Today we discuss escalation clauses because much of the country is experiencing an extreme sellers market. By that, I mean there are more buyers than there are sellers, and that results in sellers getting more than one offer to buy their property. The seller can be picky about the terms under which he is willing to sell. A potential buyer is apt to make one or more offers which are rejected before making a successful offer. If you are a buyer, how do you increase the chances that your offer will be the acceptable one?
The obvious things a buyer can do is to have a strong pre-approval lender letter, and make an offer that is full price and is as clean (has as few contingencies) as possible. Is there anything a buyer can do beyond that? You bet your bippy!
Escalation Clauses
A buyer who really wants to buy a property can do the above, plus add an escalation clause. An escalation clause simply states that the basic offer is full price, but if the seller receives one or more other offers at full price or higher before this offer is accepted, then this offer is increased by $500, $1,000, $5,000 (or whatever figure you choose) above the other acceptable offer. Of...