Counteroffer

   Any change to the original offer is considered to be a counteroffer. Changes may be to the terms and conditions such as the price, timeframes, or what items will or will not be included as per your request. If the seller does counteroffer, then you will have time to review the changes and either accept, reject or counteroffer again.
     

Contingent Offers

   There may be situations that make an offer contingent. Contingent means that the offer is only good if certain conditions have been met.  Some examples of contingencies are subject to buyer getting their loan commitment; subject to buyer selling their home;  subject to a satisfactory  home inspection; subject to seller finding suitable housing; or subject to a property having a Title 5 certification.
     

Right of First Refusal

   If you are a contingent buyer in which you need to sell your current home in order to purchase the new property, the seller may decide to accept your offer, but on the condition of right of first refusal. This is an agreement that means the seller can continue to show their property to other potential buyers that are non-contingent (or buyers that have nothing to sell) up until the time that you remove your contingency of needing to sell your current property.

If an offer is submitted to the sellers by one of the non-contingent buyers and the seller wants to accept it, then the seller must give you the agreed upon time (usually up to 48 hours)  to remove your contingency.  If you choose to remove your contingency the Seller cannot accept the offer from the new buyers.  At this time, you must provide proof that you can remove your contingency to sell by providing either documentation you qualify for a bridge loan or proving your home is under agreement.  If you choose not to remove your contingency your agreement will become null and void and deposits will be returned to you.  The Seller at this time can go forward with the new buyers.

The new buyers may be offering the same amount of money that you are offering or they could be willing to pay more and sometimes they are offer less.  They are stronger buyers because they do not have to sell another piece of property in order to go forward.  Therefore, the sellers do not have to worry about that other transaction.

If you enter into a right of first refusal agreement, you may want to consult with a real estate attorney to make sure that it is worded in such a way that is fair for all parties.