Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted, but I would like everyone's thoughts on a situation I'm in where I feel horribly bad for my buyer.

I'm working with a married couple and the husband works in the military. At the moment, he is overseas working in Afghanistan and is trying to help his wife buy a property back here in the states. I submitted their offer to another agent that has a foreclosure listing. The bank had another offer come in 3 days after ours and it was a higher offer. They are giving us one day to get them our highest and best offer, but unfortunately, the husband is on a mission where he has no outside contact for three or more days days.

I've tried to reason with the agent to tell them to give us time and she said the bank declined. The wife does not want to make any decisions without her husband (which I can completely relate to), but there has to be some law or statute that protects this couple from losing the house they love due to the husband being on a mission to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. Sorry for the caps, you can see my frustration and how horrible I feel for them.

Any ideas?

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Joanie Miller
Miller & Associates Realty
Panama City Beach, FL
(850) 249-6655 Office

Panama City Beach Real Estate | Panama City Beach Homes For Sale | Panama City Beach Condos For Sale

Usually you have a 7 day inspection period for you to back out for any reason. So tell the wife you have to at least get your offer in and write a good offer, if when she talks to her husband he decides he doesn't want to pay that much or wants out of the deal, you can get out for any reason within the 7 day inspection period. But if she's not willing to at least make a very strong offer than you will just have to pass on this property. There will be plenty of others. You also have a mortgage contingency, which I'm sure you know how to get out of a deal because of a denied mortgage.

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MARK Z. & Associates

Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Northville, MI 48168
(248)675-6908
Northville Real Estate
West Bloomfield Real Estate
Commerce Township Real Estate

Servicing the entire Metropolitan Detroit Real Estate market. If you know of anyone looking to relocate to Michigan, call me with their name and number. I am willing to pay you up to a 30% referral fee.

Jonie

I agree with Mark, if she really likes the property, go ahead and make a highest and best offer. I really dislike the entire highest and best concept. As a buyer you have no clue if your original offer is the highest and best and is a way to get buyers bidding against themselves.

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Carolyn Gjerde-Tu

Davis CA Real Estate
Woodland and Davis CA home search Woodland CA Real Estate

Jonie,

Due to the Code of Ethics requirements and possible State Law for the Open and Honest dealings clause. I must tell you there are multiple offers when indeed there are. I do not have to tell you what the other offer is or if it is higher or lower than yours, but I MUST disclose the presence of an offer or many offers. I am surprised the broker, let alone the bank has not given you a Multiple Offer sheet to document the presence of multiple offers.

If it helps, I tell my Buyers in this situation: Offer the dollar amount that you are comfortable with and would be willing to walk away from if the counter is $1,000 more than that. Of course this number should be supported by your CMA on the house so they know what others have sold for and what else is out there. Doing this will keep you our of curt unlike our friend in Ca. which by the way, the agent and broker won their case, but still. Best to CYA by giving them a CMA

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Larry Jensen, Principal Broker
St. Lawrence Properties, llc
www.StLawrenceProperties.net

Larry,
Everything you said is very true. Good Information my friend.

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MARK Z. & Associates

Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Northville, MI 48168
(248)675-6908
Northville Real Estate
West Bloomfield Real Estate
Commerce Township Real Estate

Servicing the entire Metropolitan Detroit Real Estate market. If you know of anyone looking to relocate to Michigan, call me with their name and number. I am willing to pay you up to a 30% referral fee.

Thanks Mark

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Larry Jensen, Principal Broker
St. Lawrence Properties, llc
www.StLawrenceProperties.net

I may have misconstrued something. But you said "I submitted their offer to another agent that has a foreclosure listing. The bank had another offer come in 3 days after ours and it was a higher offer."

When you submitted the offer, you didn't designate an acceptance/denail deadline? In Va. usually the contract/offer is submitted with a deadline - usually 24 hours but sometimes less, sometimes more. That way, a better offer can not beat the original offer - unless they both came in at the SAME TIME . . . {time = time period of the 24 hours to give an answer}

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I don't like putting a deadline when I'm submitting to a bank owned property for this reason...

You submit an offer and put on the offer a deadline of 48 hours, then the 48 hours comes and goes and you haven't heard anything from the bank. Your offer is now null and void. Now 3-5 days later the bank finally gets to your file and they read the deadline realize your offer is off the table because they didn't respond quick enough but then there is this other offer which is lower than yours but still valid. They can then accept that other offer assuming your offer had a reason why it had to be accepted, countered or rejected within 48 hours.

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Jannelle J. Zawaideh Esq.
Attorney At Law
Michigan Family Law Attorney
Michigan Personal Injury Lawyers
Michigan Divorce Lawyer

This isn't standard practice everywhere. In my area, we have "time is of the essence" clause in the contract but no specified deadlines.

If you're asking if the buyers have some protection because of the husband being in the military and un-reachable, I would doubt that is the case but am not 100% sure.

In this situation you may want to advise your clients to make use of a "specified third party approval" rider on a counteroffer. If you don't have a standard rider for this use, you can have the client or their appointed attorney draw in language to that effect.

Don't construe this as giving you or your client legal advice.

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Eric Rogers - REALTOR
Century 21 Pro-Team
Aurora IL Real Estate | Batavia Real Estate
Yorkville Real Estate

Would love to hear what happened with this, so far this year every offer we have submitted on a foreclosure has been met with this same "we just got a better offer, submit your best" line which I believe is just BS.

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Douglasville Real Estate | Douglasville Real Estate Agents | Villa Rica Real Estate