# Realtors: Can you confirm that "under contract" means you can no longer make an offer on a house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384 "2015-06-24T19:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384/21 "2015-06-25T05:48:23Z")
If the existing contract has contingencies, e.g. buyer must sell their own house first, then an alternate contract without those contingencies might be looked at. I don’t know whether the seller can just dump the previous would-be purchasers, though they CAN ask that the other purchasers remove their contingency clause. You will NOT get the place simply by coming in with a higher offer - at least not in most places in the US. If your offer is accepted as a backup offer, bear in mind that you can’t really put a bid in on another place until the seller formally releases you - because their other buyer might fall through in which case you HAVE to buy the house (or lose earnest money etc.). It’s not an ideal position to be in - we were the backup offer on a townhouse when we were house-hunting here 26 years ago, and we had the real risk of the seller not releasing us in time for us to do something else (we had a definite deadline for moving out of a short-term apartment). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384/22 "2015-06-25T05:50:20Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > One of my coworkers lost a house to a better offer that came in after the seller had already signed a contract with him. What could he do, really? It was a dick move, but his only recourse would have been in court, and then all his down payment money would have been tied up in the interim so he couldn’t put an offer anywhere else. I would say that at the very least, he should file a complaint with whoever regulates real estate agents in your state. Court would have indeed been the only option to him, I think the term is “specific performance” where he could _force_ the seller to sell to him. If he was genuinely harmed (couldn’t find a similar place at the right price), he might have wanted to go that route. At the very least, he could have really made the seller and the other buyer’s lives difficult 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384/23 "2015-06-25T14:11:09Z")
It depends. If you are in New Jersey, you can be under contract but still in the attorney review period. Either party can walk away for any reason or no reason at all during that period. Found a house you like better, got a better offer, all cash, etc. After attorney review ends, you can only get out of the deal on one of the contingencies; financing fell through, inspection issues, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384/24 "2015-06-26T18:00:39Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > When dealing with a Realtor, the same is true of a written contract. > > I’ve had 2 friends who made the first offer on a house, singed a contract, and made an earnest-money payment – only to have to raise their offer to match a higher-priced one that came in later. > > And don’t bother making a complaint to the Realty Board – their review panel includes enough realtors or retired realtor that the deck is seriously tilted against you. If both parties signed the contract, and unless the contract specifically allows a party to back out, it’s a contract. Screw the board, take it to court. Breach of contract. That’s what a contract is all about. It’s a legally enforceable agreement. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384/25 "2015-06-26T19:00:13Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Well, since we got forum moved anyway… > > We made an offer. How frequently does the original fall through? My impression is that it’s not all that common but other posters seem to have a different experience. What’re the stats? Happened to me as the seller. You can try to force a purchase, but the house will be locked up as the case progresses so basically you are stuck. Their escrow money is probably sitting there still. Besides what others have said, I suspect the seller’s realtor will be happy to have a contract if only to pressure the buyer to move. Our last house sold in hours - literally - and while we did not have a backup buyer, when the actual buyer started trying to get cute he was told “make my day - we’ll have stack of buyers waiting.” So no one will laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384/26 "2015-06-26T19:58:14Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > We were house hunting and I put I think 40 houses on a list to keep track of them. I’d say it was 5-10 that went under contract and back out while I’ve been watching. I’ll add that the majority of the houses we’ve seen reappear on the market have done so very quickly — generally in about a week or so. I’m assuming (but don’t know for a fact) what’s happening is that the buyers are having the inspection done and discovering that they’re potentially taking on a lot more issues with the property than they were aware of when they put in the offer. Qualifying for the loan and having the free cash to deal with repairs that need to be done before moving in are very different animals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtors-can-you-confirm-that-under-contract-means-you-can-no-longer-make-an-offer-on-a-house/723384.md?page=1)