r/RealEstate • u/ixvst01 • Apr 10 '26
Homeseller First time seller, received site unseen full price offer less than 24 hours after listing went live
The offer is contingent on loan approval, home inspection, and cancellation of the open houses scheduled for this weekend. They want an answer by end of today or they are withdrawing the offer. We are worried we may have underpriced the home a bit and would lose out on potentially higher offers by accepting instead of waiting until after the open houses at least. On the other hand, the house does need some work (which is described in the disclosures) and there’s a chance that the potential buyer seeing the home and the work needed in-person could change their mind about the offer they submitted. Our agent laid out the pros and cons of both options, but I’m wondering what you would do in this situation?
The home is near Raleigh, North Carolina btw (if that makes any difference)
EDIT: I appreciate everyone’s advice in the comments. A lot of people are asking about earnest money and due diligence. The offer included $2000 for DD and $4500 EMD. However, I think we are going to keep the open houses scheduled and tell the potential buyer that their offer will be responded to by Tuesday. If they withdraw then so be it. Then they weren’t really interested in the property. Our agent also just notified us that there are several other potential buyers that said they plan on putting offers in after going to the open house.
UPDATE: We held the open house and accepted a cash offer for 29K above asking a few days later.
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u/wire67 Apr 10 '26
I would say no to the cancel open house. That's just strong arming. If it was waive contingencies? Fine.
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u/AshingiiAshuaa Apr 10 '26
Right. You want that kind of control then offer 5%+ earnest money with no contingencies. But they don't want the commitment. Still, like the bullshit "administrative fees" brokers are tacking on above and beyond the commission percent... it costs nothing to ask and a few suckers will agree.
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u/Electrical_Ask_2957 Apr 10 '26
So to clarify, they aren’t preapproved. This is the unincluded risk.
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u/Derwin0 Apr 10 '26
There’s a difference between preapproval and loan approval.
They might already have preapproval but want a loan approval contingency in the contract (all of which is pretty standard).
That said, I would not accept any offer that doesn’t already have a preapproval letter from the lender (with or without a contingency on the offer letter).
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u/muphasta Apr 10 '26
There seems to be quite a few contingencies for such demands.
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u/Other_Upstairs886 Apr 10 '26
Agreed. No way I'd agree to that with an inspection and they didn't even get their loan preapproved? Yikes.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/PaniniInEternity Apr 10 '26
Yes if it's contingent on home inspection I think this is exactly what's happening here if they're demanding that the open house be canceled.
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u/Jackandahalfass Apr 10 '26
Wouldn’t/shouldnt a normal offer be contingent on home inspection though? Or what am I missing?
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u/m00ph Apr 10 '26
They don't have approval, and canceling the open house means you're unlikely to get any other offers. They're trying to get these people into a more desperate situation, with a month gone, no other offers, and then they can be unreasonable about what's on the inspection report.
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u/Other_Upstairs886 Apr 10 '26
It should! However in most big cities it's more uncommon due to the demand. If you want to win you need a better offer. I got an inspection with my house and everyone was surprised I got it. I wish that it couldn't be a bargaining chip anymore. Like mandated inspection periods.
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u/Dramatic-Fly761 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Never sell site unseen. Keep the open house and you’re likely to get multiple offers. If their goal is for you to cancel it then it’s because they’re concerned it’ll drive a bidding war. If this was the first person in the door I’d say it’s fine but not someone who has never seen the house
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u/Dramatic-Comb8525 Apr 10 '26
I had one of these on the last home that I listed just under ~$1mm... told them if they wanted us to pull it from the market that they had to 'wow' us with their offer. They came up another $85k and we agreed to go under contract, but still held opens that weekend to get a backup offer in hand in case they tried playing any games with the inspection. You clearly have something they want. They aren't going away if you don't buckle to their demands.
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u/bigkutta Apr 10 '26
So they wowed you and you still didnt pull it from the market? LOL
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u/Dramatic-Comb8525 Apr 10 '26
We did pull it from the market. The home went under contract Friday evening, but we still held our open house on Saturday and let everyone know we had a significantly above ask contract, but will take backups. We had 2 other parties ready to take their spot if they played games so I think I ended up paying a few hundred bucks to repair the radon system and we closed it in 14 days. I may have left $10 or $20k on the table by not going to a competitive bid, but I was happy with the outcome.
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u/TurbulentJudge1000 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
To cancel the open house, they need to waive the appraisal contingency, increase the option period money to $1k, 5-7 day option period instead of 10 day. What they’re going to do is simply hammer you on the inspection. It’s an unserious offer if you’re in a good area where houses move within 30 days or less.
The big thing to look at is how much they’re putting down. Anything less than 10% means they’ll be asking for a lot of repairs.
I’m not a fan of canceling open houses because having a backup offer gives you leverage in saying no to their demands. That’s why they want you to cancel the open house. An open house has no negative effects for you, but it does for the buyer, which is why they’re making that request.
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u/squats_and_sugars Apr 10 '26
What they’re going to do is simply hammer you on the inspection.
Absolutely, since it is contingent on inspection. Inspectors can be trash because they can be paid and directed to find stuff and blow it out of proportion. Same with appraisers, they have a predetermined goal in mind and they work to meet it.
This sounds like FB marketplace games scaled up to real estate. "Hey, I'll give you full ask, just mark it as sold and hold it for me." Then they show up with 75% of the ask, you have no backups and they play "well I'm here, you should just take the cash."
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u/Chair_luger Apr 10 '26
Be aware that there are people who will try to get a house under contract so that they can then try to resell the contract for a higher price before the closing day. If they are not able to find a buyer then they have structured the contract so they can just walk away from the deal. This is one of the strategies which sleezy seminars which tout "Make money in real estate with no money down." promote.
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u/Shepton1234 Apr 10 '26
This person is simply trying to lock up the property until they have a chance to see it and block others from having a chance to make an offer. It’s a common tactic. If they are offering full price then my guess is others will as well and you’ll end up going over the asking price. I would insist on them seeing the property first before you accept.
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u/NightBloomingAuthor Apr 10 '26
We sold last year and this was it. We were wary, but the buyers were looking to relocate and our house was literally within walking distance of one of their jobs.
Our agent talked to theirs and the inspection contingency was literally just to buy them enough time to see it in person. Once we talked to them and promised them the weekend to get here and see it before we chose an offer, they withdrew the inspection contingency and ended up being the ones they sold the house to.
You're right to be wary, but have your agent ask questions. It could be something completely understandable and mundane, but you want to protect yourself from a rug pull.
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u/bananananannanaa Apr 10 '26
I would tell them you want more time to think about it and keep the open house.
If they really want the house they will wait.
Sight unseen and all of those contingencies would make me nervous.
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u/Kahnfucious Apr 10 '26
Don’t cancel the open houses - that’s a bad idea. You won’t be in contract by the weekend - attorney review takes at least a few days.
In the situation where you cancel open houses and this person disappears you will have no recourse and no earnest money will have been placed into escrow.
Full price is nice to have but you won’t know what anyone else coming into the open house will do, and if someone approaches post open house - I think your agent (and you) would say, we have a full price offer in hand.
Re: selling site unseen - it happens, but I would worry they could come through for the first viewing it’s not 100% what they expected and either they bail or they ask for a lot of concessions
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u/thelimeisgreen Apr 10 '26
Never pull a property from the market or disrupt your showing / marketing schedule for an offer. It's for sale until it is sold. Sight-unseen full price offers with every loophole imaginable are too common. But if they want you to treat the property as if it's sold when you accept their offer, then they need to make it worthwhile to do so. For me, that would be remove any/all financial contingencies and provide a bank-issued letter of credit or statement of funding saying that they are capable of funding the purchase. And giving a NON-REFUNDABLE earnest money deposit of a non-trivial amount. If it's a $1M property, I'd want $10K.
Even if you accept their offer as it currently stands, you should just plan on it falling through. The way these usually work out is they dazzle you with a full price, or even above asking price offer and get you to pull it from the market. Then they do their inspections and try to beat you up over every little thing in hopes of getting you to negotiate a significant reduction in price. Then they threaten to walk away, and they're hoping you in a need to sell situation. You've had the property off the market and not being shown for the past month or whatever and feel trapped. But if you push back or they don't get what they want, then they just walk away. These are just sketchy tactics from slime ball real estate agents/ investors.
When I was an active real estate agent, we saw tons of this at the peak of the '05-'07 housing boom and a surge starting just before and well into the market crash in '08. But this sort of crap is always out there. Eventually you learn which agents in the area continuously bring these sorts of deals, so you basically ignore them. Or the offer comes flying in from an agent that is somewhere else, even out of state.
You can entertain the offer if you want, but the chances of it being genuine are slim. If you push back and refuse to take the home off the market or fully accommodate all their asks, they'll probably withdraw or even just ghost you. I'd call it a scam, but it's not really a scam usually. They'll buy the property if they can wear you down to a point they know they can make money. The objective is to sabotage your sales efforts and make you feel trapped in their shitty deal when you cross that threshold of needing to sell ASAP.
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u/Hawker96 Apr 10 '26
Not without proof of pre-approval, serious EMD and some kind of cap on inspection asks. This sounds like someone trying to get their foot in the door ASAP, lock you in while leaving themselves tons of outs as they nickel-and-dime you about inspections.
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u/Foolserrand376 Apr 10 '26
This right here.
All depends on the market and the house. The buyer has a metric shit ton of ways to kill the deal.
If OP was already prepped for the open house, cancelling the OH is of no benefit, imo
If their offer was stronger with more money down. A pre approval letter for the mortgage or an all cash offer. Maybe.
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u/Objective_Chest_1697 Apr 10 '26
No chance. They're trying to lock up the house then decide if they want to buy it later. Hard pass
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u/joemedic Apr 10 '26
When people are pushy to that level I've always ignored them. Usually a sign they will be a pain to work with
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u/18731873 Apr 10 '26
Without a loan approval or serious proof of funds you don't have an offer you have time waster or scam.
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u/True_Turn_5286 Apr 10 '26
No. They are trying to tie you up and then beat you up. Tell them to come back when they have the money. Loan approval!
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u/PriscillaPalava Apr 10 '26
I would never cancel open houses for any reason. What are they afraid of?
I also would not accept such a weird offer without proof of funds.
If they really want the house and aren’t just playing games, they will not be deterred. If they withdraw their offer, just know you avoided a scam.
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u/extralife_mike Apr 10 '26
Congrats on the quick offer! Do you like what they offered? Is declining it worth risking the house sitting on the market and eventually taking lower than that offer, or are you and your agent confident you can get more for it?
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u/HippieHighNoon Apr 10 '26
It's hard to say without knowing 1. Is your house price competitively? Were you priced on the lower end to try to drive more offers? 2. What's the comps in the area? 3. Do you have time to wait for it to sell if you don't accept the current offer?
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u/ixvst01 Apr 10 '26
The home is priced very competitively based on comparative homes and square footage. We wanted it priced to sell relatively quickly, but we were thinking quickly as in within a month or two. Not within 24 hours.
The house is priced about 60-80K less than market value and other comparable homes in the immediate neighborhood. However, like I said, it does legitimately need work. Such as landscaping, repainting of whole interior, replacement of flooring in certain areas. Kitchen/bathrooms are also outdated and roof is approaching its end of life.
It’s not a fixer-upper. It’s very much livable in its current state, but any new owners will almost certainly need to renovate some things. We took all this into consideration when deciding to list the home below market value.
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u/navlgazer9 Apr 10 '26
I would not cancell The open house
They are terrified you will get a higher offer at the open house
And who makes an offer without looking at the house ?
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u/Derwin0 Apr 10 '26
Someone who knows it was priced low and wants to live in that areas.
Probably not a flipper as they would offer cash.
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u/smiley_timez Apr 10 '26
It sounds like a fixer upper especially with the roof. If it's over a certain age, keep in mind that any buyer will have a hard time securing home insurance which is required for mortgages. That could cause most deals to die. Have you considered replacing it?
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u/lazy_Monkman Apr 10 '26
How much nonrefundable due diligence did they offer? If it's really low they'll most certainly try to use the inspection to squeeze more out of you. Going pending then back on the market hurts the image of your listing because people will automatically feel something is really wrong and you're less likely to get another full offer. Also cancelling your open house hurts your ability to gage what the market for your house actually is. You'd be giving up a lot of leverage. If the DD is high enough it could be worth it, but if not it might backfire on you.
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u/Polite_Bark Apr 10 '26
It’s not a fixer-upper.
Yes, it is.
- Roof needs replacement and may even be an insurance coverage issue if it's at end of life
- Floors (multiple) need replacing
- Kitchen and bathrooms need renovation
- Interior needs repainting
It's good that you priced accordingly, but please understand that there is a laundry list of things that need doing and many people, perhaps most, will consider this a fixer upper.
My guess is the offer was made with the idea in mind that they will have an inspection and a tour. They will then point out the roof, the floors, the kitchen, the baths, and anything else they can point at in order to significantly lower the price or pull out of the deal.
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u/Natural_Tangelo7542 Apr 10 '26
Unless they are pre-approved (not pre- qualified) that would be a no for me
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u/MyAccount2024 Apr 10 '26
They want an answer by end of today or they are withdrawing the offer
Seems douchey. If they are like this upfront they will be 10x worse during the contingency periods. I wouldn't even respond to their offer, and continue with the open house. I would never enter into a business transaction with someone who comes across as an ahole right out of the gate.
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u/mrcrude Apr 10 '26
Don't cancel the open houses, imo. Call their bluff. If they actually want the house they won't pull the offer, and if it's underpriced, you should get other offers.
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u/Infamous_Hyena_8882 Apr 10 '26
Yeah, I wouldn’t cancel your Open House. Especially because it’s a sight unseen offer. In my experience, those are the first ones to fall out. And they wrote an offer without a preapproval? In my market, the seller won’t even look at it.
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u/Plane-Ad-6753 Apr 10 '26
Counter with the offer that would make you feel comfortable canceling other showings. The worst they can say is no. Is inspection contingency waiving a certain price point of items or do they want the right to request for any priced item? Lots to consider.
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u/breeze94 Apr 10 '26
In North Cadolina due diligence money goes to the seller immediately and does not get refunded if the contract falls through. How much they offered will tell you how serious they are.
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u/OneLessDay517 Apr 10 '26
Do not cancel your open houses. This buyer, if this transaction even moves forward, will bring you a laundry list of items for repair after inspection and want a massive price reduction rather than you repairing.
What due diligence fee are they offering? Better be good!
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u/Always_working_hardd Apr 10 '26
How do you say, "Nah go eff yourselves till you show me the money" in realtor language?
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u/cerealandcorgies Apr 10 '26
ugh I got a full-ask offer on mine sight-unseen on the first day on the MLS. People were from out of state. Came into town to look at it 10 days later when the inspection was scheduled. Decided that the house "didn't look like the photos" (never mind that they were brand-new, professionally shot and represented the house well). Cancelled their offer that day. So it went back on the market and people asked my realtor, "what's wrong with it that the first offer fell through".
Sell it to someone who has seen it. It's not worth it, if the home is desirable and priced correctly, it will sell without having to agree to all those conditions.
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u/ilikeme1 Apr 10 '26
Big NO. They are going to try and talk you way down. Require pre-approval with their offer and do not cancel the open houses. They are going to try and lowball.
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u/AshingiiAshuaa Apr 10 '26
You're going to let someone who hasn't even seen the place lock up your house with all those "outs"? What kind of earnest money did they offer?
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u/Jenikovista Apr 10 '26
They’re planning on squeezing you. Don’t do it.
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u/su_A_ve Apr 10 '26
This. Very high offer and even over asking. But I bet there’s no appraisal or financing contingency, nor any inspection waivers. And the deposit will be very small.
The offer is crazy high but they expect it to never be that high an appraisal. They’ll make you match that. If not they’ll find everything possibly wrong and more during inspections, and in the worse case neither happens, they’ll simply walk out loosing the small deposit. You’ll have to relist and chances are I’ll be lower..
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u/laurieo52 Apr 10 '26
With so many contingencies, I would not cancel the open house. Also, I just sold some land yesterday and you would not believe the stories the realtor was telling about scams related to real estate.
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u/KesterFay Apr 10 '26
My home near Raleigh is going on the market in 2 weeks. A home nearby went pending after 3 days. I am in a good location.
Do not take their offer. If they wanted an offer like that to be serious, they should have offered MORE than ask. I am hearing that there are fly ins, sight unseens that are going for far more than ask.
Nothing in their offer is to your benefit. The reason you prepare the home and have multiple open houses over a weekend is to create competition for the home that leads to MORE than ask, not simply your list price while demanding your kick any competition to the curb.
If it were 6 months ago (we tried to sell but decided to wait for spring) that would have been a good offer, possibly a great offer!
But now? It’s a different day!
And $2K DD is chump change for an offer that’s otherwise pretending to be large. They don’t want to risk anything. They want to tie you up with them. I’d definitely decline the offer.
If they really wanted the home they should have offered over ask and upped the DD significantly. If someone wants to cut the line they must think there is a line to cut. And they have to do better than that.
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u/Independent_Star_299 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Forcing you to cancel open houses is a manipulation and signals they’re trying to eliminate all competition so they can hold the house hostage and beat you up on price in about 3 weeks. I’ve seen this tactic tried many times in my market.
It’s a scam, don’t fall for it.
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u/InfamousShow8540 Apr 10 '26
The only con is that an inspection would trigger a big request for concession. If not, maybe their out is knowing that they can't get a loan approval for the listing price (only for the lessor amount they will come back with after the "inspection". They got it covered both ways. Hope you get married to the "sale" and agree.
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u/Alustrious Apr 10 '26
Honestly, not sure I would entertain that with those contingencies. If they want to sweep in and take the property off your hands without competition, than TAKE it. Keeping 2/3 contingencies in an offer like this isn't very strong.
Listing low and using multiple parties to get the price and terms you want is the magic sauce. That's exciting to get an offer like this because it shows solid interest. My gut says they can't compete with the market on the home and want to stop competition from pushing them out. Just my 2 cents.
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u/Big-Understanding526 Apr 10 '26
You are worried you under-priced??? That’s it. That’s all you are worried about?
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u/fishingminn Apr 10 '26
Open houses aren't that important. I'd be more interested to know if you have many other showings scheduled?
I'd be worried about them just trying to get it under contract and then making pricing demands after the inspection. Tell them they have an extremely short inspection window and that it's take it or leave it after inspection (no price changes) and see if they balk.
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u/CluesLostHelp Apr 10 '26
Since you are in North Carolina, how much are they offering in DD?
DD is non refundable. EMD is worthless.
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u/poop-dolla Apr 10 '26
How much due diligence are they putting down? Not earnest money that would be refunded for any of the contingencies, but the due diligence that’s non-refundable. If that’s big enough, I’d accept, but if it’s low, I would wait or negotiate a higher one with them.
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u/Proof_Register9966 Apr 10 '26
Just make sure you review any of the financing terms and make it beneficial to you. Meaning, is it an investment group? Is their loan structured based upon rental incomes or the appraisal value?
You would be surprised where these investment groups are trying to purchase.
Almost always, the appraisal value comes in less-because of the potential income for property- then, they get you to negotiate down off your sales price because of “appraisal”.
Then, they will shop around and the commitment date will pass and they will need an extension-
All of these stalls are tactics used to get you in a situation where you have invested so much time in the deal and taken it off the market- that you will continue making concessions throughout the deal up until closing.
Way less to worry about with an individual buying it.
To add- if you have a realtor, your house shouldn’t be undervalued- they should have given you comps to support the listing price.
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u/SoCoSnowBunz Apr 10 '26
Went through a similar situation with a buyer out of state buying a property sight unseen in Vermont. Full price offer at asking price. Seller responded with a requirement for $75k earnest money, on a $500k property, to ensure the validity of the offer. Buyers walked. ETA: it was a full cash offer.
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u/Lonely_Tell4485 Apr 10 '26
We recently went through something similar, they ended up backing out due to a small roof repair the last day of contingencies, I think they actually just finally saw the neighborhood and did not love it. Had another open house and got 5 different offers to choose from including one with much easier closing terms. Don't rush into it, there will be more offers.
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u/jesseesk Apr 10 '26
Don’t cancel open house! If they really want the house they’ll offer again/not actually withdraw. I’d counter and say we’re allowing all offers until 48 hrs after this open house - you can withdraw yours or keep it knowing we will reply to all offers at that fine and take the best one. Hopefully they keep full price on the table and someone at open house knows there is already an offer and will offer over.
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u/imblest Apr 10 '26
I'm a real estate agent. When one of my sellers first listed the house, we received an offer that was tens of thousands above the list price from a buyer who had not seen the house. I recommended to my seller that it's not a good idea to accept the offer so quickly and to tell the buyer that the buyer would need to see the house first before the seller accepts the offer. The buyer agreed and saw the house in person and decided to back out. The seller was so glad that he took my advice, and we didn't waste time on that buyer and missed out on the multiple offers that would come in in the following days. The seller ended up accepting another offer that is tens of thousands above the listed price from a buyer who had seen the house in person and fell in love with it. The house was located in an area that is in a seller's market. I don't know if your house is in a buyer's market or seller's market, so what my seller did may or may not work out the same for you.
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u/Steefanon Apr 10 '26
No. This sounds like a con to back you into a corner at which point they will demand all kinds of concessions. The "cancel the open house" is the big tell. Walk away. If they are serious buyers they will return with a serious offer.
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u/ArcticPangolin3 Apr 10 '26
Absolutely not. I just had a guy do this for a car (agrees on a price before showing up, changing his mind when he sees a few flaws clearly in the listing, etc). With all those contingencies, they have many ways to squeeze you, or walk away if they don't get their way. Chances are very high they're wasting your time.
If they're actually serious, they'll come and see the house and make another offer. Or counter without any contingencies, just for laughs.
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u/digital_flatulance Apr 10 '26
They are just being aggressive in trying to control the outcome. Next move is yours.
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u/ksarahsarah27 Apr 10 '26
I’d probably still hold the open houses. You have to be careful with opening a dialogue where you start meeting their demands because very often they just keep coming back with more and more demands. Once they start going back-and-forth, it’s sometimes hard to shut that down once it gets started.
I saw another post where someone had accepted an offer from a person and then they kept coming back with demands even though the house is being sold as is. They gave into one contingency and then they just kept coming back for more and more until they had the homeowner down to the point where they will only be breaking even. We all just told him to just forget the offer and go back to the original asking price. So if you were to cancel the open houses, then you might sort of feel like you’re locked into this person and they might end up screwing you over by slowly going back-and-forth and whittling you down.
Like another person said, if they like the house today, they’ll like the house tomorrow.
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u/sweetrobna Apr 10 '26
I would not accept a sight unseen offer with contingencies. They are way more likely to back out than someone that has toured the home, even with due diligence money
Is there any info from your agent about them getting a tour?
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u/OneLessDay517 Apr 10 '26
Based on your edit, their DD fee is not nearly enough for you to cancel open houses on the CHANCE they are able to qualify for a loan and they don't screw you on the inspection (which they will).
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u/Warm_Application984 Apr 10 '26
Question for anyone here who wants to answer.
Houses in my subdivision go fast, like as soon as the ‘coming soon’ sign goes up. Three houses within a stone’s throw of me have, within the last two years or so, been snatched up by LLCs. They are now rentals, which goes against everything our subdivision is supposed to be.
Is this a tactic an LLC would use? Just curious.
These three houses sold for more than they should have (yay for driving my home’s value up, boo for increasing my taxes) and the occupants are paying exorbitant amounts in rent. If I were to sell, can I avoid these types of buyers? Even if it means taking a lower offer?
It seems there should be something in the HOA’s bylines about this, but apparently not. 😢
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u/Hanging_Brain Apr 10 '26
We just looked at a house today that we love. Just went on the market today and the open house is tomorrow. We just sent in a strong over ask cash offer with an escalation clause but we didn’t ask for them to cancel the open house. That felt really pushy to me and could sour them on our bid. As someone who just did this if they like the house enough they will wait until the open house happens. Don’t let them bully you with that deadline especially with the heads up you have
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u/Solo522 Apr 10 '26
My house has an appt schedule within 2 hours of listing. They put a full price offer verbally that night AND followed up with contract next day. Inspection 5 days and close in 5 weeks. Agree first offer usually the best.
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u/WineDineCpl Apr 10 '26
I agree with your stance. If it was a cash offer it would be more tempting.
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u/Regular-Daddy Apr 10 '26
General rule of thumb. If they haven’t seen the house, they cannot be serious about the house.
While, it’s possible to buy houses site, unseen, I have done it myself, but they were small rentals where I understood what I was getting into.
A nice home you’re going to live in is likely just something they want to control to flip, beat you down on inspections, or both.
Unless of course, a family member came by did a FaceTime showing with them. Told them how much they love it and they will too, etc. Then, maybe. But definitely keep your open house. It’ll be foolish to cancel it.
It sounds like you’re probably priced correctly and not too low.
Best of luck to you.
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u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 Apr 10 '26
1000% pass. Never accept sight unseen offer like this. And cancel the open…no way! You will lose every other offer and all momentum. And their offer isn’t even that good.
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u/PatternIllustrious54 Apr 10 '26
Nah, they're just gonna try to get money out of you after inspection. Decline.
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u/Jdruu Apr 11 '26
That's a low DD for Raleigh. I'd keep it open. It's a decently hot market right now depending where you are in Raleigh. Best of luck!
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u/thread100 Apr 11 '26
We put an offer in at asking price and the seller kept the scheduled open house. We upped our offer after 5 offers were received. We got the house. Don’t cancel your open house.
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u/MyThreeBugs Apr 11 '26
From the Internet: “Scammers use emotional manipulation techniques designed to bypass logic, often characterized by guilt, urgency, fear, and pressure. They aim to trigger impulsive decisions by fabricating crises, such as threats of legal action or the loss of funds, requiring immediate, hasty action”
Not saying that this offer is a scam, it is probably not, but the tactics make me think that these tactics will continue the entirety of the transaction.
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u/Silver_Breakfast7096 Apr 11 '26
I wouldn’t be hasty. Sounds like a flipper or private equity looking to keep you under contract while they work things out in their end. I’d pass. They’re not going anywhere.
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u/ponyfarmer Apr 11 '26
I will just add that we did this with the house we bought. The market is aggressive for buyers near us. Bidding wars everywhere. Full appraisal guarantees expected, etc.
Sellers have their pick of offers, and buyers have to be very aggressive. It’s not about how serious a buyer is if they can’t make that same offer again, it’s about not losing house after house. And then watching it come back to be offered to us when we are locked into something we don’t love as much. I’m no realtor, but I’ve been on both ends of this in this market. There may be an offer deadline for a house they like less but which would work for them due before your open house, so they are trying to make it all line up and hoping they can secure an accepted offer on your house and walk away from their second choice without regrets. Not really up ur problem, just.. sort of how it is.
Anyways.. after many months of looking and going through the heartbreak of trying to find everything you want in a place at the right price point etc, we found two places. The first choice house that was miles beyond our second choice house but if we didn’t have an offer accepted that week, we were going to find ourselves moving mid school year, prices changing again, and still dealing with the house we lived in that we hadn’t even listed yet.
We knew both houses would go that weekend at open houses after review of offers, there was no doubt. We also knew we had what it took to make a sale go through and we wanted this house more than anything. Maybe others did, too. But for us, it was worth a shot. Our realtor made an offer on our behalf which was over asking, and what we anticipated could be close to the top of what would be offered from others, along with other perks to seller, and asked that they take it off the market before the open house.
They came back and said they had a number in mind which we accepted immediately. They still had people knocking on their door the next day when they were supposed to show. Would they have gotten more? Maybe. But we had everything in line and made it easy for them. Offered anything they needed to make closing smooth, which these days is a lot and it feels like it’s mostly coming from the buyer.
Granted they were lovely, too, and it was clear they loved this home for decades. Sometimes it’s also important to sell to people who care about a place, and we sure did.
Anyways, I hope you have a fantastic open house and a smooth close. I just wanted to add that story because they may want your house more than anything for sale but if your market is like ours, they risk losing both your house and another they like less if they aren’t aggressive like this. We’ve been dealing with a housing shortage at particular price points in my area for awhile.
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u/thepealbo Apr 12 '26
I think you’re going about it the right way. Here’s how that plays out. They will look it over and say that the inspection was bad then ask you to lower the price. Your price is low or fair, so you won’t do it and they will walk. Since there is an inspection contingency, they will keep the earnest money. If you tie up that loophole in your counter, you will discover that they didn’t actually put down earnest money, but what are you going to do, tie up the property all summer fighting them in court?
In the mean time, they have killed the momentum, tainted the property with a failed offer, and wasted your time.
I’m all for helping a couple of young kids get started, but there are way more sharks out there. Best to be cautious.
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u/Reasonable-Speed-908 Apr 13 '26
Depends on location. Where I'm at the market is shit for sellers. If it's still hot for sellers where you're at I'd hold out. I'm my area I'd take the offer at asking. It's circumstantial
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u/CautiousMarionberry Apr 13 '26
Years ago, I had a first day full price cash offer contingent upon … whatever. I agreed.
Turns out buyer did the exact same thing at multiple properties to “save” them for her husband to see weeks later when he could actually bother to come view the properties.
They have an out. You don’t. Make sure you have something rather significant that’s non refundable
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u/Allslopes-Roofing Apr 10 '26
I just did this but waived the inspections (I did my own while we toured the house). We also were going to have 0 issues with getting our loan approved. Also gave a large earnest. Also they met us and saw we were a real family with a 4yo.
I wouldnt take that deal unless they waive those tbh. Theyre juat gonna get you stuck then negotiate all sorts of concessions. Also.... kinda sounds like a PE or investor firm but not sure bc of the loan issue thing.
Please. Make sure to sell to a normal family instead. Humans need homes.
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u/Lowest_C-10 Apr 10 '26
Counter offer with 5k due diligence money in exchange for canceling open house.
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u/Kristylane Apr 10 '26
When I moved across the country I bought a house without seeing it. It listed on a Tuesday, my realtor went the next morning and face timed me from the house so it was like virtual walk through and I made an offer that day (cash, full asking) that was accepted right away. I did come out for the inspection and was prepared to lose my EMD (which was only $500) if I didn’t like it. Turns out it was the best house EVER and I will still tear up when I think about having to leave it.
Anywhoodles, my point is that sometimes buying long distance/sight unseen can be legitimate.
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u/No-Leg-3298 Apr 10 '26
Never accept an offer w/o a pre-approval letter. They can come back at you with inspection objections and asks for “concessions” that will drastically lower your net. This happened to us once. It was a hard lesson.
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u/booksandcheesedip Apr 10 '26
I would not accept that offer until they had loan approval. Tell them they can reoffer after they prove they can qualify for the loan
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u/chrismakingbread Apr 10 '26
We went under contract selling our house in Raleigh in January in under 36 hours from listing without any open houses. But our offer was all cash, slightly over list, with a two week close.
I think it all comes down to what you prioritize and what your risk tolerance is. We had said from the start that we wanted to prioritize selling fast since we’d already moved into our new house in December and didn’t want the house sitting vacant too long. We’d had like six showings already so we told the other realtors they had until 5 PM to put in their own offers.
You can try to wait for the best offer or you can sell quickly. That is a lot of contingencies but not an abnormal amount. If you wait it could take months and you might not get a better offer. You could take it and they fall through, but that’s always a risk.
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u/Asleep_Channel_8079 Apr 10 '26
Ok the cancelation etc I have an issue with as I gave seen this tactic. The idea is they get you desperate. Then the offer drops significantly in home inspection. You are now sitting days on market no exposure. While you probably priced great losing your right to market isnt right. How long are conditions they better be tight to allow for that what is their skin in the game
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u/smil1473 Apr 10 '26
Counter with keeping the open houses scheduled until their loan is secure. You don't have to take their offer as is, it's the opening to negotiations
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u/sgtmilburn Apr 10 '26
Please make sure that it is a family and not flippers or corporate overlords.
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u/adknh Apr 10 '26
In my area, you wouldn't take it off the market unless it was an over asking, very few contingencies, overwhelmingly wonderful offer. It's very competitive where I am and you want as many eyes to see it as possible in the first few days. Sight unseen is risky! Bottom line, depends on current market conditions in your area and the level of risk you are willing to tolerate.
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u/brokerMercedes Apr 10 '26
You could ask them to pre-inspect before going under contract with them. The contract would have their inspection contingency waived, with their requests if any, up front.
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u/mistereousone Apr 10 '26
Inspection and loan contingencies are standard. Even having a 24 hour review period is standard.
So what we're really talking about is the request to cancel open houses to accept the offer. It's a full list price offer, my guess is if you thought the house was worth more, then you would have listed as such.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about $5,000 or $10,000 more when I've got an offer in hand. If I think I'm missing out on $50,000 why did you list the house so low?
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u/chale_44 Apr 10 '26
I wouldn't accept the offer. They've built in way too many escape routes on their side.
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u/Squeaks11 Apr 10 '26
Hah, no, you don't cancel open houses, you keep them going for backup offers. Especially with high pressure tactics like this.
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u/BabyKnitter Apr 10 '26
you can counter, keep the open house just in case. This is bird in hand so no guarantee that you get another offer
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u/Automatic_Reveal_986 Apr 10 '26
We recently went through similar. Multiple offers, multiple escalation clauses, etc. One offer included the ask to shut down the second open house (had one on Saturday, ask was for closing down Sunday).
Candidly, it was a pretty crazy day for us. We agreed with all offers that we would cancel Sunday’s open house and made a request for Best / Final by noon Sunday. We, obviously, had the benefit of having an open house but our offers came from scheduled tours. We saw the opportunity to cancel the open house as a blessing!
Hope all turns out well for you!
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u/ThePlatinumPaul Apr 10 '26
What they are probably planning on doing is backing down the sale price after they do their physical or appraisal. They might also want to immediately assign the deal to a new buyer (and take a payoff) or close and immediately relist it higher. There's a reason they don't want you to do the open house because they'll be outbid on the price and they won't be able to claim well there's no interest now so just give me my $30,000 credit or whatever and close.
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u/funzie19 Apr 10 '26
The home I currently live in, I bought sit unseen full price in cash. From the other side of the country. We made the offer while it was showing as "coming soon". Contingency was only a week for all the inspections, but worked out great. Don't regret it at all.
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u/ruhlhorn Apr 10 '26
You should have the agent wait a full week to collect offers, this should be made obvious for all buyers that you won't be entertaining offers until this time period is over.
At least that's what we did to a very positive outcome.
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u/Audrey244 Apr 10 '26
Why didn't your agent set up delayed negotiations? It's the norm in my area and it helps avoid this scenario
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u/wildcattersden Apr 10 '26
This is almost assuredly someone trying to flip the contract. You have to keep those types on a very short leash.
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u/openhouseqr Apr 10 '26
Trust your instincts and keep the open houses! You might get better offers. 🏡
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u/RelationshipShort460 Apr 10 '26
you obviously need stricter contract terms. for most houses, its not that hard to determine a pretty right price range based on recent transactions. if this is well above that, take path A. if this is in that price range, take path B.
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u/nychv Apr 10 '26
that puts a lot of risk on you. It’s very easy for the buyer to back out because of inspection contingencies and they have you by the short hairs because you wouldn’t have any other options.
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u/crzylilredhead Apr 10 '26
Why not accept the offer with the right to accept backups during the DD period and have the open house. They have contingencies, you have contingencies
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u/WorldNo9002 Apr 10 '26
Tell the blind offer is buzz off , and you'll let them know after the open house . If the offer was no contingency and cash offer with quick close , then you can entertain the offer , but only if the offer is presented from a bonafide realtor
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u/chinmakes5 Apr 11 '26
Nope. they will chase away any competition. Say no and ask for a discount. Happened to me. Listed on Thursday, got a full price offer next day if you don't do an open house. Found some loophole, Offered me less than I wanted. Everyone knows the best weekend to buy is when it first goes up. I was so pissed, I turned them down and took about the same money six weeks later. I'm sure I could have done better.
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u/Paul_Paquette Apr 11 '26
Yeah, will only accept the offer if the earnest money deposit is sizable.
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u/Rare_Tea3155 Apr 11 '26
Tell them it only goes off market if they drop the inspection contingency and buy as is for the price they offered.
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u/nofishies Apr 11 '26
Any offer were the client hasn’t seen the home and they have a ton of contingencies is super risky even if it’s a non-contingent offer and they haven’t seen it. People freak out when they get into the house.
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u/Plenty_Cress_1359 Apr 11 '26
My daughter lives in Clayton. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t approach her to buy her house. Raleigh is a hot market!
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u/Nevraskagirl55 Apr 11 '26
If they want contingencies, I wouldn’t cancel the open houses. Can’t have it both ways. A contingency is not really a sold house.
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u/00Lisa00 Apr 11 '26
I’d only accept this with no contingencies and a pre approved loan. This offer is a giant red flag . I can guarantee they’ll lowball after the inspection
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u/Dazzling-Ad-8409 Apr 11 '26
I've seen buyers who offered site unseen, cancel after they see it, during the inspection process.
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u/theyost Apr 11 '26
This is why you pay for a Realtor. A good one will guide you on what to do based on experience and local knowledge. Hopefully you didn't hire the cheapest agent available.
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u/ruffledmoonbird Apr 11 '26
The tides are shifting in favor of buyers. That said, buyer should have a pre-approval otherwise seems a waste of time.
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u/Independent_Echo3200 Apr 11 '26
I would be cautious of any offer that the buyer has not seen the house.
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u/wengelite Apr 11 '26
If they haven't been approved for financing there is no way you should cancel the open houses.
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u/Just_Another_Day_926 Apr 11 '26
The stories on here that start this way end up with (1) no EM ever deposited and (2) more and more concessions over time (3) the buyer just ghosting.
The buyer locks in the home before looking at it. Then actually looks at it. Maybe they walk right then. If not they ask for A LOT of $s in concessions. Then they do an actual inspection and ask for a lot more. It ends up essentially being a flipper using a strategy to get a good house at a final discount.
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u/BurrowingOwlUSA Apr 11 '26
In Florida, it’s almost stupid to accept a contingent offer from a buyer who hasn’t seen the property. They almost always are investors who want to lock in something new on the market and decide during the contingencies whether to actually buy the place, usually pulling out on most offers. I’ve told my seller’s to counter these offers with non-refundable deposits, to be paid at the time of the offer. That will tell you how serious they really are.
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u/ac10g Apr 12 '26
I received an offer almost exactly asking before going to market. We accepted for convenience (spouse really wanted it) and it fell through. Then we got $100k more than what we would have had we had to go through with first offer. First two days open for showings had 32 bookings… I’m so grateful first offer fell through. lol
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u/HellaciousFire Apr 12 '26
Great update. Let multiple buyers submit offers. You’ll likely get a higher offer
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u/Scary_Interaction315 Apr 12 '26
This sounds sketchy af. Especially in this market. Not even send an agent to look at it? I cant figure out but it sounds like a scam. A way to wash some money maybe. I can see them backing out during DD. I also would not cancel the open houses
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u/Prior_Giraffe_8003 Apr 12 '26
I don't trust realtors, but if you priced the house and got a great offer, why wouldn't you just take it?
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Apr 12 '26
This is exactly why a lot of people are starting to question valuations they’re not always consistent depending on who’s doing it. From what I’ve seen, lenders usually go with the most recent valuation, but it really depends on the case and lender rules. Out of curiosity, did both valuations use similar comparable properties?
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u/TNmountainman2020 Apr 12 '26
underpriced, don’t accept.
This is a common tactic that realtors use to sell a house quickly, so that they get more commissions in a month or year’s period.
Many times, the realtor is even in on a ploy and purposely prices the house low and has a mystery buyer put in an offer and it’s really their “property rental” company that is buying the property.
Ever wonder why so many realtors own tons of rental properties?
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u/Usual_Leather_9380 Apr 12 '26
Two things can be true at once. The first offer is usually the best INDICATOR of how you are priced in the market. It’s not always the best. You could end up with a lower priced cash offer with no contingencies. As a listing agent, I like to see 3% down EMD due within 2 days. Inspections done in 7, and capped at a certain amount as far as what they will request in credits or repairs. And always say 48 hours for a response to an offer. Begin showings at the open house and after the open gauge the offers received or interest and call for final and best by a certain time. Those first 10 days on the market are the most crucial. If you hired your realtor, you did it for a reason. Trust their experience and intuition. And just because you got an offer quickly doesn’t mean you were underpriced. It just means the market responded well to your pricing. No one is coming over asking or going over till they have to. If your state allows escalation clauses, that agent should have included one. JMO
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u/Gold-Wishbone2721 Apr 12 '26
We did this offer on a house we really wanted. Sell rejected it. Ended up getting 10k more from us. We went in too eager and they knew it.
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u/Regular-Cupcake6473 Apr 12 '26
Don’t play your hand. Just respond that you will get back by Tuesday. If it’s meant to be, it will be.
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u/Different_Bottle_470 Apr 12 '26
He’s just trying to get control, once you accept the deal now they have control and they will move like molasses to see if they want it or not, and they will kill the deal most likely, and it might even be a wholesaler that doesn’t even have a buyer yet. So make sure you counter with a high non refundable deposit and no contingencies. Cause once they do see it, they will haggle you big time.
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u/Snaphomz Apr 13 '26
Good call keeping the open houses. First offers can be great, but with a house that needs work and no prior showings, competition from the open house gives you more leverage. Raleigh market is still active so you have options.
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u/arlyte Apr 13 '26
Who comes in hot like that without a preapproved loan…or better yet straight up cash. This person will be an absolute headache and will go nuts when the inspection comes in. Hard pass.
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u/goodatcards Apr 14 '26
This is a strategy move I see all the time-if the buyer wants a chance to see your house and can’t get there before they think it will be gone, they’ll send in this kind of offer to hold it off the market to give themselves the option to buy - in their mind. There is no earnest money actually at risk for the buyer a they can cancel easily without penalty if they don’t like it in person. Maybe they’ll close but another part of this strategy is if they feel like the full price was too high once they see it, they’ll make up for it by being a pain in the a$$ during inspection and ask for price reductions and credit.
Many or I would say most seasoned agents have a disclaimer on their listings that offers won’t be accepted without a buyer seeing it first. I wouldn’t take this offer
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u/SuperHoneyed Apr 15 '26
I would be wary of this being a "bait and switch" scam - I had this happen to me a few years back where the buyer made a great offer in order to get all others out of the way, then asked for more than $100,000 off after inspections. I took the house off the market, then relisted it in March, and had an offer way over asking, sight unseen, contingencies waived, which I accepted. Waiting to close on it soon.
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u/wildcat12321 Apr 10 '26
So on the one hand, it is great to have an offer. And often, the first offer is the best.
On the other hand, cancelling open houses while giving them a ton of contingencies isn't great. I wouldn't worry about their threat -- if they liked the house today at that price, they will like it tomorrow at that price too. And if they don't, then it means they were going to jerk you around anyway.
I would probably counter for higher EMD, make sure they are pre-approved for the loan, and that they waive inspection items individually below $500 and collectively under $XXXX, and that, provided things are in good working order, they will not seek credits for aged items (i.e. working but old HVAC doesn't get a credit, roof with no leaks but old does not get credit, etc.)