Can I place multiple bids??

[Jeff2239]

If I'm looking for a house, can I place multiple bids, say 2 or 3 at the same time?

 

I don't see why not, but I'm losing faith in my realtor.

 

Thanks

[cedski]

sure.......what happens if you get accepted multiple times?

[Jeff2239]

Can't I just take my pick and turn down the other(s)?

 

Or is a bid a legal contract, etc.

[cedski]

Can't I just take my pick and turn down the other(s)?

 

Or is a bid a legal contract, etc.

 

When you sign an offer it is a legal contract....you can lose earnest money if you don't follow the terms of the contract.....Buying a house isn't like E-bay........sorry not being sarcastic but it isn't.

[Jeff2239]

Fair enough.

 

I didn't know that a bid was a formal contract.

[CallMeJo]

Actually, that's wrong.

 

You can place multiple bids if you want. If 1 offer gets accepted, then you need to have your REA rescind the others.

 

 

If your REA doesn't know what this is, then get a new REA.

[cedski]

Actually, that's wrong.

 

You can place multiple bids if you want. If 1 offer gets accepted, then you need to have your REA rescind the others.

 

 

If your REA doesn't know what this is, then get a new REA.

 

 

It depends on the state......if multiple offers are accepted at the same time.......chances of this happening while rare......can occur and if they do........you may have entered a legally binding contract.

[CallMeJo]

Actually, that's wrong.

 

You can place multiple bids if you want. If 1 offer gets accepted, then you need to have your REA rescind the others.

 

 

If your REA doesn't know what this is, then get a new REA.

 

 

It depends on the state......if multiple offers are accepted at the same time.......chances of this happening while rare......can occur and if they do........you may have entered a legally binding contract.

 

 

While I've never heard of it happening, a good REA would be able to send out multiple email/voice mails before you could have 2 acceptances.

 

OP sounds llike he needs a new REA.

[DesertRose]

Take a look at your purchase contract & see what it says.

 

Here in CA, sure buyer's do it all the time especially with REO.

 

Investors have been doing it for years.

 

Our standard contract allows buyer to cancel within 17 days for any/no reason.

[VA loan source]

Speaking as a former Real Estate Broker in Washington State, I would say this is a bad idea. A lot of it will depend upon state law, and what constitutes offer and acceptance of an offer. In this state, and many others, the OP could have several of the ossers accepted, then his earnest money is on the line for the offers he does not go through on.

 

In todays market, realtors are not going to say no to anything (legal) that would earn them a commission. I would believe that if it were a good idea in that state, the realtor would go for it. I would give them the benefit of the doubt on it until more is known about the state the OP lives in for example.

 

To flat our say he needs a new realtor when little is known about the sitaution seems hasty.

[Jeff2239]

I live in California, and I was just curious, and I am dealing with mostly REO properties

 

Thanks

[CallMeJo]

If his REA tells him he CAN'T do multiple bids, & he CAN, then his REA is LYING to him & that, for me, is enough of a reason to get a new REA. No matter what state he is in.

 

Multiple bids is legal in every state in the country, so therefore, he CAN do it.

[VA loan source]

I did not see where his realtor says he could not make multiple offers. Of course he can. Should he? IMO now way. Not a question as to what is legal or not, but what is a good business decision. What happens when 3 offers are accepted at the same time, before he has the chance to rescind them? His earnest money on the other 2 transactions can be in jeapordy. Again, he can forfeit this if he wants, but is it sound business to risk that?

 

It is not against the law for me to flush $100 bills down the toilet either...doesn't mean I should though.

 

Especially when looking at REO properties where earnest money agreements are many times not dependent upon financing contingencies or many of the other "outs" that are typical in normal owner occupied sales.

[CallMeJo]

it was the title.

 

Can I place multiple bids??, my realtor says no

[VA loan source]

My mistake.

 

I still stand by my previous post. It is a BAD IDEA.

 

As a Real Estate Broker (license on ice with my state) I would question the ethics of a realtor that ALLOWED a borrower to make multiple offers and possibly compromise multiple earnest money deposits (again depending upon state law).

[DesertRose]

I live in California, and I was just curious, and I am dealing with mostly REO properties

 

Thanks

 

 

If you are using the standard CAR form contracts you can cancel at anytime during your "due dilligence" period of 17 days. This time period is for inspections.

 

However if you are using the seller's contract which is standard with REO, the terms may be different.

 

In the real world, are you giving your earnest money check to your agent made payable to the brokerage? In my part of CA we don't usually know whom the escrow holder is to be until a few days after receipt of the fully executed contract.

 

Submitting multiple offers has been going on for years with investors & probably going to become the norm with REO properties that are decent units as there will be multiple offers on many of them.

 

Trust me, the seller is more than happy to take offers from more than one buyer.

 

 

Once the escrow is opened, to get your EM deposit back will require signatures of both buyer & seller.

 

You actually "can" write the offer without an EM check, though your realtor will try to talk you out of it. She can put right in the contract that "$X amount to be deposited into escrow upon acceptance" or some such. Just make sure she has a photocopy of the check to send to the seller. Since you won't know who the escrow holder is many times it's best to just make it payable to the broker's trust account.

[CallMeJo]

My mistake.

 

I still stand by my previous post. It is a BAD IDEA.

 

As a Real Estate Broker (license on ice with my state) I would question the ethics of a realtor that ALLOWED a borrower to make multiple offers and possibly compromise multiple earnest money deposits (again depending upon state law).

 

 

Why? A simple phone call to say "the previous offer is rescinded" takes less than a minute.

 

 

In your years of RE, have you ever heard of someone having received multiple acceptances on offers that wasn't the result of a bad REA who didn't make the calls that needed to be made? I haven't.

 

 

As long as you have a knowledgeable and competent REA, you're fine making multiple bids.

 

 

If your REA is lazy and unproductive, then I wholeheartedly agree with you. do not place multiple bids.

[Jeff2239]

Thank you for all of the input, it's great to ask questions in this forum.

 

Long story of why I have my realtor, but that's my sad story.

[Doug the Realtor]

As the other posters have said, placing multiple offers simultaneously is possible, but you should absolutely read your sales contract thoroughly to avoid any unhappy consequences. Pay particular attention to what constitutes notice of rescinding an offer. I would not be surprised to learn that it requires something in writing, i.e. with your signature ( the buyer's)and a date attached. I wouldnt count on a phone call or even an email being sufficient.

 

Doug

[VA loan source]

Actually...I have seen this happen a few times. And not with lazy or incompetent realtors.

 

You are assuming that all it takes is a phone call to rescind an offer. That is not the case in every state. Actually, in most states verbal notices are not recognized.

 

I would also offer that in the buyers market we are in, it is more likely a seller will accept an offer, thus making mulitple offers even riskier.

 

Good luck to Jeff2239. Glad to hear you got something out of the back and forthe.

[CallMeJo]

Actually...I have seen this happen a few times. And not with lazy or incompetent realtors.

 

You are assuming that all it takes is a phone call to rescind an offer. That is not the case in every state. Actually, in most states verbal notices are not recognized.

 

I would also offer that in the buyers market we are in, it is more likely a seller will accept an offer, thus making mulitple offers even riskier.

 

Good luck to Jeff2239. Glad to hear you got something out of the back and forthe.

 

 

In the states where a verbal rescind is not legal, then neither is a verbal acceptance. A seller would have to prove to the escrow company that their offer was received before the rescind. Unless it is certified mail, then it's not possible. My family and I have worked with a couple of investors for well over 20 years now. This possible multiple acceptances has NEVER happened in that time.

 

 

 

 

A good REA makes all the difference.

[DesertRose]

All contracts regarding the sale of RE have to be in writing to be enforcable.

 

That said, ALL of my REO sellers do everything in the initial stages verbally. Actually via email, none of them do business by phone anymore.

 

The reason is the sheer volume of assets they have to manage. It is an enormous waste of time & paper to provide written responses to every single offer that comes in.

 

Instead they instruct us via their web site or via em to contact the buyer's agent with acceptance/rejection/counter.

 

There is how it works in the real world.

 

In CA, as long as you write up your offer on the standard CAR form, there is no risk to the buyer. You have 17 days to kill it, AFTER seller accepts it. In our standard CAR purchase agreement, the offer expires in 3 days unless your agent wrote in a different expiration date.

 

If the seller does not accept your offer within that 3 day period, you are not oblilgated to go forward.

 

If the seller counters on ANY term, no matter how minor, you are not obligated to perform. An acceptance has to be a mirror image of the original offer & banks rarely do that. They will counter even if it's just to use their own contract forms.

 

So at this point you are still not obligated to proceed.

 

If you get an acceptance & sign the seller's contract, you will probably find that the inspection periods are shortened from the 17 days we have in our standard CAR forms.

 

This is the real world of REO in California.

[climbhigh]

One question for the OP that nobody has asked, Why do you want to submit multiple offers for this property?

 

Yes it is possible to put in multiple offers.

 

As to the concern of loosing your earnest money if the seller accepts multiple offers, the reality is there shouldn't be a concern for the buyer to loose their earnest money. Think about it logically. Buyer submits 3 offers each with $1k earnest money. Seller accepts all 3 offers. Sounds like some here are claiming buyer will loose $2k of his earnest money for the 2nd and 3rd offer that were accepted. Well my argument is that the seller broke the deal because he can't sell the same property 3 times so he breaks the contract so buyer gets his earnest money back. Only in the offer that was accepted and executed would the earnest money be paid out.

 

If you are so concerned with earnest money then make your offer with no earnest money attached.

 

On purchase of an investment property where I am buying from a seller and not an REO, I will give the seller 3 offers and ask them to pick the one they like. The offers basically range from highest price but the longer time frame for seller to get their money to lowest price and seller gets money asap. By making multiple offers I let the seller decide their threshold for how much money they get and when.

 

On purchasing an REO property, I submit an offer using the standard real estate form for my state and I do not submit multiple offers. My offers for REO properties are submitted without any earnest money. In every case where the bank accepted offer they do request earnest money and at that time I amend my offer to include earnest money.

[delzer]

One question for the OP that nobody has asked, Why do you want to submit multiple offers for this property?

 

Yes it is possible to put in multiple offers.

 

As to the concern of loosing your earnest money if the seller accepts multiple offers, the reality is there shouldn't be a concern for the buyer to loose their earnest money. Think about it logically. Buyer submits 3 offers each with $1k earnest money. Seller accepts all 3 offers. Sounds like some here are claiming buyer will loose $2k of his earnest money for the 2nd and 3rd offer that were accepted. Well my argument is that the seller broke the deal because he can't sell the same property 3 times so he breaks the contract so buyer gets his earnest money back. Only in the offer that was accepted and executed would the earnest money be paid out.

 

If you are so concerned with earnest money then make your offer with no earnest money attached.

 

On purchase of an investment property where I am buying from a seller and not an REO, I will give the seller 3 offers and ask them to pick the one they like. The offers basically range from highest price but the longer time frame for seller to get their money to lowest price and seller gets money asap. By making multiple offers I let the seller decide their threshold for how much money they get and when.

 

On purchasing an REO property, I submit an offer using the standard real estate form for my state and I do not submit multiple offers. My offers for REO properties are submitted without any earnest money. In every case where the bank accepted offer they do request earnest money and at that time I amend my offer to include earnest money.

You must have misread, The seller isn't accepting 3 offers , the buyer is placing 3 offers to 3 different sellers. The seller has only received 1 offer not 3. The buyer is placing 3 offers into 3 seperate sellers who may have 0 offers up until this buyer placed the offer and all 3 may accept the offer. I have seen people lose thousands on the advice that they will recoup there earnest money. Never say never, you may have not seen but I have and so have others.

[Doug the Realtor]

One question for the OP that nobody has asked, Why do you want to submit multiple offers for this property?

 

I believe no one asked that because everyone, including myself, interpreted the question to be about submiting offers on different properties at the same time.

 

Doug