A backup offer is a secondary bid that sits behind the primary offer on a home. The two most common reasons primary deals fail are inspection issues and financing problems. With the right agent, a backup offer lets you keep shopping while protecting your position if the top offer falls through.
Ei there, what is a backup offer and should you consider using a backup offer in the home buying process? Well, a backup offer is kind of just like it sounds. It's not an offer that's in first position, but it's in a backup position. So in other words, a different buyer beat you to the punch, got this house under contract, but you really like it. You wish that you had been the one in first position. So you may want to consider using a backup offer. So the biggest concern that I hear from buyers, which is a misunderstanding, is that, well, if I'm in this backup position, that means I'm just going to sit around and wait and hope, cross my fingers, that the offer that's in first position falls through for some reason. No. If you have an agent that knows how to write backup offers, you're not in that position. It's just a safety net over here. You can continue to look for other houses over here, make offers, and actually put one under contract if you want. But if this house over here was something that you really liked, having a backup offer in position is kind of like a little good little safety net for you. So why would a deal fall through? Well, the two most often examples of why deals fall through is number one, something happens with inspections. That that buyer in first position just cannot get over, or something happens and they can't follow through with their financing. Could be for some other reasons, but those are the two most common. Now the other question is, why would a seller want to accept a backup offer? Well, when I represent sellers as a listing agent, I really like backup offers. It's always nice to be able to say to the buyer in first position, hey, I've got a backup. So it helps keep the momentum going and so they're not dawdling in the process. They keep the process moving. Another reason is that when your listing agent and the property that you're helping a seller sell goes under contract, then you have to go in the MLS and mark it as under contract, and then that shows up on Zillow as contingent or pending or anything else like that. So then if the deal falls through and you don't have a backup offer, you have to quote unquote put it back on the market. That creates curiosity, that creates some buyers wondering, other interested buyers wondering, well, what happened with that first deal? Why didn't it go through? It creates some worry and some questions in the back of their mind. Having a backup offer, then it never goes back on the market. First, uh, offer in first position falls through, boom, the backup offer is immediately triggered, and there you go. So there are advantages to both buyers and sellers in this process. The important thing for the buyer to remember is that it doesn't just tie you in, it doesn't lock you into that property. You can continue to look for other properties and even put other properties under contract without fear that this one it's like holding you up. So think about backup offers as a strategy. I've had clients, two different clients, that have had a lot of success. They were able to get, get the home that they wanted through the use of a backup offer. So think about using it. It's a good strategy. Just find an agent who knows how to do it, who can help you through the process. There you go. And there's DeeDee. We'll see you soon.
