Buying or Selling a Home/COUNTER OFFER

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Expert: - 3/18/2009


Question
IM IN THE PROCESS OF BUYING A BANK OWNED HOME. I OFFERED THE BANK A LOWER PRICE THEN WHAT WAS BEING ASKED I ALSO ASKED THE BACK TO PAY CLOSING COST, PAY FOR THE SEPTIC ( IF NEEDED TO BE REPLACED) AND TENTING (IF NEEDED) . 3 DAYS LATTER THE BANK COUNTERED OFFERED ME BACK. I ACCEPTED THE COUNTER OFFER, SIGN THE PAPER WORK AND SENT IT BACK. THE ONLY THING THE BANK CHANGED WAS THE PRICE.
AFTER A FEW DAYS THE BANK E-MAILED MY RELATOR STATING THEY WOULD BE SELLING THE HOUSE AS IS AND THAT THE BUYER MUST PAY THE CLOSING COST, TENTING AND SEPTIC. I’M UNDER THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IF I ACCEPTED THE BANKS COUNTER OFFER AND I SIGN THE COUNTER OFFER THEY HAVE TO STAND BY THE CONTRACT.  CAN THE BANK CHANGE THEIR MIND EVEN THOU THE COUNTER OFFER I SIGNED SAYS THEY WILL PAY FOR ALL THOSE THINGS? SHOULD I FIGHT BACK AND ASK THEM TO STAND BY THE OFFER? ANY HELP WOULD BE SO GREAT!!


Answer
Dear Heather;
Once an offer or counter offer is signed by both parties it is a contract.  In this case the bank signed the counter offer and once you signed it; it became a contract. I suggest that you go back to your REALTOR and discuss this with him/her to see how you should proceed. If the bank doesn't honor the contract, or if, for some reason the contract is not enforceable due to some clause in it, then you will need legal advise regarding what remedies can be enforced. Before consulting with an attorney, check with your agent and see what his or her take on this is.  

~Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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