What a thrill it is to finally find the house!  Waiting for a response to the offer, however, is stressful when bidding for a house. Will you win the home, or will the seller reject it?

The truth is the seller is more likely to either accept it or accept it with conditions. This means you will receive a counter offer.

After all, they want to sell their home, so, at least in this scenario, they’re willing to negotiate.

Then, there are those situations when a seller outright rejects an offer.

This can happen when bidding for a house for a number of reasons:

  • The seller accepted another offer.
  • The seller is unwilling to entertain any of your requests, such as paying closing costs or paying for expensive repairs or upgrades.
  • Your offer was far below what he or she will accept.

Those are just a few reasons an offer to purchase might be rejected.

Despite what the national media is reporting “Bidding Wars Are Back in Key Home Markets” Columbus happens to be one of them.  Lack of sufficient new home builds since 2008, low existing home inventory, and the new Intel coming to the area is bringing new people.

“Intel says its initial two computer chip factories will employ 3,000 people when the operation is up and running in 2025. The project is also expected to employ 7,000 construction workers. And none of that includes the hundreds of additional jobs as Intel suppliers move in, along with the expected boom in the service sector.”

Still want the home?

If so, it’s time to come up with a strategy when bidding for a house. Again, we’ll need to discuss your goals and find out precisely what it is about this house that made you want to submit an offer.

Other issues we’ll need to discuss include the following:

Don’t take the rejection personally

Buying a home is a business transaction, yet both the seller and the buyer often have emotional “stuff” going on in the background.

Some sellers are emotionally attached to the home, while others are strictly business. Falling into the trap of over-analyzing the possible reasons behind the rejection is crazy-making when bidding on a house.

Naturally, we will speak with the seller’s agent to get an answer to your “why?”  But you have options, so let’s move forward with one or more.

Can you go higher?

The most common reason an offer is rejected is the price offered is lower than what the seller wants. The only move you can make to combat this is to sweeten the deal by offering more for the home when bidding for a house, if at all possible. Resubmit the offer at a higher price.

The terms may be unacceptable

There are certain contingencies that many sellers find unacceptable. The most common of these is the home sale contingency – when you make the purchase contingent on selling your current home.

Depending on the market, many sellers will reject an offer because of this. It’s too big of a gamble, and they may have other offers that don’t contain this clause.

Your offer may be rejected if the closing date is unacceptable. Although not common, it does happen. Whether the seller needs to close sooner or later than your stated closing date, they may have another offer that meets their goals.

If nothing seems to be working

It’s easy to become discouraged when bidding for a house and your offer on a home is rejected, especially if you become emotionally attached during the process.

Make a note of the home’s features that attracted you the most so that we can keep an eye out for similar homes as they come on the market or be willing to look at homes with similar features but needs some TLC to avoid getting caught in bidding for a house.

A lot of homeowners, especially, first-time homeowners want the pretty perfect house, however, if you are willing to put a little sweat equity in, you can still find a home lower than the asking price. Consulting with a REALTOR© and developing a plan especially what your must haves and have not are is a great place to start.

Your dream home is obtainable, and it’s out there. If I can help in any way, I would love to buy you a cup of coffee please don’t hesitate to call/text me at (614)642-4889, or check out my YouTube channel or my website!

I look forward to speaking with you soon!