This past weekend, I hosted an Open House at a well-maintained Milwaukie home. The home boasted a superb location, single story layout and thoughtful upgrades. To say there was good turnout from buyers is an understatement!
To my amazement, most of the home shoppers were looking for their next home without having sold (or listed) their current home first. When you put in an offer on a home that hinges on you successfully selling your current home, it is called a contingent offer.
The insanity that was the 2021 Portland housing market meant that buyers making contingent offers on homes were consistently turned down over non-contingent offers. With fewer moving parts and less risk for the sellers, non-contingent offers were favored in an extreme seller’s market.
Fast forward to today – there is some shifting in the market, and there’s a *small* amount of wiggle room for contingent offers. Still, it’s important to remember how crucial strong financing is in getting your offer accepted.
Seller’s agents are looking out for their clients by asking for proof of funds from buyers offering cash or large down payments and pre-approvals from lenders to minimize the risk for their sellers. If a contingent offer is accepted, they will most likely require you to list your home by a certain date (if you haven’t already), place you in “Bumpable” status (meaning the seller can accept a different offer if one comes in), and even put a deadline for when you need to accept an offer on your current home.
If you plan on making a contingent offer on your next home, I suggest you have a solid marketing plan for your current home already in place. Start working with a real estate agent now, so you can hit the ground running if your offer is accepted!
