Offer made, but offer status doesn't show on MLS. What's up with this listing?

**RogerC** · 08-25-2010, 05:35 PM

I'm considering making an offer on a house, but have some concern over the listing. Can any of you more experienced folks offer your thoughts on this scenerio?

The house is a pre-foreclosure short sale and had been on the market at $221K for well over a year. Six weeks ago the price was dropped to $175K. Auction is scheduled for next month.

I just came across the listing a week ago and decided to make an offer. I was told "another offer had just been made", but the listing agent was very interested in taking back-up offers.

A week later the listing on MLS still says 'Active'. I'd have thought the status would be 'Active With Contract' by now. Is this normal or is something going on here I should be concerned about?

**Greg** · 08-26-2010, 08:03 AM

An offer is not a contract so until all parties agree and sign the offer the property is not under contract.

There are so many irregularities with short sales there is no way to know what is going on. Keep your eye on the auction. Most short sales fall through so you might be able to get the house in foreclosure.

**RogerC** · 08-26-2010, 10:31 AM

Greg - Thanks for the comments. That makes sense.

Based on the idea that there may not actually be a contract yet, does that mean all offers that come in are considered before a contract is agreed to? I mean, would they look at the first offer exclusively and decide to agree to a contract on it, before considering any subsequent offers? Or do they look at all offers and decide which one to go with?

The reason I ask is, I was told the first offer is 'full asking price'. I don't think the property is worth full price, so I'm considering making a cash offer around $10K less than asking price. If the first offer is not a cash offer, would I possibly have an advantage over a higher offer that requires financing?

Regarding the auction, I will keep an eye on it. Do auctioned properties typically go for less than what was being asked during the attempt to short sale?

**White Bear Lake MN Homes** · 08-26-2010, 08:41 PM

Roger, you ask some good questions. If multiple offers are received on a short sale in the same approximate time period (i.e. 24 hours)...and if there is a standout offer, that will likely be the offer that is sent in to bank for review. However, some banks may request to send in any and all offers that come in for their review. And "full asking price" on a short sale, I would argue, is irrelevant. The asking price can be set artificially low by the listing agent just to attract multiple offers. So offering a full asking price on a short sale does not necessarily mean that your offer will get approved by the bank. But, in general...and this is a big "in general"...cash offers do carry more weight if they are within reason, because it gives the asset company or bank confidence that your offer is not contingent upon securing financing. Good luck!

**aliikane** · 09-10-2010, 03:27 AM

I am not too sure about any other Multiple Listing Services in other areas. However, my MLS service requires that in a "short sale" if the owners accept an offer and sign it then the agent must put the listing in "pending release" status. The bank approval of the offer is a contigency on the transaction. The agent is probably trying to gather as many offers as possible because the higher the offer the better chance it will be for the agent to close on the transaction and get paid.