The problem with offers without “offer deadlines”

Don’t leave leave the offer deadline of a contract blank:. Failing to specify for how long your offer is on the table can lead to problems such as:

Sellers considering multiple offers will take advantage of this “open offer” and wait for the best and highest offer leaving buyers unclear on the status of their offer for a long period of time
Buyers will wait what they believe to be a reasonable amount of time and if they have not had any response from the seller will move on make an offer on the next property to then receive a fully executed contract on the first offer and possibly the second offer as well. They then face confusion on which property they are under contract for.
Buyers will miss opportunities as they are held up on open offers

Offers with clearly specified deadlines for acceptance allow buyers and sellers the opportunity to understand what stage of the process they are in and where their offer stands.

At a minimum, on all offers where no response has been provided by the seller to the buyer, the real estate professional should at a minimum email the seller’s listing agent and specify “our offer has been withdrawn” for their records.

Here is where the offer deadline date are specified in the contract:

offer deadlines on contracts — Don’t leave it up in the air, specify how long your offer is good for

Legal disclaimer: The Closing Company is not providing legal advice. The company providing this post is not a Certified Public Accountant and is not providing tax advice. Please consult with a licensed Attorney for legal advice or before signing any legal documents. Please consult with a CPA for tax planning and tax advice.