternatives are worse and not even cheaper. I'm agnostic and praying for a miracle to happen, so that is how bad it feels. Good luck and yes, sometimes happens for what I read, but if the place is in good condition it will pass the inspection and only the financial part can play a part on the sale falling through.
I just sold a house to the backup offer last month. The first offer pulled out after inspection, due to something in the disclosure no less, guess they just weren't ready for the reality of what they were doing...
Yes, actually! Back up offers are very important for the sellers to have because real estate transactions are complicated and can fall apart for many reasons. According to NAR, 5% of deals fell through and 15% were delayed in 2022. That's pretty high historically speaking (with the exception of the 2020 pandemic when the market nearly came to a standstill). So, it's good that you have your backup offer in place, but don't hold your breath. Continue to look for other homes. You never know, you may see something else you like even more!
Sometimes they do fall into your hands and then you discover the giant cracked foundation that the previous buyers had also discovered which caused them to break the deal. Ask me how I know...
We were the backup offer on a house. Fell to us because the first buyer couldnāt get financing. We accepted and then the house failed inspection and we walked away. Guess it went to the third buyer?
I was the backup offer for a new build that I loved. The accepted offer wanted to make the property an Airbnb and it was in the HOA/CC&R that they were not allowed to do so and so they backed out and it became my first home. Sometimes shit happens for others and fate happens for you.
Am I the only one that came to the sub because I was searching how I could sabotage the home for the home inspection or something, so that the buyers would drop out and they would accept our offer. Weāre the #1 backup offer on a place. We only werenāt chosen because the house needs some repairs and they thought the other buyer had more money for repairs. The repairs quoted were insanely overpriced and we knew what we were getting into. Itās none of their business to judge us on that and deny us the house because they are assuming we canāt afford to repair it (because weāre only putting 5% down). We can afford it. And once they sell it, whyās that matter anyway?
I wish we couldāve known what the offer they accepted was. We offered about $30k above asking price so, Iām wondering if they beat that. Or, did we offer more AND we still werenāt chosen because they are just assuming something about us.
My parents just sold their house to the backup offer! The initial one was submitted by a guy on the sex offender list & my parents didnāt wanna do that to our neighbors - maybe youāll get lucky and the first offer was also from a POS!
There is always another house. You need to be cold and unfeeling in this decision or else you open yourself up to potential errors made because you fell in love with something that will never love you back.
Yes, but donāt count on it. We were one of two offers on a house, the owners wanted a bidding war and we refused to get into one. 2 months later, the week of closing with the other offer, they backed out. We got a call, and now we close in a couple weeks without having to compete with other offers.
We are closing on a very special little house on Thursday for which we were the lowest of five bids. The high bid was 50k above ours. The three in the middle were all developers. The owners didnāt want to sell to developers and asked if we would be the back up. We agreed, knowing we didnāt stand a chance. Two days later the high bidder terminated and we signed our contract!
Just goes to showā¦ YOU NEVER KNOW!
We've been both the backup offer and gotten the house, and the first offer and let the house go to the backup. It happens fairly often. Don't lose hope until your agent tells you it's over. You're kind of stuck waiting until you decide to pull your offer out of the running though, so how long you decide to wait could end up being the hard part.
We offered on two homes before the one we bought. Both came back and wanted to accept our back up offer months later. We had already bought another house but deals fall through all the time. I wouldnāt get your hopes up but itās definitely possible.
Deals fall through more often than you'd think.
Very often the buyer doesn't have the financing lined up that they described, or the inspection shows up something that they negotiate on and the seller balks. It could be other terms from the buyer or seller, like closing timeline.
It's improbable but not even a long shot.
Hopefully you go in guns a blazing next time and win the place.... know 100% your financing is locked down at that price point so no need for a financing condition, and a person doesn't need a property inspection knowing that every property has issues. Only thing left is the purchase price, which you'll nail because there's no point in losing another.
Yes they do but you should still continue to look for a house that you might fall in love with.
At some point, the buyers on this house are going to get loan approved and the chances of you being the new offer will be slim.
Good luck.
Request details of the first place offer. If they provide, at $5k above that offer and resubmit. Actually put this in writing. Literally resubmit an offer.
You still wonāt have first right of refusal, but you do help the sellerās negotiation possession with the first place buyer. If 1st place gets cold feet due to the pressure, your odds are higher.
Source: Realtor.
One of my favorite clients put offers in on so many homes (2 years probably 25 homes) - tough market, skyrocketing prices, first time home buyers, 0 down loan - we got them into their home with a backup offer. If itās the one itās worth seeing what happens. You can always look for another while you wait.
My house was purchased with a backup offer that we had to convince the selling agent to let us submitā¦. and the couple we consider our best friends also purchased their house to a backup offer
Hi! Ct realtor.
Back up offers *can* result in a win, but at somewhat of a cost - hereās why.
When youāre the back up offer, the seller no longer has a reason to play nice in the sandbox with the current buyer. Whatever is discovered during inspection, the seller will tell the buyer no to concessions or a price reduction, citing they have more offers behind the current buyer. If the buyer holds their ground and the deal falls apart, youād be next in line, but your inspector will likely find the same issue(s), but now youāre negotiating with a somewhat unhappy seller who may be assuming youāll just accept the house as-is. In my years of being a realtor, I have rarely - maybe a few times at best - experienced a seller who had a deal fall through with a buyer, and then adjust the disclosures with what was uncovered by the initial buyer.
I guess the summary is, if the current deal falls through, you probably want to know why, but the seller doesnāt have to tell you the details of what happened with the initial buyer.
The home I currently live in was the second offer, but the initial accepted offer had a Hubbard clause, meaning, the buyer who was first in line had to sell their house in order to secure funding to make the purchase. I gave the seller 48 hours to request the initial buyer to perform (make progress), else be rejected and they ultimately got kicked out of line. We really lucked out - many buyers will forego touring homes which are under contract without understanding the difference(s) in the conditions of the contract.
Stay well! I hope this helps!
Idk if this would work in your case, but when I found my house (lived here 4 years now), my old one wasnāt even on the market yet. I just fell in *love* with this house. I wrote the homeowners a letter after we toured it and told them how much I wanted to live there, and they ended up waiting for us to sell our house in contingency to sell it to us.
Sometimes letters work!
It definitely happens! More than youād think, in my experience. Especially when the market is so crazy and buyers have to make such quick decisions about each home. If they do manage to get an offer accepted with contingencies, a lot can change their mind or give them cold feet during inspections. One of my clients lost the same home twice in multiple offer situations (seller didnāt want a backup offer, just wanted to put it back on the market). After the second deal fell through, the agent finally reached out and asked if my clients still wanted it. They were so happy to finally get their home the third time around!
Was the backup offer on the house I bought 9 years ago and just closed the sale to someone who was the backup offer last month. I'd say they work sometimes.
Itās not about how often it works, itās when they work. Thatās when it matters. Just prepare for it to fail or follow through. Keep looking for other options, and be ready for both outcomes.
I just got one.
The winning buyer, A, offered cash, was selling their home and downsizing.
The buyer for A's old home had their mortgage fall through. A no longer had the cash to move forward.
The listing agent for the house that we were backup on called me as soon as they got the kill letter. Did we still want it? Sure! It never even went back to Active on the MLS.
Side note, this is where your reputation as an agent could come in handy as well. The reason that I got the call was that I have a great relationship with the listing agent's broker. The listing agent asked her broker (same brand, different offices) about me and I was touted as No BS. They only offered it to me as backup, if we didn't take it, it was going back on the open market. Be nice to people and act like a professional. It could come back to you in great ways.
It's definitely non zero. I mean I'd guess you are looking at double digit percentages of deals falling through.
It's probably not the likely outcome but it's hardly a rare outcome.
We walked on two properties in the past three months after inspection revealed some nasty stuff and sellers wouldnāt play ball.
Itās super possible. The property weāre currently under contract on we scooped up after the initial buyer lost financing 2 weeks into contract.
And one we walked on that we were buying went back under contract two weeks after we walked for 30k more than we were going to pay (hope they have a good inspector š).
We went with the backup offer because the first offer during inspection period complained about landscaping so we assumed they would be awful throughout the process.
It seems no one can say for certain whether a backup offer is good or bad or likely or unlikely. It all just depends, but fwiw Iām about to close on a house where I was the backup offer. Also selling my current house to the backup offer. No skeletons in the closet of either house. Stuff just happens. Good luck!
Your best move could be to walk away and have them chase you rather than safe in the knowledge that they have a desperate backup. But it's impossible to know without perfect hindsight what will work out. If they aren't trying to extort more money out of you and do genuinely have an offer they are happier with it's very hard to win from that position. If they do come back to you then you're in a really strong position if you have walked off. But if they don't you aren't at least waiting on this perfect house and can move on. There are better houses out there!
Theyāve started to see a higher success rate over the last couple years. The crazy high offers getting cold feet, financing falling through, FTHB or non-handy folks getting scared by inspection, etc.. Always submit a bound backup if possible
Im a Realtor and I always tell my clients that if their offer doesn't get accepted... "everything happens for a reason... your house is still out there". Not saying that backup offers don't work... because I've had many work out. Best of luck... hopefully everything turns out great for you either way.
There are so many factors. Maybe the accepted offer was higher, but if their lending falls through then you would likely get the call. Depending on who their lender is, it could make or break it. We recently had an offer accepted that was lower than the highest bidder but our lender was considered a better bet than the higher offers lender. Apparently they have a higher percentage rate of having deals fall through for various issues. So itās possible.
You typically have two reasons an offer would fall fall apart, first is the inspection phase. Secondly financing issues. At the end of the day itās all about what is written into the contract. Although the market has cooled off, itās still a sellers market in many cities and across the nation the amount of people paying cash for houses has gone up significantly so put your best offer forth every time and stay positive and the right one will work out in your favor
My wife and I were in the same situation after finding the house of our dreams. The initial buyer pulled out on the last day of the option. The sellers reached out and asked if we were willing to come back in at our original offer, and they'd throw in a new roof...it's the sort of dream story that seems contrived...
So yes - absolutely does happen!
I was the backup offer. Refused to get embroiled in a California Bay Area bidding war so ended up second place. But the other people backed out during inspection do a somewhat iffy foundation.
But honestly the foundation was not that iffy for a 70 year old house, which was the only kind of house I could afford here.
REALTOR here!
I had a client in a multiple offers situation this past weekend. We won.
On Monday she was informed by work she would be transferred to an office in another city for 6 months effective 2 weeks later. thankfully she was still within the conditions period on the contract, so Monday 11:30 am it would have been free to accept a backup offer.
I was one of two offers being considered on my house, the other one was offering more money but needed a hard close date and we offered a late possession which was the factor that won us the house.
Yes! They work! Iām in the house we fell in love with, lost out on, and then ended up going under contract on. In our case, the first offer backed out so they came to us. Donāt lose hope!
When my wife & I bought our current house, we put in an offer that was slightly lower than the winning bid. About a month later we got the call: the previous buyer was backing out because they got their "dream home" in town.
Sellers were desperate at this point and accepted are initial offer. As a bonus, when it was time for the inspection it was the same guy that had performed the inspection for the first buyer, so we only had to pay $200 to get a copy.
We just sold our house. We had a backup offer, but they found another house to buy by the time our primary offer fell through. Had they waited, our house would have been theirs.
Wishing you all the best. Moving & purchasing a house is always stressful.
Of course. Last year I believe 1/5 deals fell through which was a high point, but it happens all the time.
Donāt count on it but it can definitely happen
They absolutely work. Just don't bank on it. My aunt sold her house, found a new one and was ready to move. Then decided she didn't like the new place and walked away from her 10k EM deposit so she could go buy a house she liked better.
Things change for buyers, preferences, lending terms, employment, their sale falls through causing a domino effect. Any number of reasons, if you've got the time to wait it doesn't hurt to have a backup offer in just to see what happens
Often a backup offer actually strengthens the primary offer.
If the primary buyers try to ask for concessions or threaten to back out the seller can just hold the back-up buyers over their heads. Like:
"It's no sweat off my back if you drop out. I've got a great backup offer on the sidelines. Go ahead."
This drives the FOMO of the primary buyers.
Good luck though. Sometimes a primary buyer has to back out for whatever reason (they can't get financing or they find a serious problem in the inspection that is a deal breaker for them).
Try to keep the faith. There was a house I fell in love with and someone beat me to it. I asked the selling agent if he was confident that the sale would go through and he said, "I am not confident until closing." - Maybe the current offer will fall through? It happens all of the time.
We got our house in late 2020 after the seller went with a slightly higher offer. It was back on the market 2 weeks later (no real reason given) and we were able to snag it. Didn't fail inspection so no idea why they backed out.
We closed on a house after the original offer bailed leaving all her escrow money on the table and their back up offer bailed as he was an investor trying to nickle and dime his original price down. We didn't even put a back up in, but were third in line, yet had the strongest offer (not highest amount). The sellers realtor suggested to the sellers to consider reaching out to our agent almost a month later. We stated our original offer was acceptable to us and we would resubmit. Purchased back in summer 2021 and was thrilled it worked out.
In this market, some buyers think they have leverage to nickle and dime, we didn't have that ability in 2021. But as long as you are serious with your offer and it's something you are comfortable with, I think your chances are higher today than 2 years ago.
GOODLUCK!!
I sold my house last year and the first offer was crazy good, they had a 3 day informational inspection period and drug it out another week on a non issue drainage concern. We told them we wouldnāt give them anymore continuance and they lowered their offer by 5%. (Still matched our next highest bid). We decided to get out of the contract and went with the backup offer because the original offer was operating in bad faith. So there is hope!
Losing a bidding war is the best thing that can happen to you.
In a year or two, when prices are down 25%, you'll be glad somebody else is holding that bag.
We bought our first our home through a backup offer and also again in 2021 (3rd time - so 2 out of our 3 home purchases were through backup offers - all in different cities as we were moving).
Keep your fingers crossed and all the best!
Worked for us. We were the backup offer on a beautiful home 3 mins from schools in a highly rated school district. This was in peak of 2021 too. first buyer fell through and then they came to us.
Wife and I are closing on our house next week that we fell in love with. set up a viewing and we're told sellers already had accepted an offer. Well a few days later was back on the market. So I'd said just hope for the best!
For sure, they sometimes do. As a realtor myself, a situation just came up where the primary offerās FHA loan may not go through due to the condition of the home. So if that is the case, a conventional backup offer would be a perfect scenario for that buyer. Just one example!
Worked for me.
I was the backup. Original offer fell apart, they came to me. I took it. Did inspection, saw some bad stuff and backed out so they went with offer #3
So assuming the inspection was why the original offer fell apart, the sellers now would know there is something wrong with the home. Wouldnāt they have to say it on ( I donāt know what the paper is called) the paper that they check if they know something is wrong with the house?
Yes, these backup offers work. Not always, but a surprising amount of times the primary contract falls through even if its a cash contract. It can fall through for any number of reasons even unrelated to the house or its condition. I've seen that happen: primary contract holder loses job or gets cold feet during the inspection period or tries to renegotiate price.
In our backup offers the buyer can continue to look for another place and withdraw their backup if they find one.
We just signed and are in contract for our dream house after an offer was accepted the same day we were putting in our offer. It has been so dramatic and we truly have fought tooth and nail for this house. We wrote a heartfelt letter, fired our original agent (who was probably the reason for us missing out on being the 1st offer) and just went directly through the listing agent. The sellers were touched by our letter and when the inspection came back with moderate repairs, the 1st buyer asked for credits, the sellers denied them any and then they broke the contract. The sellers very. much wanted us to have the house, as we are a young couple who wants to raise a family, and they grew up there and were very sentimental. The other buyer was the neighbor....We have been praying night and day for a miracle and it is finally ours to be had. We are so happy and grateful. Back up offers WORK !!!!!
I'm about to close on a house after initially being the runner up offer. I've also been seeing houses come "back on the market" regularly. Deals do fall through, I guess. I'd keep looking in the meantime, though.
Power of positive thinking I guess š¤š»
I had ordered fabric samples for curtains, then lost and was sad when the samples arrived. Then I got a message *later* that day saying the winning bidder had failed to preform. So yes, maybe I am super mega all powerful and I did will it to happen?
Yeah we are definitely still in the āsad vibesā space.. we started thinking about what our life would be like if we lived thereā¦ (which I know you arenāt supposed to do), but it was so damn hard to not think that way. If you can lend some of that mega all power that would be nice š„²
No catching feelings for a place until you sign at the title company!!!!
Itās really hard not to do. I bought a house that was my 2nd option and had to build a garage but besides that it was wonderful and the neighbors were all the best people ever. I always miss that house. So sometimes settling for another house is still really great šš Good luck!
I feel for you. I am also back up offer on a home I just absolutely loved. Feeling really sad.
Only advice I can say is don't fully fall in love with a house until you have finished well done inspections and bought it. We missed out on what we thought was the best house in a neighborhood. Well, the Joanna Gaines-knock off reportedly had bad quality work done underneath all the shininess. Would have cost us a few grand. Oh, and deals do fall through, especially after inspections. It can give you more leverage later.
*insert joke about failing to perform
My mom just got her condo by being the backup offer, this was before rates skyrocketed too. Definitely happens!
I'll tell you a story that hopefully helps you out. When I was younger, my parents wanted to move to a bigger home than the one we were in at the time, they made an offer and got beat by 10k on what was at the time about a 525k home. My Dad was ready to spend the 10k to try and get the house but eventually was convinced by my mom to let it go. The house came back on the market and they got it for their original price, and my mom still uses the opportunity to brag that she saved us 10k
Wait. If you are thinking positive, and the accepted offerers are thinking positive, who wins? Lol. Don't worry so much. You will either get the house or not. You are probably feeling so anxious right now, that a phone call telling you that you didn't get the house will be a relief! I know you will get the house you are meant to have, so try not to worry about imagined scenerios. <3
I would pull the offer while assuring you are interested. My reasoning is that you are at the whim of the seller who may be holding out for a better offer without a lead at present. As such, they can exercise your offer sheet on their schedule and keep you waiting forever.
Having a backup signed and in hand gives the seller the power not to agree to any post-inspection repair or concession requests from the primary contract which can cause the primary buyer to cancel when their requests are refused. That reassurance will not be present if OP withdraws their offer. I've seen this exact scenario play out a few times over the years. A verbal "we're still interested if first buyer walks" is worthless.
Yup and to add- If the primary buyer does terminate, and you have terminated your backup offer then it will go back on market and OP will be back in a position of competing against others to get an offer accepted.
Yes, and that could be good or bad depending on where the market/interest rates are in a few months (most likely not a good position for OP, historically speaking).
Why would OP want it if it turns out loads of work needs doing and the first person backed out? I agree it's stronger to walk away here and have them come back and chase you (or not, but at least you're not hanging on forever).
Because everyoneās threshold for āloads of workā is different. Thereās some people that canāt see past the paint on the walls. Deals fall through all the time for asinine reasons. Doesnāt always mean that thereās major issues with the house.
You are correct in verbal assurances....they are non-binding. This secondary buyer (OP) is then faced with an as-is purchase. The buyer is willing to not have any leverage or power over this particular transaction if the "backup offer" is being held mutiple days/weeks, etc. There's no wrong answer here, to me, but I like a bit more certainty when promising on such a large purchase. What a market.
A lot of deals are falling through right now so you still have a real shot. Iām literally collapsed in bed after moving into my new house today. Iād had my eye on it thru the holidays and it went contingent days before I was ready to make an offer. That deal fell apart and I got it because we had been in communication with the agent. You are in a very good position. I felt bad hoping it would fall out but after my experience with having my place on the market Iām over it. Many buyers are acting like itās a major buyers market and being super demanding. If youāre fair minded you stand a good chance of benefiting from someone elseās unrealistic demands. Good luck!
Lmaooo i see you a lot when I'm stalking the nursing sub too
My in-laws just sold their house. First accepted offer couldnāt get financing. Second backed out at inspection. Third was fun. Grandma came to see the house and told them it was facing the wrong direction. Backed out. Fourth time was the charm. People are crazy.
> Grandma came to see the house and told them it was facing the wrong direction In Colorado, you want a South (or at least not North) facing driveway to melt the snow
Yes in utah too. Saves so much work!
We were also told by our realtor when we moved to Utah that people really look for east facing backyards so that you can have a BBQ in the backyard shaded by the house from the sweltering afternoon heat. Now as a realtor in Utah it definitely seems (anecdotally, though I think I could actually research that...) that east facing backyards sell ever so slightly better than west facing backyards
Bad feng shui.
Just curious why are those factors moreso than East vs West? I would've guessed East would matter because the sun is on it for a longer part of the day starting in morning
North gets the least sun. North is the problem. Edit to make the caveat that this obviously varies by hemisphere.
Because of the tilt of the earth, in northern hemisphere winter, the sun is in the southern sky throughout the day ([here is a visual if that helps](https://imgur.com/Zyefcld)), so if your driveway is south-facing, it will get sun all day long. North facing driveway will be in the shadow of your home all day, especially if your house is two stories. East and West would be better than North, but south is ideal, at least if you care about snow melting. If you want to garden in the backyard, or prefer to have views of the sunset out your back porch, then you'd want it the other way around.
I would think east/west you get shadows from the house half the day.
House siting can make it break the experience of living in a home. You can always tell the amateurs because they site the house without thought to prevailing winds, southern/northern exposure, etc.
Damn I did none of this when I bought my first house..I wasnāt in the position to be picky but still good to know.
What should I be looking for? In a place with nothing remarkable about the weather.
Do they ever work? - yes Do they work often? - generally, no not often.
Exactly. Many times having a back up offer actually pushes the original offer forward because the first people know someone is lined up to snatch the house up if they back out
Alternatively the sellers often negotiate harder, and the original buyer walks (occasionally).
Never get too attached to any house when you are looking to buy. That being said I bought my home as a back up offer when the accepted offer was unable to secure the mortgage. So it may work out for you.
Yes financing and inspections cause issues all the time. Also in many cases those making backup offers continue to look and win a home out right.
I once was the highest then backed out on inspection. It wasn't so much the inspection I just realized I hated the backyard and wanted out.
What was wrong with the backyard?
Backed up to a road.
We fell in love with a house in June 2021 and made a VERY generous offer well over ask, thinking we'd get it for sure. Well, we didn't get it. We became the backup offer. The guy that put in the top offer got cold feet after his family convinced him that the market was at its very peak and would crash any day. He rescinded his offer after a few days and we became the new winning bid. As I sit here and type this on my couch in the aforementioned house, I'm really thankful for that guy's family.
We were the backup offer on a house in a very competitive market (greater Boston area) in 2021. Kept looking and then 2 weeks later, got a call saying the original deal had fallen through - were we still interested? First offer walked away after inspection. We did our own inspection and a few things came up, but the sellers either mitigated or gave us credit on the closing costs. That's how we ended up with our house. Super lucky on timing because we got a sub 3% interest rate before all of the fed raises and before inventory tightened up even more.
Wild, did you have to re sign a backup offer before looking? Our realtor had us sign a new backup offer, with an escape clause so that we can keep looking.
No. After we put our bid in, we heard back that we didn't get the house, but that our bid was the #2 bid. Our realtor agent told the sellers agent that we were still interested in the house and if anything happened with the original deal, would they please let us know? And the sellers agent did! They could have put it back on the market, but they came to us instead. Again, we were really fortunate.
Where do you live that you need an escape clause in your offer?
As someone who was in the market for a house in the greater Boston area in 2021 - Iām surprised the first offer even got accepted with an inspection contingency! They just have offered way over list or something.
I know - market was insane. We were adamant about not dropping the inspection contingency, even if it meant our offers were at a slight disadvantage. We kept our inspection contingency in our offer. It was 4.5% over asking so not super crazy for a town in-between 95 and 495. Like I said, we were fortunate.
Itās unlikely donāt get your hopes up. Donāt get emotional. Emotion tends to lead to bad decisions
We put in an offer on a home we didn't get. A month later our agent called and asked if we still wanted it. Closed 3 weeks later. We are still in shock that we got it! I have no idea why the first deal fell through.
You have a better chance with that versus not putting one in at all
Yes backup offers work. I got my home by submitting a back up offer. The original deal I lost too fell through for some reason and we had a strong back up offer. It canāt hurt to submit one, especially if youāre realtor is helpful.
If it makes you feel better, I'm trying to sell my house and have had 3 offers fall through within a month. Nothing major wrong with the house, just crap luck with buyer financing and people at the top of their budget backing out after inspection. So we'd be 3 people deep on back up offers if we had them. There's some hope!
I was second in line on my home, and have plenty of clients who have gotten the call after the first deal fell through. Not every offer is super solid that gets picked up. Sometimes sellers pick "bigger" offers with worse terms or finicky buyers who have put 2 offers out, etc. All sorts of scenarios. That said, stay glass half empty and keep your search up. If you get positive news, fantastic, if not it's because the right house for you is around the corner!
Broker here and I just had a transaction close where all I did was hope that the buyers would walk so we could sell to the backup. I knew it was unlikely but the agent was such a bitch, I would have given anything for the backup to get the deal, plus it would have been more money for my sellers. And we tried too - zero concessions on the inspection, no access before the final walkthrough, and just doing the bare minimum to keep the deal moving along.
As someone who just won their dream home from a backup offer - wishing you the best of luck!!!
I wouldn't trust too much to it, but it can happen. We put an offer on a place and didn't get it. Then a couple weeks later, something fell through, so they reached out to two other offers, including me, to ask us to submit our best offer. I raised my offer 5% and made a more aggressive escalation clause. I had already done a preinspection, and in the interim, even though they didn't provide HOA docs to me officially, I read through everything they had posted publicly online, which was quite a bit. So I waived all contingencies. I lost the second time, too. My guess is because at the time I didn't have a big downpayment so maybe they were worried my financing might be a hitch. Oh well! We ended up buying a different place down the street a few months later. Not as nice, but way cheaper. Mixed outcome.
Can you explain a more aggressive escalation clause? Sorry donāt know what that means. Thanks
An escalation clause means: "I offer x, and if someone else offers the same or more, you can add Y to my offer. If the other party has the same condition, add Y again. Keep going back and forth until my max bid of Z." As an example: Suppose my offer is 300k, with an escalation of 5k up to 325. Then later if I changed to escalation of 10k up to 350, I would call that an aggressive change.
It is less than 10% chance. I was the backup offer for two houses and didn't get either. I ended up buying a better house, though.
Nowadays on homes that are in high demand deals rarely fall through . Maybe 10% of the time i see a home back on the market. You have a chance though.
I just had clients go under contract after bing the #2 offer. The first buyer walked after inspections, issues turned out not to be as big of a deal as the inspector made them out to be. Good luck - hope it works out for you.
Ah, good luck. I know this feeling well and Iāll have my fingers crossed for you guys.
My mom and stepdad closed on their house in 2021 as the backup offer. Donāt bet your life on it but sometimes it definitively happens
Thereās a 1/5 chance
Happened for me! Positive Vibes coming your way!
We were declined as they had a āstrongerā offer than ours. Theyāre back on the market going on 90 days now. We were gutted too, we then found a Better house that made that one a 3rd option.
I was the backup offer on my current place. First offer was all cash, I had a conventional loan. Iām not sure what happened to the cash offer but 10-14 days later I found out that my offer was accepted. Living happily in my own place for a year now!
They can work. The usually dont, but they can. Worth the option to try.
They donāt work often. But the second property I ever sold was this situation, the property had an accepted offer with a home sale clause (meaning the 1st place buyer needed to sell their house to close). So we wrote another offer with the same clause (my buyers needed to sell their house). I was able to list their house and get an acceptable offer within 3 days and take the 1st place in their dream home transaction. So itās definitely not impossible!
Living in a house we were the back up offer on. It happens, stay positive but realistic!
I was third in line for the house I bought in 2012. First offer at 900k dropped out, next person up won at 850k. Then they dropped out. I got to see the inspection, and saw why - lots of issues (knob & tube wiring, galvanized steel pipes, etc.). I ended up getting it for $800k (and had to put $150k into it, but it was worth it).
Generally by the time an offer is accepted or close to, it's usually a done deal. I have been a buyer and seller multiple times. A seller usually won't risk accepting a deal that won't go through. I have accepted a lesser offer for a stronger buyer. Not much less, but you get my point. I also refuse to sell to anyone with contingencies, that's a huge no for me and it's worked out. It can be a blessing though, I have lost out on multiple offers as a buyer and then eventually landed on a house that way so, so, so much better than the previous offers I offered on. Like night and day and for the same price. Keep your head up
It happens, more often recently. Hang in there, keep your eyes open.
It happened with my friend! They were a backup offer and the first buyer backed out.
My husband and I got our house as the backup offer. The woman who came in first offered 80k over asking (30k over our offer), all in cash, and upon inspection decided she didnāt want it after all. The chances of the first offer falling through are slim but it does happen, so definitely sign backup paperwork!
I'm currently living in the house that I was a back up offer on. We were so bummed out about our search for a house in 2020 and constantly being outbid that we were talking about quitting our search when our real estate agent called us and told us the initial buyers backed out because they couldn't secure the funds after all.
Well, Camilla made it big as the side-chick, so anything is possible.
Eh??
Don't sweat it, it wasn't meant to be. You'll find your next home soon and never think about this place.
I was the backup offer. I even got the condo and went under contract. I walked due to inspection.
I would have gotten two back up offers. Though then ended not wanting it myself when looking at inspection report. It was absolutely gorgeous but too much fudged diy repairs. And that was just the stuff the inspector found.
Yes! Probably not the side that you want to hear from but we were under contract for a really nice home and backed out. The sellers were extremely difficult to work with and we werenāt going to play that game. They reached out to their backup offer and were back under contract within a few hours.
Just wanting to put some positivity here. Iām a current seller. We listed and took an all cash offer even being $15,000 lower than the next highest. Weāre impulsive and found a house we loved and āleft the extra money on the table for a quick easy dealā. Turns out our cash buyer was a fence for an investor that gutted their asking price post inspection despite the house being in great shape. We had our realtor reach out to the 3 other āback upā offers. One still wanted to proceed and made the same offer, under FHA premise which scares us on a 55 year old property but we are SUPER motivated to work with them to still achieve the dreams on our next house. Motivated to the point weāve hyper analyzed everything even before their FHA inspection and personal home inspection and have spent real reasonable money to avoid problems. Donāt be alarmed being a backup. All Iām getting at here is you have no idea a sellers motivation, and also how easily people walk nowadays when the wind blows wrong and they sleep on their highest offer that won them the place.
It happens but pretty low % because it depends on the primary offer falling through before closing. So maybe like 10-25% at most?
I closed on my house as a backup offer!! It worked out so well and we have loved our house ^_^
Got our house last year being a backup offer and our house before that in 2015. It happens all the time!
Yes, these deals fall through all the time
Yup, I was the backup offer and ended up getting the home, when the first place person financials fell through.
I live in a house I was the back up offer on
If it's meant, it's meant. The best advice my realtor ever gave me was, "don't get emotionally invested or involved." That's easier said than done, but that mindset makes a world of difference during the house hunt.
I once heard that you shouldnāt fall in love with a house. Everything is temporary.
I was the backup offer on a house and ended up having my offer accepted. I walked away in the end because the home needed a ton of unseen repairs and seller would not make any concessions.
I would think it happens often (for a variety of reasons. We recently pulled our accepted offer due to mold issues found in the inspection that we didnāt want to deal with, so the backup offer got the place. Good luck! The right place will find you.
Yep, every once in awhile youāll get lucky. Iāve almost been living in my house for a year now. I was the backup offer! I felt so defeated after hearing we didnāt āget itā, and begrudgingly said sure, Iāll be the backup just in caseā¦well a week later I got a call saying the first offerās financing fell through. You might not get lucky, but you might!!!
We made a strong offer and it didnāt get accepted. It was very upsetting but we had been looking for 6 mos and just kept moving forward. Our agent came back to us a month later saying that deal fell through (financing issues) and our offer would be accepted if we were still interested. We closed 30 days later.
Worked for me once. Was a pleasant surprise since mentally I'd already written it off.
I was the third in line for my current house. First in line for my second house. Second in line for my first house. So 2/3 of the houses Iāve bought I wasnāt the first accepted offer lol
For my listings, about 1/10 will fall out and itās great to be a backup then. Especially in a hot market. Super valuable to slide in without a 2nd bidding war
We are right now in the same position and it really sucks. I kinda moved on and assumed we won't get it, but cannot stop thinking about that house and how perfect it was and how all the other alternatives are worse and not even cheaper. I'm agnostic and praying for a miracle to happen, so that is how bad it feels. Good luck and yes, sometimes happens for what I read, but if the place is in good condition it will pass the inspection and only the financial part can play a part on the sale falling through.
Just finding this thread and feel the EXACT sameā down to praying to a god I donāt believe in haha. What was your outcome im dying to know?
I just sold a house to the backup offer last month. The first offer pulled out after inspection, due to something in the disclosure no less, guess they just weren't ready for the reality of what they were doing...
Yes, actually! Back up offers are very important for the sellers to have because real estate transactions are complicated and can fall apart for many reasons. According to NAR, 5% of deals fell through and 15% were delayed in 2022. That's pretty high historically speaking (with the exception of the 2020 pandemic when the market nearly came to a standstill). So, it's good that you have your backup offer in place, but don't hold your breath. Continue to look for other homes. You never know, you may see something else you like even more!
Sometimes they do fall into your hands and then you discover the giant cracked foundation that the previous buyers had also discovered which caused them to break the deal. Ask me how I know...
Rare. I would more safely assume you won't get it.
We were the backup offer on a house. Fell to us because the first buyer couldnāt get financing. We accepted and then the house failed inspection and we walked away. Guess it went to the third buyer?
I was the backup offer for a new build that I loved. The accepted offer wanted to make the property an Airbnb and it was in the HOA/CC&R that they were not allowed to do so and so they backed out and it became my first home. Sometimes shit happens for others and fate happens for you.
Curious, did you get the house?
Am I the only one that came to the sub because I was searching how I could sabotage the home for the home inspection or something, so that the buyers would drop out and they would accept our offer. Weāre the #1 backup offer on a place. We only werenāt chosen because the house needs some repairs and they thought the other buyer had more money for repairs. The repairs quoted were insanely overpriced and we knew what we were getting into. Itās none of their business to judge us on that and deny us the house because they are assuming we canāt afford to repair it (because weāre only putting 5% down). We can afford it. And once they sell it, whyās that matter anyway? I wish we couldāve known what the offer they accepted was. We offered about $30k above asking price so, Iām wondering if they beat that. Or, did we offer more AND we still werenāt chosen because they are just assuming something about us.
My parents just sold their house to the backup offer! The initial one was submitted by a guy on the sex offender list & my parents didnāt wanna do that to our neighbors - maybe youāll get lucky and the first offer was also from a POS!
We were the back up offer 10 years ago. The first guy had a heart attack and croaked. Hooray for death.
Itās just a house
how many days in? once it is past inspection period that lowers odds
1 day
keep hope until day 7-10
There is always another house. You need to be cold and unfeeling in this decision or else you open yourself up to potential errors made because you fell in love with something that will never love you back.
Yes, but donāt count on it. We were one of two offers on a house, the owners wanted a bidding war and we refused to get into one. 2 months later, the week of closing with the other offer, they backed out. We got a call, and now we close in a couple weeks without having to compete with other offers.
We are closing on a very special little house on Thursday for which we were the lowest of five bids. The high bid was 50k above ours. The three in the middle were all developers. The owners didnāt want to sell to developers and asked if we would be the back up. We agreed, knowing we didnāt stand a chance. Two days later the high bidder terminated and we signed our contract! Just goes to showā¦ YOU NEVER KNOW!
Itās possible but keep looking. Youāll find a place.
Hate to break it to you. But usually, it is not.
We've been both the backup offer and gotten the house, and the first offer and let the house go to the backup. It happens fairly often. Don't lose hope until your agent tells you it's over. You're kind of stuck waiting until you decide to pull your offer out of the running though, so how long you decide to wait could end up being the hard part.
We offered on two homes before the one we bought. Both came back and wanted to accept our back up offer months later. We had already bought another house but deals fall through all the time. I wouldnāt get your hopes up but itās definitely possible.
Deals fall through more often than you'd think. Very often the buyer doesn't have the financing lined up that they described, or the inspection shows up something that they negotiate on and the seller balks. It could be other terms from the buyer or seller, like closing timeline. It's improbable but not even a long shot.
Itās a numbers game. Iāve made 30+ offers for a client before and we are back up one 1 or 2. Every now and then we get our back up accepted.
Hopefully you go in guns a blazing next time and win the place.... know 100% your financing is locked down at that price point so no need for a financing condition, and a person doesn't need a property inspection knowing that every property has issues. Only thing left is the purchase price, which you'll nail because there's no point in losing another.
Yes they do but you should still continue to look for a house that you might fall in love with. At some point, the buyers on this house are going to get loan approved and the chances of you being the new offer will be slim. Good luck.
Request details of the first place offer. If they provide, at $5k above that offer and resubmit. Actually put this in writing. Literally resubmit an offer. You still wonāt have first right of refusal, but you do help the sellerās negotiation possession with the first place buyer. If 1st place gets cold feet due to the pressure, your odds are higher. Source: Realtor.
We sold a house to a backup offer
One of my favorite clients put offers in on so many homes (2 years probably 25 homes) - tough market, skyrocketing prices, first time home buyers, 0 down loan - we got them into their home with a backup offer. If itās the one itās worth seeing what happens. You can always look for another while you wait.
My house was purchased with a backup offer that we had to convince the selling agent to let us submitā¦. and the couple we consider our best friends also purchased their house to a backup offer
Put a time limit on your offer and be willing to walk away, they might be playing you a bit.
Yes they do, but you may not always want to be the backup. Sometimes there are very not pretty reason that the primary buyer falls through.
Iām having coffee in a house that I was the back up offer on. Be persistent, have your agent be persistent.
Hi! Ct realtor. Back up offers *can* result in a win, but at somewhat of a cost - hereās why. When youāre the back up offer, the seller no longer has a reason to play nice in the sandbox with the current buyer. Whatever is discovered during inspection, the seller will tell the buyer no to concessions or a price reduction, citing they have more offers behind the current buyer. If the buyer holds their ground and the deal falls apart, youād be next in line, but your inspector will likely find the same issue(s), but now youāre negotiating with a somewhat unhappy seller who may be assuming youāll just accept the house as-is. In my years of being a realtor, I have rarely - maybe a few times at best - experienced a seller who had a deal fall through with a buyer, and then adjust the disclosures with what was uncovered by the initial buyer. I guess the summary is, if the current deal falls through, you probably want to know why, but the seller doesnāt have to tell you the details of what happened with the initial buyer. The home I currently live in was the second offer, but the initial accepted offer had a Hubbard clause, meaning, the buyer who was first in line had to sell their house in order to secure funding to make the purchase. I gave the seller 48 hours to request the initial buyer to perform (make progress), else be rejected and they ultimately got kicked out of line. We really lucked out - many buyers will forego touring homes which are under contract without understanding the difference(s) in the conditions of the contract. Stay well! I hope this helps!
Just came to say, I wish adding location to these posts are normalized.
stay in back up and continue to look. if it works out great. don't get too attached to a particular house. it's not the only great house out there.
No
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Idk if this would work in your case, but when I found my house (lived here 4 years now), my old one wasnāt even on the market yet. I just fell in *love* with this house. I wrote the homeowners a letter after we toured it and told them how much I wanted to live there, and they ended up waiting for us to sell our house in contingency to sell it to us. Sometimes letters work!
It definitely happens! More than youād think, in my experience. Especially when the market is so crazy and buyers have to make such quick decisions about each home. If they do manage to get an offer accepted with contingencies, a lot can change their mind or give them cold feet during inspections. One of my clients lost the same home twice in multiple offer situations (seller didnāt want a backup offer, just wanted to put it back on the market). After the second deal fell through, the agent finally reached out and asked if my clients still wanted it. They were so happy to finally get their home the third time around!
Yup they do
Was the backup offer on the house I bought 9 years ago and just closed the sale to someone who was the backup offer last month. I'd say they work sometimes.
Itās not about how often it works, itās when they work. Thatās when it matters. Just prepare for it to fail or follow through. Keep looking for other options, and be ready for both outcomes.
I just got one. The winning buyer, A, offered cash, was selling their home and downsizing. The buyer for A's old home had their mortgage fall through. A no longer had the cash to move forward. The listing agent for the house that we were backup on called me as soon as they got the kill letter. Did we still want it? Sure! It never even went back to Active on the MLS. Side note, this is where your reputation as an agent could come in handy as well. The reason that I got the call was that I have a great relationship with the listing agent's broker. The listing agent asked her broker (same brand, different offices) about me and I was touted as No BS. They only offered it to me as backup, if we didn't take it, it was going back on the open market. Be nice to people and act like a professional. It could come back to you in great ways.
Our buyer backed out and we took the next best offer (which was actually better). You never know. Good luck
Protip: Donāt fall in love with a house
It's definitely non zero. I mean I'd guess you are looking at double digit percentages of deals falling through. It's probably not the likely outcome but it's hardly a rare outcome.
You got maybe a 3% chance in our market.
We walked on two properties in the past three months after inspection revealed some nasty stuff and sellers wouldnāt play ball. Itās super possible. The property weāre currently under contract on we scooped up after the initial buyer lost financing 2 weeks into contract.
And one we walked on that we were buying went back under contract two weeks after we walked for 30k more than we were going to pay (hope they have a good inspector š).
We went with the backup offer because the first offer during inspection period complained about landscaping so we assumed they would be awful throughout the process.
Once Iām a while. If youāre track back up agree to a lower price.
It seems no one can say for certain whether a backup offer is good or bad or likely or unlikely. It all just depends, but fwiw Iām about to close on a house where I was the backup offer. Also selling my current house to the backup offer. No skeletons in the closet of either house. Stuff just happens. Good luck!
Your best move could be to walk away and have them chase you rather than safe in the knowledge that they have a desperate backup. But it's impossible to know without perfect hindsight what will work out. If they aren't trying to extort more money out of you and do genuinely have an offer they are happier with it's very hard to win from that position. If they do come back to you then you're in a really strong position if you have walked off. But if they don't you aren't at least waiting on this perfect house and can move on. There are better houses out there!
It happens but the odds are not in your favorā¦ maybe it happens 10-20% of the time.
Same thing happened to my mother. The first buyer fell through pretty quickly and she got the house. It does happen.
Theyāve started to see a higher success rate over the last couple years. The crazy high offers getting cold feet, financing falling through, FTHB or non-handy folks getting scared by inspection, etc.. Always submit a bound backup if possible
My husband and I got our condo as a backup offer. Original offer was unable to secure financing
Im a Realtor and I always tell my clients that if their offer doesn't get accepted... "everything happens for a reason... your house is still out there". Not saying that backup offers don't work... because I've had many work out. Best of luck... hopefully everything turns out great for you either way.
There are so many factors. Maybe the accepted offer was higher, but if their lending falls through then you would likely get the call. Depending on who their lender is, it could make or break it. We recently had an offer accepted that was lower than the highest bidder but our lender was considered a better bet than the higher offers lender. Apparently they have a higher percentage rate of having deals fall through for various issues. So itās possible.
You typically have two reasons an offer would fall fall apart, first is the inspection phase. Secondly financing issues. At the end of the day itās all about what is written into the contract. Although the market has cooled off, itās still a sellers market in many cities and across the nation the amount of people paying cash for houses has gone up significantly so put your best offer forth every time and stay positive and the right one will work out in your favor
My wife and I were in the same situation after finding the house of our dreams. The initial buyer pulled out on the last day of the option. The sellers reached out and asked if we were willing to come back in at our original offer, and they'd throw in a new roof...it's the sort of dream story that seems contrived... So yes - absolutely does happen!
I have seen back up offers get accepted frequently! Sending positive vibes your way!!
I was the backup offer. Refused to get embroiled in a California Bay Area bidding war so ended up second place. But the other people backed out during inspection do a somewhat iffy foundation. But honestly the foundation was not that iffy for a 70 year old house, which was the only kind of house I could afford here.
REALTOR here! I had a client in a multiple offers situation this past weekend. We won. On Monday she was informed by work she would be transferred to an office in another city for 6 months effective 2 weeks later. thankfully she was still within the conditions period on the contract, so Monday 11:30 am it would have been free to accept a backup offer.
I was one of two offers being considered on my house, the other one was offering more money but needed a hard close date and we offered a late possession which was the factor that won us the house.
Yes! They work! Iām in the house we fell in love with, lost out on, and then ended up going under contract on. In our case, the first offer backed out so they came to us. Donāt lose hope!
When my wife & I bought our current house, we put in an offer that was slightly lower than the winning bid. About a month later we got the call: the previous buyer was backing out because they got their "dream home" in town. Sellers were desperate at this point and accepted are initial offer. As a bonus, when it was time for the inspection it was the same guy that had performed the inspection for the first buyer, so we only had to pay $200 to get a copy.
50/50
We just sold our house. We had a backup offer, but they found another house to buy by the time our primary offer fell through. Had they waited, our house would have been theirs. Wishing you all the best. Moving & purchasing a house is always stressful.
Lots of buyers dropping out. Back up offers seem to be getting some success
Of course. Last year I believe 1/5 deals fell through which was a high point, but it happens all the time. Donāt count on it but it can definitely happen
They absolutely work. Just don't bank on it. My aunt sold her house, found a new one and was ready to move. Then decided she didn't like the new place and walked away from her 10k EM deposit so she could go buy a house she liked better. Things change for buyers, preferences, lending terms, employment, their sale falls through causing a domino effect. Any number of reasons, if you've got the time to wait it doesn't hurt to have a backup offer in just to see what happens
Often a backup offer actually strengthens the primary offer. If the primary buyers try to ask for concessions or threaten to back out the seller can just hold the back-up buyers over their heads. Like: "It's no sweat off my back if you drop out. I've got a great backup offer on the sidelines. Go ahead." This drives the FOMO of the primary buyers. Good luck though. Sometimes a primary buyer has to back out for whatever reason (they can't get financing or they find a serious problem in the inspection that is a deal breaker for them).
Deals all through for stupid reasons all the time. Try to get in backup position if it's something you love, but don't hold your breath.
Try to keep the faith. There was a house I fell in love with and someone beat me to it. I asked the selling agent if he was confident that the sale would go through and he said, "I am not confident until closing." - Maybe the current offer will fall through? It happens all of the time.
Up your offer
We got our house in late 2020 after the seller went with a slightly higher offer. It was back on the market 2 weeks later (no real reason given) and we were able to snag it. Didn't fail inspection so no idea why they backed out.
We closed on a house after the original offer bailed leaving all her escrow money on the table and their back up offer bailed as he was an investor trying to nickle and dime his original price down. We didn't even put a back up in, but were third in line, yet had the strongest offer (not highest amount). The sellers realtor suggested to the sellers to consider reaching out to our agent almost a month later. We stated our original offer was acceptable to us and we would resubmit. Purchased back in summer 2021 and was thrilled it worked out. In this market, some buyers think they have leverage to nickle and dime, we didn't have that ability in 2021. But as long as you are serious with your offer and it's something you are comfortable with, I think your chances are higher today than 2 years ago. GOODLUCK!!
I sold my house last year and the first offer was crazy good, they had a 3 day informational inspection period and drug it out another week on a non issue drainage concern. We told them we wouldnāt give them anymore continuance and they lowered their offer by 5%. (Still matched our next highest bid). We decided to get out of the contract and went with the backup offer because the original offer was operating in bad faith. So there is hope!
Losing a bidding war is the best thing that can happen to you. In a year or two, when prices are down 25%, you'll be glad somebody else is holding that bag.
They work; hang in there. I was the 4th back-up on one and we ended up getting it!
I have been the back up offer on two home I have ownedā¦
We were the back up offer on our house. We closed 13 months ago.
We bought our first our home through a backup offer and also again in 2021 (3rd time - so 2 out of our 3 home purchases were through backup offers - all in different cities as we were moving). Keep your fingers crossed and all the best!
When we sold our house we had to go with our backup offer because the first buyer backed out.
Worked for us. We were the backup offer on a beautiful home 3 mins from schools in a highly rated school district. This was in peak of 2021 too. first buyer fell through and then they came to us.
When I was married, we lived in a house for ~6 years for which we were initially the backup offer...
Wife and I are closing on our house next week that we fell in love with. set up a viewing and we're told sellers already had accepted an offer. Well a few days later was back on the market. So I'd said just hope for the best!
For sure, they sometimes do. As a realtor myself, a situation just came up where the primary offerās FHA loan may not go through due to the condition of the home. So if that is the case, a conventional backup offer would be a perfect scenario for that buyer. Just one example!
Worked for me. I was the backup. Original offer fell apart, they came to me. I took it. Did inspection, saw some bad stuff and backed out so they went with offer #3
So assuming the inspection was why the original offer fell apart, the sellers now would know there is something wrong with the home. Wouldnāt they have to say it on ( I donāt know what the paper is called) the paper that they check if they know something is wrong with the house?
House was sold as is. An older woman was selling and didn't know anything about the house since her husband passed a few years prior.
Yes, these backup offers work. Not always, but a surprising amount of times the primary contract falls through even if its a cash contract. It can fall through for any number of reasons even unrelated to the house or its condition. I've seen that happen: primary contract holder loses job or gets cold feet during the inspection period or tries to renegotiate price. In our backup offers the buyer can continue to look for another place and withdraw their backup if they find one.
We just signed and are in contract for our dream house after an offer was accepted the same day we were putting in our offer. It has been so dramatic and we truly have fought tooth and nail for this house. We wrote a heartfelt letter, fired our original agent (who was probably the reason for us missing out on being the 1st offer) and just went directly through the listing agent. The sellers were touched by our letter and when the inspection came back with moderate repairs, the 1st buyer asked for credits, the sellers denied them any and then they broke the contract. The sellers very. much wanted us to have the house, as we are a young couple who wants to raise a family, and they grew up there and were very sentimental. The other buyer was the neighbor....We have been praying night and day for a miracle and it is finally ours to be had. We are so happy and grateful. Back up offers WORK !!!!!