# Less than 24 hrs. to respond to purchase offer-is this usual in selling property? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068 "2019-05-16T16:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/41 "2019-05-20T19:33:22Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > An agent would be a fool to rely upon a verbal offer or acceptance. While it’s common for an agent to phone another to say, “we’re sending you an offer,” there is no legal agreement until the written offer is delivered. > > The reason an agent might make that phone call is to verify that the property is still on the market. MLS data isn’t always up-to-the-minute accurate[sup]\*[/sup], and no one wants to waste the time writing an offer that can’t be accepted. I’m not sure what you mean by “relying on a verbal offer or acceptance” because I never said one word about relying on a verbal acceptance. Look, you said nobody wants to waste time writing an offer than _can’t_ be accepted - maybe the best way to describe my experience is to say that in my area nobody want to waste time writing an offer that _won’t_ be accepted. If the asking price is $400K and I’m offering $390 - and the seller won’t budge, there’s no need to go any further with my $390 offer . And around here, that’s the answer people want in 24 hours- the one that says whether or not it’s worthwhile to prepare a written offer. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/42 "2019-05-20T19:45:28Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > That WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase apparently becomes a binding contract when it’s signed… No, when it is signed and delivered (to the seller) by the specified date and time. Note that the offer can be withdrawn before delivery, even if signed. Unfortunately, just to complicate matters, “delivered,” in real estate-speak, does not mean what you think it does, which is probably “received.” An offer is delivered if it is deposited in a mailbox or given to a delivery service like UPS or Fedex even if it hasn’t yet arrived at its ultimate destination. These terms may have different meanings in other states, so don’t take my word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/43 "2019-05-20T19:51:29Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by “relying on a verbal offer or acceptance” because I never said one word about relying on a verbal acceptance… It sounds like you are: > [@doreen](#): > > …I’m talking about the process of phone calls/texts/emails that communicates the buyer’s willingness to pay $X and communicates back whether the seller is willing to accept X. What you are talking about has no legal validity. If you are not relying on it, fine. If you are, it could be a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/44 "2019-05-20T20:07:17Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It sounds like you are:What you are talking about has no legal validity. If you are not relying on it, fine. If you are, it could be a mistake. I think perhaps you are understanding “real estate-speak” when I’m not speaking it. What I have been talking about the whole time is what I said in my last post > [@](#): > > maybe the best way to describe my experience is to say that in my area nobody want to waste time writing an offer that _won’t_ be accepted. If the asking price is $400K and I’m offering $390 - and the seller won’t budge, there’s no need to go any further with my $390 offer - there’s no reliance on the verbal acceptance or rejection to do anything more than decide whether continue the process which will result in a written agreement. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/45 "2019-05-20T20:21:06Z")
**Doreen,** perhaps some definition of terms would be useful here. From _Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms, Fourth Edition_ (a universal dictionary, not limited to one state): > [@](#): > > OFFER: An expression of willingness to purchase a property at a specified price. > [@](#): > > BINDER: An agreement, accompanied by a DEPOSIT, for the purchase of real estate, to evidence GOOD FAITH on the part of the purchaser. [caps in original] So, in my state at least, an accepted offer would equate to a binder in yours. Do you agree? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/46 "2019-05-20T21:13:07Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > **Doreen,** perhaps some definition of terms would be useful here. From _Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms, Fourth Edition_ (a universal dictionary, not limited to one state):So, in my state at least, an accepted offer would equate to a binder in yours. Do you agree? Yes- that’s actually where this started. I suspected that back in post 26. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068/47 "2019-05-21T02:24:27Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > I’m going through this on the buyers side. > > Basically everyone is correct, this is pretty normal if the offer is over a time where it might be hard to make a decision it’ll get a delayed a bit. I put in a late Friday night offer with an acceptance deadline of early Monday morning and that 60 hours is the most I’ve given. You’re nice. Last time I bought a house, my agent was on both ends of the house I sold, and on the buy side of the house I purchased for more than twice as much. She’s a good friend, and I realize her agency was taking half of the commissions, but she still netted roughly $250/hour for the business I generated. I ended up in a haggling situation with the seller of the new house, who was a bit of a flake and obviously hiding some major structural flaws that resulted in significant concessions on their end after the inspection. Every time the seller would counter, I would counter-counter, and exponentially decrease the deadline by 50%. My final offer had a 3 hour limit and was sent at 9PM on a Friday night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-than-24-hrs-to-respond-to-purchase-offer-is-this-usual-in-selling-property/834068.md?page=2)