If you placed an offer on house, contingent on the sale of your house,

[ourbabygirl]

& had it turned down by the sellers, did you ever end up getting that house?

We placed an offer contingent on the sale of ours and they accepted every part of our offer (price, etc., etc.) but the contingent part. We're most likely going to walk away because DH doesn't want the possibility of owning two homes at the same time in case ours doesn't get sold soon. We could remove the contingency and extend the closing about 4 months out, but there's still no guarantee that ours will be sold in time.

Just wondering if any of you have been in this position where you were able to get your house sold in time to go back to the buyers and make another offer with no contingencies, and they've accepted it.

I guess the sellers would maybe accept our offer, but they don't want other potential buyers knowing that there's already an offer on the house because it will scare them away from making a (non-contingent) offer. I figured that they don't have much to lose by taking our offer because they can always drop it later if they get a better offer (I think we'd get 24 hours to remove our contingency to compete with the other buyers' offer).

I understand that our offer isn't very strong because of the contingency, but we don't feel that we can take the risk of going non-contingent without getting our house sold first. With our current house, we offered a full-price offer, contingent on the sale of our house, and the sellers accepted it.

Anyhow, just wondering what your experience was and if anyone has BTDT in a similar situation.

Thanks for sharing!

[JMS]

I'm sure this isn't true in all geographic locations, but we were told by our realtor that that contingency was almost never accepted in today's market.

[AnnieW625]

No we have not, but our sellers could have backed out of our deal because they had to wait for their seller to clear their contingencies, which was basically them moving.

When we were buying our house the sellers had to go and find another house, they found one but their sellers had to find a place first so our sellers ended up renting back from us after our 30 day escrow closed, while their sellers got settled into their new place, I can't remember all of the details. It ended up working out fine. It was mine and DH's understanding that our sellers could have pulled out of escrow if for some reason their sellers couldn't find a place to live.

If I were you if you really want this house I would put your house on the market for a very reasonable price and try and get it sold quickly. If you are able to sell and the other house you want is still on the market I would definitely go back to them with the proof that your current house is in escrow, that is equal to cash in my book. It might take a little longer, but if you really want the house then I would go for it.


I'm sure this isn't true in all geographic locations, but we were told by our realtor that that contingency was almost never accepted in today's market.
Then how are houses getting sold? Maybe in really low COL areas this works where 10% to 20% down on a house that is $150K ($15k to $30k), but in a high col where if you are buying a place that is around $450k unless you have a really nice nest egg of 10 to 20% ($90k) down house I can't see sellers not accpeting a contigency offers because then not many houses would be being sold. That is not fact, just my opinion.

[Nooknookmom]

We did it twice...I refuse to be in the position of possibly being stuck with two mortgages. We had no issues with the contingency. I mean most home sales are contingent on the inspection report, which is more likely to be the cause of a failed closing.

I think It can be done...IF the buyer really wants your home...and really all you need to sell is the ONE buyer who does.

I was an agent in CA within he past 6 yrs-don't know how much things have changed else where but it is still a feasable option IMHO. That said it could take longer for your home to sell.

[jjordan]

We had an offer accepted with that contingency, but the sellers put something in about us only having 30 days to sell our house. They got another offer while we were waiting for our house to sell, and once the 30 days was up, we were out of luck.

BUT - it worked out for the best, because we ended up renting for almost a year in the new area, and found a house that we liked a LOT more and were able to buy that one instead.

[Twoboos]

I'm sure this isn't true in all geographic locations, but we were told by our realtor that that contingency was almost never accepted in today's market.

:yeahthat:

Offers with house-selling contingencies are rarely if ever accepted around here.

That said, it's the spring market so you could push the closing way out, get your house decluttered/spruced up and put it on the market asap if you want to give it a try. But be ready (emotionally, financially and otherwise!) if it doesn't sell.

We owned two houses. It sucked, but it worked out. We would not be in the house we're in now (which we love, even with all the problems) if we hadn't done it.

[ourbabygirl]

Thanks... yeah, we planned on waiting to put ours on the market until right after Easter, but now we bumped up our timeline to hopefully next week... I know we were stupid for not putting it on sooner and then making an offer on this one, hoping they would accept it. We're in the frigid midwest, so I was waiting for the snow to melt and for us to have a little more time to finish some small projects. We're still going to go ahead and get it on the market next week and just keep looking. I knew there would be more houses to look at in the next few months and this summer, but we've been looking since last summer and haven't found anything great until this one. However, it is at the top of our budget and I had ideally wanted something cheaper and with more projects to do so we could gain equity, rather than having something 'perfect' and move-in ready.
Luckily we intentionally stayed kind of detached on this new house because we didn't want emotions to make us act crazy and illogically, and we figured that whatever will be will be. :) If it's meant to be, we'll get this house, and if not, there will be a better one out there waiting for us later. The more important thing is selling ours soon and for the best price possible.

[khm]

In our market, it isn't done often, but more lately than in the past (which was never).

For the seller, there's really not much of a downside (here anyways). They get to keep their listing "active" (it doesn't show pending or sold at ALL, no one knows). If they procure another offer, they just tell you that you have 24 hours to go ahead and if you can't, your deal is void. So, they are pretty meaningless, really. As a buyer you aren't really "tying" them to the deal in anyway. If they get one they are more comfortable with, then can void yours with the 24 hour notice. For the seller, I think it'd work in their favor to accept yours while trying to attract others, but obviously your sellers don't think that way!

Obviously, they weren't comfortable with it, which might have been foolish on their part, or it might not, it so depends on your specific market.

I would do as PP suggests and work your hardest (price, staging, etc) to get YOUR house sold. Then go back to them. :) Are they newly listed? Maybe a few weeks as "active with no offers" will soften them.

[crl]

No we have not, but our sellers could have backed out of our deal because they had to wait for their seller to clear their contingencies, which was basically them moving.

When we were buying our house the sellers had to go and find another house, they found one but their sellers had to find a place first so our sellers ended up renting back from us after our 30 day escrow closed, while their sellers got settled into their new place, I can't remember all of the details. It ended up working out fine. It was mine and DH's understanding that our sellers could have pulled out of escrow if for some reason their sellers couldn't find a place to live.

If I were you if you really want this house I would put your house on the market for a very reasonable price and try and get it sold quickly. If you are able to sell and the other house you want is still on the market I would definitely go back to them with the proof that your current house is in escrow, that is equal to cash in my book. It might take a little longer, but if you really want the house then I would go for it.


Then how are houses getting sold? Maybe in really low COL areas this works where 10% to 20% down on a house that is $150K ($15k to $30k), but in a high col where if you are buying a place that is around $450k unless you have a really nice nest egg of 10 to 20% ($90k) down house I can't see sellers not accpeting a contigency offers because then not many houses would be being sold. That is not fact, just my opinion.

Offers with that contingency are not generally accepted in our very HCOLA. There is very, very little inventory and there are bidding wars on every house. People are either selling first or don't currently own or have the money to own two houses at once. It's a tough, tough market for buyers here.

Catherine

[JMS]

Then how are houses getting sold? Maybe in really low COL areas this works where 10% to 20% down on a house that is $150K ($15k to $30k), but in a high col where if you are buying a place that is around $450k unless you have a really nice nest egg of 10 to 20% ($90k) down house I can't see sellers not accpeting a contigency offers because then not many houses would be being sold. That is not fact, just my opinion.

I live in a higher COL area and contingency offers aren't the reality here. Inventory on good houses is low. It is what it is. I'm not a real estate expert so I can't explain why.

[Cam&Clay]

In our market, it isn't done often, but more lately than in the past (which was never).

For the seller, there's really not much of a downside (here anyways). They get to keep their listing "active" (it doesn't show pending or sold at ALL, no one knows). If they procure another offer, they just tell you that you have 24 hours to go ahead and if you can't, your deal is void. So, they are pretty meaningless, really. As a buyer you aren't really "tying" them to the deal in anyway. If they get one they are more comfortable with, then can void yours with the 24 hour notice. For the seller, I think it'd work in their favor to accept yours while trying to attract others, but obviously your sellers don't think that way!

Obviously, they weren't comfortable with it, which might have been foolish on their part, or it might not, it so depends on your specific market.

I would do as PP suggests and work your hardest (price, staging, etc) to get YOUR house sold. Then go back to them. :) Are they newly listed? Maybe a few weeks as "active with no offers" will soften them.

That is what we had. The contingency was voided if the seller had another offer before we had sold.

[squimp]

We have done it both ways and I think it really depends on the houses, market and people involved. We bought with a contingency in 2008 just before the market turned around and had to do a very competitive offer to get it. Contingencies are common around here, it's a moderate COL but houses are expensive and it's hard to buy without selling homes that aren't starters. The sellers agent actually toured our home before it went on the market and gave us lots of advice (same agency as our agent). It was no problem for the sellers and we sold our house within a week at 75% more than what we paid for it, so it worked out well.

This summer we bought and offered a contingency and a good offer but they rejected the contingency. They were cutthroat business people and really wanted to sell fast and get out of town. We really wanted the house though and knew it would go fast so we went for it. Luckily it only took a short to sell our house. However, I am pretty risk-averse and I think I received a few grey hairs from that month when we carried two mortgages.

[kara97210]

With our first house (7 years ago) we made a contingent offer on a super cute house that had just hit the market. Our offer was for the full asking price, but we would have 45 days to sell DH's house. At the time DH owned a house and I owned a condo that we planned to rent out. We were getting married and there was no way we would have felt comfortable with 3 (!!!) mortgages.

In our market contingent offers were, at the time, extremely rare and the seller rejected the offer (I think they actual countered with the full price, but the contingency removed). We negotiated a bit, but my real estate agent (who is a good friend) pointed out to them that our offer was only full priced because of the mitigating contingency. If we removed the contingency we would also make a lower priced offer. The seller balked. We sold the house quickly (it closed within 45 days), but by the time we were pending on the house we were selling it was closer to peak buying season and there were a lot more houses on the market. We ended up getting a better house for slightly less money. I know the original house sold for less than our contingent offer.

[HannaAddict]

In our market, hardly ever accepted. We turned down one couple who kept making the almost same contingent offer on our gorgeous, historic boulevard tree lined tree street home. It had been on about a week in a slow market and we had moved but didn't need to sell, it was a 7 figure house (they kept insisting 6 figure) so we didn't think it would sell in a week and staging was already paid for a month up front. (HCOL area in fantastic close-in city family neighborhood.). It sold and closed within 60 days for what we wanted and no contingencies. The buyers had a house to sell too, but didn't have to sell to buy ours. The contingency is a loser as a buyer in a decent market, or even a crummy market in desirable city. People don't want to bid against other people (it is disclosed here) and risk paying more, there is more back and forth, it can take forever to close, and if the house is nice at all, it is far better to be an active listing with agents fully motivated to sell and show it to their clients versus a "contingent" deal. And even if not officially disclosed, realtors know what is contingent and it makes a house harder to sell. When buying, I have no interest in looking at contingent houses. Sorry to be a downer but as a seller, we said no way and so glad we did.

[khalloc]

When we bought our current house we made an offer without a contingency. We were risking having 2 mortgages at once. But luckily we got an offer on our house a week later and all was well. I've heard that no one accepts an offer these days with a contingency like that.

[minnie-zb]

In my area contingencies are very rare. Typically people sell their house first and request a later settlement date so they can look for a house. It is a bit of a balancing act. It is very common to go from closing on your house and walk into another room to settle on the new house.

[scriptkitten]

the house we bought in august was under contract to another buyer.

we came to them with an offer with no contingencies and won the house away from the other buyers.

it worked out for us because when we first saw the house on the market we weren't ready to jump.

then it disappeared off the mls for a few weeks because of the other buyers.

then our broker, who was acquainted with the selling broker, told us that the house was IN FACT still accepting offers. by that time we were ready to look at the house and scoop it up on the first viewing.

[westwoodmom04]

With respect to the question of whether you get the house later, that could happen. When we sold our last house, it was peak seller's market and we priced the house aggressively. After it was on the market for a few weeks, we got a low ball offer, which we rejected out of hand (did not get far enough to discuss contingencies). That person came back to us about a month later with a much higher offer and had sold his place in the interim.