When competing with other eager house hunters you may not have a lot of time to ponder all of the pluses and minuses of a particular property before submitting an offer. If your offer is accepted, after the dust settles your excitement may be mixed with second thoughts. You may even feel a tinge of buyer’s remorse.
Before you make a snap decision to pull your offer, do these two things.
Think about why you’re having second thoughts
Typically, potential homebuyers may begin to feel unsure about their decision after talking with a friend or a family member. Or, they may find something that’s unacceptable with the house during the period of due diligence—which gives buyers the chance to evaluate their potential home more closely before moving forward. Sometimes potential buyers simply become overwhelmed by the process.
You may have a good idea of whether or not you’re simply feeling fleeting moments of cold feet, or if you feel like you’ve made a terrible mistake. In either instance you should trust your instincts.
Talk to your agent right away
A quality agent will have your best interests at heart—regardless of a potential commission. So if you’re feeling cold feet be sure to reach out to them right away to discuss your concerns.
After your window of due diligence passes it can be more difficult to back out of the deal without losing your deposit. However, losing a non-refundable deposit—or other escrow fees—may be a small price to pay when compared to taking out a mortgage for potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So it’s imperative that you have a conversation with your agent as soon as possible to know what’s at stake, and to discuss your next steps.
