This is a common question sellers ask when they are thinking of accepting an offer on their home.
“What if I get a better offer? Can I accept it?”
The short answer is: only as a backup offer.
When you accept an offer, it usually comes with conditions that the buyer needs to fulfill, such as securing financing or completing a property inspection, (These are the most common conditions, but there may be others). In Lethbridge, buyers typically request about 10 business days to meet their conditions.
During this conditional period, your home will remain listed on Realtor.ca, and other REALTORS® may continue to show it. However, because the property is marked as “conditionally sold” or “pending,” to REALTORS®, it’s less likely to attract additional showings. That said, it’s still possible to receive another offer.
If you do receive another offer, you can accept it, but only as a backup. Here’s how it works:
- The original offer remains valid until its condition date.
- If the first buyer fulfills their conditions and waives them by the deadline, their offer becomes final, and the backup offer is no longer applicable.
- If the first buyer doesn’t fulfill their conditions by the deadline, their offer is void, and the backup offer moves into place.
Be sure to chat with your REALTOR® so you understand all of the possibilities. There are other possibilities when conditional to the sale of a home, or 24, 48, 72 hour clauses are involved. This post is for Real Estate in Alberta, Canada. Different areas may have different rules and regulations.
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