(Update) How long is normal/usual to wait for home seller to repond to offer?

[Kellydelly]

I am going nuts waiting to hear back about an offer we put in last Thursday on a lake property we like. I wish we had used a buyer's agent instead of just going through the agent who works for the company listing the property. I feel like we are out of the loop and not allowed to ask any questions. Haven't bought a home in 16 yrs so it's been a while. I know it wasn't more than a day or two before we got a response, though. I am optimistically thinking they are actually considering our offer or trying to come back with a counter offer that won't scare us off.

Has anyone sold a home recently? How long did you ponder the offer? TIA .

Update: Just heard from the realtor an hour ago that the sellers came back with a counter offer. It is more than we want to pay, so I am not sure if we are going to counter their counter or not. Their offer expires in 3 days . If we counter I am putting a time limit on it this time .

 

[Sadie22]

We have always worded offers to expire by a certain date. Does your offer have an expiration?

 

[Kellydelly]

We have always worded offers to expire by a certain date. Does your offer have an expiration?

The realtor told me he was writing it so we were asking for a response by Monday . I said to him "so soon?" and he said yes. It is an estate selling the property, so not sure how that plays into anything, but it is only two heirs that I am aware of, not a whole slew of relatives. The realtor knew that when he wrote the offer, though.

 

[mtemm]

we've always stipulated 24 or 48 hours, but have always had straightforward sales/purchases.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Our offers/counter offers were generally 24hrs or less back and forth. We are in house #4.

We gave date and time on the offers (buying) and counter offers (selling).

 

[Kellydelly]

Hmm. I did email the realtor yesterday morning to see if we would find out anything yesterday and he replied that he expected a response from the seller by the afternoon. Then I heard nothing at all. I don't know if he's being rude (because I would love an update!) or if this is just how it works because he made it clear he is working for the seller, not us.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

I am going nuts waiting to hear back about an offer we put in last Thursday on a lake property we like. I wish we had used a buyer's agent instead of just going through the agent who works for the company listing the property. I feel like we are out of the loop and not allowed to ask any questions. Haven't bought a home in 16 yrs so it's been a while. I know it wasn't more than a day or two before we got a response, though. I am optimistically thinking they are actually considering our offer or trying to come back with a counter offer that won't scare us off.

Has anyone sold a home recently? How long did you ponder the offer? TIA .

Hi! I work in the mortgage business so I know a little bit about this.
My first thought is, I would not go through the listing agent. It's always best if you have your own agent because the listing agent is only concerned about the seller and selling the house. Usually counter offers are 24-48 hrs, they can be longer though. The part that I would be concerned about is where the listing agent told you he would have an answer to you by Monday afternoon, here it is Tuesday evening and STILL no answer!! I would definitely follow up with him tomorrow, that might also help you get a better feel for the situation. Another thing you could do, if you don't hear anything by tomorrow morning, is get your own agent, that way your agent would be the one dealing with the listing agent and you would have someone on your side looking out for your best interest.

Hopefully that helps and hopefully it all works out for you!!

Please provide updates as to what happens.

 

[Kellydelly]

Hi! I work in the mortgage business so I know a little bit about this.
My first thought is, I would not go through the listing agent. It's always best if you have your own agent because the listing agent is only concerned about the seller and selling the house. Usually counter offers are 24-48 hrs, they can be longer though. The part that I would be concerned about is where the listing agent told you he would have an answer to you by Monday afternoon, here it is Tuesday evening and STILL no answer!! I would definitely follow up with him tomorrow, that might also help you get a better feel for the situation. Another thing you could do, if you don't hear anything by tomorrow morning, is get your own agent, that way your agent would be the one dealing with the listing agent and you would have someone on your side looking out for your best interest.

Hopefully that helps and hopefully it all works out for you!!

Please provide updates as to what happens.

Isn't it too late to get a buyer's agent at this point, at least for this transaction? We are shopping/looking from out of town, so we have only been shown this property by the realty that is listing it. It seemed kind of rude to bring in another person when we weren't really dealing with another realtor in that area at all. My husband is out of town but he just contacted me and let me know the realtor emailed him around 7 pm to let us know that the sellers are still deciding what kind of response to give us, and hopefully tomorrow we will know something. I don't know if that is good or bad. If they were going to counter, it's not that hard to come up with a number that is closer to their liking (we really lowballed but nobody else has put in an offer in 18 months, except a land contract which they can't do). I just want to know if we are playing ball or not! I've been shopping for imaginary furniture for the house since the weekend .

 

[tvguy]

I just sold a house. All 3 offers I got expired 2 business days after they were submitted.

 

[Kellydelly]

I just sold a house. All 3 offers I got expired 2 business days after they were submitted.

My husband seems to think the sellers have 10 days to respond. If that is the case, why did the realtor tell me he was requesting a response by Monday, giving them 4 days? The problem may be the estate, it is a contested one. I just wish they would at least counter, or just say no already ! I don't really have a second choice in mind at this point.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Isn't it too late to get a buyer's agent at this point, at least for this transaction? We are shopping/looking from out of town, so we have only been shown this property by the realty that is listing it. It seemed kind of rude to bring in another person when we weren't really dealing with another realtor in that area at all. My husband is out of town but he just contacted me and let me know the realtor emailed him around 7 pm to let us know that the sellers are still deciding what kind of response to give us, and hopefully tomorrow we will know something. I don't know if that is good or bad. If they were going to counter, it's not that hard to come up with a number that is closer to their liking (we really lowballed but nobody else has put in an offer in 18 months, except a land contract which they can't do). I just want to know if we are playing ball or not! I've been shopping for imaginary furniture for the house since the weekend .

Yeah, probably would be too late since you have put in an offer. Was there not a deadline mentioned in the contract? I know when my DH and I bought our house we were able to pick a time we needed a counter offer or acceptance by. Wow 18 months??? That's a long time!! You would think after that long they would be anxious to sell it!! Furniture shopping is always fun. Hopefully you hear something tomorrow!!!

My husband seems to think the sellers have 10 days to respond. If that is the case, why did the realtor tell me he was requesting a response by Monday, giving them 4 days? The problem may be the estate, it is a contested one. I just wish they would at least counter, or just say no already ! I don't really have a second choice in mind at this point.

Did the contract by chance mention that the sellers were requesting 10 days? Hhmm, not too sure about it being a contested estate. I'm wondering if that's what the hold up is.

Sent from my Galaxy SII

 

[tinatark]

Did you and your husband sign the offer? There should have been an expiration date for it. It sounds like the agent did not make a formal offer on your behalf.

It is too late to get a buyers agent for this house - although you could ask for another agent in the listing agency to handle things on your behalf (since the agency is still getting the full commission).

 

[Carl]

I found that one thing that could slow down response time is if the realtor is part time. I discovered several times that the realtor job was a second job and they only worked evenings.

 

[Kellydelly]

Did you and your husband sign the offer? There should have been an expiration date for it. It sounds like the agent did not make a formal offer on your behalf.

It is too late to get a buyers agent for this house - although you could ask for another agent in the listing agency to handle things on your behalf (since the agency is still getting the full commission).

Yes, we did both sign a buyer's agreement. I don't see an expiration date on it anywhere, although the agent told me he was putting Monday. I just looked it over again and don't find a place on the forms that says anything about it. Maybe the sellers are wanting more money but are afraid to counter, thinking we will bail . I was careful not to ask the agent about countering, but I wanted to! Better he not know that we would dig a little deeper in our pockets.

 

[Sadie22]

Always use a buyer's agent. It is not rude. It is smart and expected. All offers in writing since you sign it, and you keep a copy. This is a business deal. Bring in your own lawyer.

 

[Kellydelly]

Always use a buyer's agent. It is not rude. It is smart and expected. All offers in writing since you sign it, and you keep a copy. This is a business deal. Bring in your own lawyer.

What is the lawyer for? Are you saying we need a lawyer to represent us in this purchase?

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Always use a buyer's agent. It is not rude. It is smart and expected. All offers in writing since you sign it, and you keep a copy. This is a business deal. Bring in your own lawyer.

Yes, I totally agree!!!

What is the lawyer for? Are you saying we need a lawyer to represent us in this purchase?

Sadie is not saying you need a lawyer. Basically your agent, the selling agent, would act on your behalf, kind of like when you get a lawyer to represent you. Your realtor is your representative in the in the real estate deal. Now as far as the title documents go, you can certainly use a real estate attorney instead of a title company, but that is something you can decide once you get an accepted offer and start the loan process.

Sent from my Galaxy SII

 

[RadioNate]

It depends where you live as to if having a lawyer is common practice or not. In Illinois I needed one. In Texas, Florida and Tennessee I did not. BUT in ALL those transactions I had my own real estate agent. You REALLY need your own agent. I'm not even sure how the listing agent representing you (as the buyer) and the sellers is ethical. His job for each of you are in direct conflict.

You may not need a lawyer but you really should have SOMEONE knowledgable who is looking out for your best interest.

I've bought and sold several homes and this whole transaction seems shady. Nothing about it sits right with me.

 

[sbtrfly74]

Since this is an estate sale you could have several people involved some agreeing and some not which is why its taking so long.

My MIL sold an estate property with her brother and though the sale price was agreed upon fairly quickly it took months to close and finalize it because she was out of state and impossible to reach, didnt return phone calls or send back paperwork.

 

[Kellydelly]

Yes, I totally agree!!!



Sadie is not saying you need a lawyer. Basically your agent, the selling agent, would act on your behalf, kind of like when you get a lawyer to represent you. Your realtor is your representative in the in the real estate deal. Now as far as the title documents go, you can certainly use a real estate attorney instead of a title company, but that is something you can decide once you get an accepted offer and start the loan process.

Sent from my Galaxy SII

I just talked to the realtor. He says there are a few people that need to come to an agreement and that is the hold up (and I guess it involves family and former caretaker, so I can imagine they are arguing amongst themselves). He also left the offer expiration spot blank on the forms by mistake . I am not sure how long that means we are obligated? He said we could back out any time . He does seem to be working for us, as in he isn't the one talking to the sellers, the actual listing agent is trying to get them to respond, and he said he doesn't want us to discuss with him what our top number is or anything. He said he is interested in making us happy. And if the house doesn't sell, he doesn't get a piece of the pie anyway. He seems quite genuine, if not a little dotty (the missing date). So we wait some more. I just want to know how long the estate thinks they have to leave us hanging? We may be the only offer they get for a long while .