What is a contingent offer, why don’t sellers like them, and how do you win an offer if you have a home to sell?
A contingent offer is an offer a buyer makes when they’re looking to purchase a home but can’t buy anything until they’ve sold their current home. Sellers don’t like these offers because they’re risky, and in this market, they can choose from multiple offers that don’t have contingencies. They’re risky because if the buyer’s deal doesn’t close, there’s a domino effect that negatively impacts the seller’s home sale. It’s just not worth that risk, so a lot of sellers aren’t going to even look at contingent offers in most situations.
“In this market, sellers can choose from multiple offers that don’t have contingencies.”
If you still need to sell your home, you ideally want to sell first, stay at a short-term rental or with friends or with family, and then buy your next house. That’s not realistic for a lot of people, so the next best thing would be to already have your home listed, under contract, and have all the major deadlines met. That would make it a lot less risky. Otherwise, if you have a house in a highly desirable neighborhood that’s priced well and we expect to get plenty of offers and sell in a short time, there shouldn’t be a problem with that contingent offer. Another option is to buy the next house with no contingency, move in, and then sell the other house.
If you’re interested in going over your options for buying and selling, we’d love to help you in your next real estate adventure. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
