House Buyer Next Steps After Submitting Offer
- Adam Garrett
- Feb 25, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: May 4
So you've just made an offer on a home or other real estate, but haven't heard back yet. The waiting can be intense. Now what?
Familiarize Yourself More with the Offer Terms
With a focus on what you and your agent have input into the offer 1st, and then a focus on the other default terms, familiarize yourself more with the offer.
Here's one way to help familiarize yourself with your responsibilities and obligations, but be sure to rely most on the contract, since the contract is going to be what is gone by and more accurate, just using this resource as a quick guide:
Responsibilities & Inspector Options Including Deadlines Template for REIN & VAR Offers
Check for Offer Errors
If you see any errors after we've submitted:
In real estate contracts proper grammar such as definite articles are often omitted for brevity. What matters most is what's being legally agreed to, not grammar or spelling errors where the intent is clear in a letter that the seller has no need to respond to. If what we submit (specifically what we request the seller to agree to) has legally binding negative ramifications we should absolutely revise and resend as soon as possible. If it doesn't, revising and resending isn't typically done in real estate, and could actually do more harm than good and raise red flags, causing the other side to wonder if we are going to send things in the future with legally binding consequences only to make changes before we get a response from them. If you see substantive negative potentially legally binding issues after we have sent the offer prior to contract ratification, please let me know as soon as possible.
When Will I Hear Back?
In the absence of a deadline, typically we hear back within 24-48 hrs, but it can take as much as 5 days (& even longer) and more rarely we never get a response. Higher time lengths & no responses are more common with the following:
1. A lowball offer (i.e. 5%+ concessions requested a week after listing, or 3% requested the day of listing)
2. A deadbeat agent (& to a lesser degree, an out of town agent or agent working high volume without assistance below their median price point)
3. A seller who is either unavailable (i.e. out to sea on a fishing boat without daily access to internet), doesn't like digital signatures (you can see the signature type for the seller on the disclosures), a combination, or is otherwise slow to respond
4. Multiple offer situations & situations where a listing agent believes a multiple offer situation is imminent, especially in the first week of listing.
5. An offer within the first 72 hrs of listing.
Be Mentally Prepared for What Can Happen Next
There are a number of things that can happen in response to your offer:
The seller can accept it (best case scenario)
The seller can counter it on a technical detail (which you could accept or reject)
The seller can do a major counter (which you could accept or reject)
The seller can not respond at all
The seller can accept another offer
The seller can request additional information/documentation (i.e. proof of funds for a down payment if you didn't provide them at time of offer).
You can withdraw your offer before the seller responds
You can revise your offer before the seller responds
You can add an offer deadline if you believe that the seller is dragging their feet if you didn't have one in the initial offer (but it should almost never be <24 hrs, especially if the sellers are on the other side of the world)
Do Additional Research
If you didn't have time prior to offer to do some due diligence in research, it's a good idea to do that now. For instance, check on local laws, HOA documentation (if available), etc.
Here are some more examples:
Crime When Searching for a Home
Public School Districts in Hampton Roads & The Surrounding Area of SE VA
Master Spreadsheet for Prospective Home Purchase Considerations
Closing Company Selection
If you haven't already, select a closing company that you will use. Adam has a spreadsheet of options for his clients with information like pricing, reviews, & some positive/negative experiences he's encountered or learned from others in the field.
Lender Next Steps
If you haven't already finalized lender selection, it's best to work on that. If you've finalized lender selection, but haven't gotten through manual underwriting, it's best to do so. If you get a manually underwritten preapproval before you hear back from the seller, it's best to send that to your agent to send to the listing agent, as it strengthens your offer.
Looking at Next Steps if You Get Under Contract Soon
Don't Stop the Search Just Yet
Just because you've made an offer, doesn't mean that you should stop the search yet. Think of the offer you've made in terms of a sunk cost of time and mental energy. If a better home pops up, schedule away with your buyer's agent for another showing at the home that pops up. That said, keep in mind that if it's a lot better, 10 other buyers might think the same thing, and 10+ offer scenarios do happen. If you pull out of this offer, and then try to make an offer again later, the seller and listing agent could think that you are fickle, and that you are more likely to pull out of a contract due to a home inspection contingency or even in breach of contract. One way to alleviate listing agent/seller concerns of the latter is with a large Earnest Money Deposit.
Consider Getting Earnest Money Deposit In
Especially if paying by check in the mail to your buyer's agent's firm, or if you're about to leave town, consider sending out the check in the mail or dropping it off in advance. The check can be held and not deposited until after ratification. If sending or getting it to Adam, be sure to see the details on his article on the subject. For instance, his name won't be primary on the letter & his name won't ever be mentioned on an EMD check.
Consider Strengthening Your Offer
If you didn't have proof of funds ready at time of offer for a down payment of above appraisal guarantee, consider adding those to the equation.
Consider Modifying Your Offer if Significant Time Elapses
The longer that your offer is out there with no response, the more reason you have to modify things. Here are some examples:
closing dates
if provided in the offer on a separate line, dates that correspond to the closing date, like some deadlines for loan approval in a VAR offer when that deadline differs from the closing date
adding an offer deadline, where there wasn't one previously (i.e. a 24-hour deadline after 72 hrs of waiting on an offer with no formal response or counter)
Seek Patience if You Don't Find Another Property You Like More
As I mentioned above in "Be Mentally Prepared for What Can Happen Next":
"You can add an offer deadline if you believe that the seller is dragging their feet if you didn't have one in the initial offer, but it should almost never be <24 hrs, especially if the sellers are on the other side of the world."
Sometimes buyers or sellers (and agents, for that matter - I've seen it with experienced and inexperienced agents) will be patient, but the other side won't reciprocate that same level of patience. If the seller takes a week to get back to you in writing on an offer, don't expect them to wait a week for you to respond to their counter. In some cases, they can be very impatient in a way that dismisses the level of patience you've afforded to them. While most buyers/sellers/agents are semi-reasonable, don't expect them to be in this area. In some cases, you could get a new deadline they provide with only a few hours for you to execute on it, especially if you're in a different time zone and the seller/agent don't remember or care. The newer the agent, the higher that probability.
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