“Sold, Subject to Inspection” (the House, Not the Fiancé)
“Seller shall/shall not have the right to continue to show property.”
–Inspection Addendum
Once someone is engaged to be married, should they suspend their dating service membership?
Most people would unhesitatingly say “yes.”
The bride and groom-to-be have made commitments to one another, and continuing to “check out other opportunities” (as they say) smacks of bad faith.
Finding “The One”(?)
Now, consider someone who’s signed a contract to buy a home, but has yet to clear the Inspection Addendum (the Inspection has yet to be performed, or, it raised some issues).
Is it appropriate for such a Buyer — or their agent — to continue to look at new listings?
I think the answer to that is fuzzier.
First, though, two caveats:
One. Legally, there is no question that Buyers have the right to continue looking — just as Sellers usually have the right to continue showing their home to other Buyers.
In fact, the Inspection Addendum specifically addresses that latter point (see above), and most Buyers readily allow Sellers to continue to show their home because they know they’re in first position.
Of course, it’s also the case that once a home is “Sold, Subject to Inspection” — and identified as such on MLS (required) — the vast majority of Buyers will simply skip it.
“Sauce for the Goose . . . “
Which brings up caveat #2, namely . . .
Shopping and then negotiating for a home is inherently emotional — and can be exhausting.
Once Buyers have found something they truly love and successfully negotiated a Purchase Agreement with the owner, I’d estimate that at least 75% don’t want to continue looking at the market.
Which leaves the one-in-four Buyer still wondering about what else is out there — or just hit the market.
While it’s always possible for “something better” to come along, in my experience, the housing market is pretty efficient.
Translation: if a much nicer house comes on the market at a too-low price, it’s apt to be the subject of multiple offers, especially these days.
In which case the Buyer who dumps their first house to go after House #2 could end up with . . . neither.
