Waiting to see if our offer will be approved

Fingerscrossed14

Last night we put in an offer for a house at 7% below the asking price with 3% closing costs. We are not feeling too optimistic since the house just hit the market last week. Really hoping that they don't ask for more than 5% less than asking with the assist. The waiting is excruciating. Haven't heard anything yet and our agent is only giving them until tonight to respond. What happens if they don't respond at all? Is that just a no go?

OtterJ

Just out of curiosity, why are you only giving them until tonight to respond?  Are you under a tight deadline?  Depending on the seller's schedules (if they work nights, or they're out of town), it is possible that getting a response tonight just isn't possible. 

It isn't uncommon for sellers to want to sit on an offer for a few days while waiting to see if anything better comes along, especially if it just hit the market.  While you're waiting to see if an offer is accepted, you can just carry on looking for houses.

Since you gave them the deadline, not hearing anything is essentially the same as them rejecting your offer.  If you don't hear anything and you want to be sure, you could have your realtor contact the listing agent to see if it was a definite rejection, or if they just didn't have time to work out a counter offer, etc.

Fingerscrossed14

My real estate agent said that he only gives them a day to at least hear something from them even if that something is just that they need more time. I kinda wasn't thrilled about it either. I probably should have spoke up.

OtterJ

I can understand giving a deadline if you have a specific reason to need a quick response.  If you're in a good market with lots of options, and you don't want to waste your time on a seller who's not going to negotiate with you, then it makes sense.  Or if it's a house that is likely to go quickly, and you don't want to give the seller a chance to collect multiple offers, then a deadline seems like a good move.

We didn't give deadlines, but for the most part, we received responses the next day.  If it took longer than that, we simply kept looking at houses and our realtor kept in touch with the listing agent.  We were patient because we would rather have our offer accepted late, rather than walk away from a house just because the response time was too slow.

Whether or not it's something that is normally done, If you don't feel comfortable giving such short deadlines, feel free to speak up about it.

JaydenUSR

Well, I guess, if they are interested, they will respond on or before the deadline. No response means they are not interested on it or they feel pressured on the deadline you set.

Buyers often want sellers to respond quickly to their offers. Many want to allow as little time as possible for a seller to accept their offer. If a seller does not respond, the offer simply expires. It no longer exists.