Multiple offers

While we don’t see it often in our market, multiple simultaneous offers do happen and buyers and sellers are sometimes confused on what rules apply when they do.
In such a situation, it’s the seller that calls the shots. First of all, the seller is under no obligation to tell the buyers that multiple offers are in place. In fact, the listing broker is prohibited from disclosing the fact that an offer is in place without the seller’s permission. However, it might be in the interest of the seller to disclose the fact in order to create a competitive bidding situation . The seller also has no obligation to accept either or any of the offers or to give an opportunity for a bidder to improve his offer. Sellers should discuss their multi-offer strategy with their broker at the time of listing.