Current Mortgage Rates

Friday, March 19, 2010



Glossary of Terms

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Backup Offer

A backup offer is an alternate bid or secondary offer for a property that will be accepted if the first fails.It is wise in some situations to make a backup offer. In a competitive market for instance, your backup offer will be first in line if the primary offer collapses. This saves you the trouble of the property going back on the market and having to compete with other buyers again. Unfortunately, backup offers usually work more to the benefit of the seller as it tends to put pressure on the primary buyer to carry through with the purchase knowing there is another buyer in line. Keep in mind that your backup offer should include a provision that allows you to withdraw. Since timing is everything in real estate, you could be waiting for the primary offer to collapse and miss out on another home that might be an even better fit.