Can You Get Out Of Having Your Winning Real Estate Offer Accepted?

Did you recently have an offer accepted on a home, but now you are having a bit of buyers remorse? It may be due to having an offer accepted on a home that is too big, or now seeing another home on the market that you like more. If so, you're likely wondering how you can get out of moving forward with the purchase of the home. Here are some ways that you can get out of the sale.

Ask The Seller

One thing that you can do is ask the seller if you can back out of the sale. If you have not provided your earnest money yet, there is nothing that the seller can do to hold you into committing to the sale. However, even if you have provided earnest money, it is possible that they'll listen to your concerns and let you walk away. There may be no harm in asking if there are no other options.

Encounter Problems With The Home Inspection

The home inspection gives you an opportunity to have the home professionally evaluated for problems. Your real estate agent should have had a clause in your contract where you can look at the home inspection and walk away from the home without losing your earnest money. Thankfully, there are not usually limitations to what is considered a bad home inspection. If you end up running into surprises like a damaged foundation, a bad roof, or parts of the home that are not up to code, you could walk away.

Encounter Problems With Financing

There should also be a clause in your contract that allows you to walk away from the home if your financing were to fall through. This not only includes issues with being approved for a loan, but issues with the appraisal. Having a home that is appraised low can cause the terms of your mortgage to change. It could require you to have a bigger down payment that you don't have the money for, or show that the home is worth way less than you thought it would be. Use this as a valid reason to not move forward with buying the home.

Lose Your Earnest Money

You always have the option to walk away at the expense of losing your earnest money. This is why it is always a good idea to negotiate a low amount of money to provide for this purpose. You may lose a couple thousand dollars, but you'll end up not buying a home that you have lost interest in.