Q: Can a seller of a home raise the asking price after an above asking price offer has been made?
Seller had home for sale for $239,900. We offered $250,000, and the buyers agent claimed that they had accepted another offer but would let us know if it falls through. A few minutes later, it shows the house raised to $289,900 and doesn’t say it’s pending. How is this possible?
A: Until the seller accepts your offer, in writing, there is not an enforceable agreement for the sale of the property. Until there is an enforceable agreement, the seller is free to sell, not sell, or raise the price. Contract law speaks of "offer and acceptance" as being elements of an enforceable contract, but I think that in the context of a real-property sale, for which there is a requirement of a written contract, the listing of a home for sale is not an offer that is capable of acceptance.
Kenneth V Zichi agrees with this answer
A:
A seller can raise the market price at any time. Unless you have a signed purchase offer, then there is nothing really that you can do to compel the seller to sell the home to you at the lower price.
See www.ProvenResource.com for more information.
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