“If you need a certain home sale contingency, for instance, and can’t remove it, then move on,” Parnes says. “If an offer was rejected, a buyer can try again, depending on the reason it was rejected,” explains Karen Parnes, broker and owner of NextHome Your Way. The first step is understanding why the offer was rejected in the first place. Sellers don’t just want the best price for their home they also want the easiest deal-which means no complications. Hager recommends putting down at least 1% of the purchase price to show sellers you mean business. Since many contracts stipulate that a seller can keep the earnest money deposit when a buyer walks at the last minute, you should feel certain about the house-and then convey this certainty by leaving a significant deposit. “The EMD should be enough to let a seller know you’re very interested, and also uncomfortable with the idea of leaving it on the table.” “Believe it or not, there are buyers who get cold feet and walk away from a transaction days before closing,” says Shannon Hall, broker and owner of Dwellings by Rudy & Hall. This deposit (also called an EMD or “good faith” deposit) basically signifies how interested you are in the home and that you plan on moving forward with the deal, all the way to its closing. If there’s one part of the offer you shouldn’t cheap out on, it’s the earnest money deposit. Your earnest money deposit was too ‘cheap’ Keep in mind that sellers are looking for a good deal just as much as you are, and you should plan on working with your real estate agent to make sure the sellers at least feel like they’re getting one. When a seller is considering multiple offers, the low offer seems less serious and could indicate further negotiating headaches down the road.” “This can work, but it can also backfire. Often, buyers “believe the best way to start a negotiation is with an offer that’s lower than what they’re willing to pay,” says Colby Hager, owner of CapstoneHomebuyers. This might mean your offer was insultingly low, or that it was just low compared with other offers. The first and most obvious reason your home offer could have been rejected is if the dollar amount didn’t meet the seller’s expectations. Here are some of the most common ones, as explained by the experts. Home offers are rejected for myriad reasons.
3 common reasons sellers reject home offers Here are a few common reasons your home offer might have been rejected, and a few helpful tips on what you can do about it.
The most important aspect of a rejected offer is understanding why it was rejected, and for that we turned to the experts.