Dear Phyllis,
We recently sold our home, but the experience left us uneasy. We received three offers above the asking price. One was $100,000 higher than the other two, and our agent chose to counter that offer with what seemed like minor points, such as selecting escrow and title companies and shortening the inspection contingency period.
The buyer never signed the counteroffer, and we ended up accepting $100,000 less.
Why would our agent counter the offer? I feel we should have simply accepted it and opened escrow.
— JK
Dear JK,
I am a Realtor, not an attorney. Still, I think you may be overlooking something. I do not believe the buyer walked away because of the counteroffer. The timing suggests something else happened.
In multiple-offer situations, buyers often push beyond what they are truly comfortable with because they want to win. They may submit a price that looks strong on paper but does not feel sustainable once the pressure eases. After the competition fades, buyer’s remorse can quickly set in.
The terms your agent countered — escrow, title, and inspection timelines — are usually relatively small issues. They normally would not drive away a serious buyer, especially one who had already offered $100,000 more than the other bidders. A committed buyer would generally sign the counteroffer, or at least respond. Silence more often points to hesitation or second thoughts than to anger over minor details.
Even if you had accepted the original offer right away, the sale still was not fully secure. The buyer would still have needed to deliver the earnest money deposit and open escrow. A buyer who regrets the offer can still fail to move forward at that stage. In other words, acceptance by itself does not guarantee the deal will close.
Your agent may also have been trying to protect your position. Tightening deadlines or clarifying service providers is often intended to reduce risk and keep the transaction moving. Although it may seem as if the counteroffer caused the loss, it is more likely that the buyer was already backing out.
In short, the higher offer probably was not as solid as it first appeared. The counteroffer did not create the problem; it likely revealed it.
Warm regards,
Phyllis
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