Expert: Hans Weber, Licensed Broker Associate - 1/26/2009

Question
QUESTION: After attending an open house I put a bid on the house.  The agent asked me to put it in writng , which I did and signed.  The seller accepted my offer within the hour.  Now I feel I bid too high.  Can I lower my bid? Or ask the seller to pay my closing fees?

ANSWER: Hello Carla,

Thank you for your question.

From the information you give it seems like there can be a few issues.

What state are you in?

It sounds like you were not represented by a buyer agent which is a mistake on your part.  The buyer agent could have done a market evaluation for you to determine what price range to offer.

The offer you put in writing, is that a contract with a deposit?  If so you may be in contract, but you may have a clause to allow for attorney review and inspections after which you may renegotiate.

In New York we agents are required to explain agency, how we work with/for buyers and sellers, to all people we work with.  There are agents that represent the seller and those that represent the buyer.  The agent at the open house should have explained who they represented when they took the offer and it sounds to me like they represent the seller.

If you have a signed contract and no buyer agent representing you to talk to, you probably should go to a lawyer.

Good luck,
Hans

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.I live in NY and the house is in Queens.  I did not put money down, I just signed a "binder." I did bid less than the selling price, but because the seller accepted my offer so quickly and because I looked over the house again on the outside, I would like to lower my  bid.

Answer
Hello again Carla,

I gather you did not have your own buyer agent?  The buyer agent would ahve guided you in pricing the house to make a realistic offer.

You gave the offer directly to the seller's agent?  The agent represented the seller and owes total allegience to the seller, not the buyer.

Since you are in New York the agent should have explained agency to you and how the agent represents parties in the transaction. The New York Department of State requires it.  The form is called NYS Disclosure Form for Buyer and Seller.  You can view the form at www.dos.state.ny.us.

If you did sign the form then you would have had to sign the Dual Agency section and so would the seller since only one agent was involved.

Anyway, this is probably too complicated for the situation, but part of the rules.

It does not sound like you are in contract so I think you can walk away from the house, offer a lower price, or pay what you offered.  You also need a physical licensed home inspection to find and not visible to your eyes problems.

Hans