ᐅ House reserved – Submit a higher offer to the real estate agent

Hello everyone,

I know this is more of a question about buying a house, but I hope you can still help me, since most people who build a house have probably faced the question of buying one at some point.

Here’s the situation:

On Friday, we viewed our dream house. Although we made our decision to buy fairly quickly, we took the weekend to think it over carefully (which makes sense for such a big investment). On Monday morning, I wanted to schedule a second appointment for a detailed inspection, but I was told that another interested party, who also viewed the house on Friday, made a commitment/reservation that same evening.

I assume they now have a preliminary contract with the real estate agent, and the house is no longer listed online. However, I would like to increase my offer by about 15,000 euros (7%). Would that still have any effect? Would that be considered a binding offer? Or how does this normally work? Would I still have the option to have the house inspected by a professional and, if necessary, back out?

I’m quite confused—it’s such a major decision, and now it has to be made on short notice. But I’m sure this is our dream home.

I hope you can offer some advice.

Good evening,

If your assumption is correct that a preliminary contract exists, a higher offer won’t help much; the real estate agent won’t simply cancel a purchase commitment like that.

Often, such a preliminary contract – or a reservation – depends on proof of financing. You could inform the agent that you are ready to step in if the potential buyer backs out. Personally, I find that fairer than trying to raise the purchase price for an unknown buyer unnecessarily. The other party was simply _faster_ than you. That can happen.

Best regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte

Never let yourself get stressed out! There are plenty of houses available in Germany. Call the real estate agent and ask how binding the commitments are to the other interested party. I think they don’t care whether they get their money from party A or B.

Is your financing secured? Has the existing property been thoroughly inspected by you as well?

Just go through it once and then buy... well.

I would hold off or wait to see if the other interested parties can actually pay. It was the same in our case; at first, we were told there were other buyers, but in the end, we were the ones who purchased without any higher offers.

Don’t let yourself be stressed out! This could also be a tactic by the real estate agent. Why do you want to pay €15,000 (about $16,300) more? Was it a bidding process? With a preliminary contract, the agent hasn’t secured anything yet, because that contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Only a notarized purchase agreement is legally binding. Everything else doesn’t hold up under any law. A good agent knows this, by the way... but usually, the clients don’t. You can simply tell the agent that you are offering more, then have a professional inspect the house who may find some flaws, and then you can negotiate afterwards... and the agent can’t do anything about it. It’s not exactly polite, but legally it’s all solid.

@ xycrazy

Real estate agents generally work with proper reservation agreements. These are indeed binding, although usually for a limited period and seldom free of charge.

By the way, I find what you suggest in the second-to-last sentence quite inappropriate.

Best regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte