Belt Auction

Put a bid in on a house, was accepted verbally,then told later that seller went with better bid.Any recourse?

My father-in-law bid on a house last week. On Monday, he was told by his buyer agent over the phone that his bid was accepted. Then on Wedensday, his agent called him again and told him that the seller decided to go with a higher bid instead. What, if any, recourse does he have? When he was told of the acceptance of his bid, he sold his house. Now he only has a short time to find another house to buy if he can't get this one.

Public Comments

1. none.. written contract.....
2. Sometimes verbal contracts are enforceable. In the case of sale of real estate, they are not.
3. Unless there was a written contract, none.
4. I too am looking for property and I was told that a bid is not solid until the day of closing. Up until it closes, anyone can outbid you. Sorry. And it's not illegal.
5. No recourse without a written contract. Sorry.
6. The buyer agent should have secured the signed contract. Because without it, it wasn't definite. He should assume the house is gone. Find another one quickly. He can however, talk to his agent who sold his house to see if the buyer of his house is willing to extend to the closing period, which will give him more time to look for another one.
7. He has no recourse. A bid isn't a bid until it is in writing, with all conditions and contingents, signed by both buyer and seller. and a good faith deposit, usually 1% of the bid price, put up in the escrow account of the seller's attorney. At that point there is recourse.
8. Find a new house. Due to the statute of frauds the verbal acceptance means NOTHING.
9. He needs to find another house and see if due to the circumstances his buyer will work with him on the occupancy (close) date. My question is why his Realtor did not find out from the listing agent and/or listing agent's broker what happened. Different states have different rules and at this point there is probably no recourse. In Ohio, if there are offers presented at the same time, all are reviewed prior to making a decision on one. Since this was 2 days later that he was told the seller went with a different offer, when was the other contract submitted? What was the open for acceptance on your father-in-law's? There are several different things that could have happened that his Realtor should have followed up on and explained to him. I'm not an agent just a mortgage loan officer who has worked with several agents and bought 3 houses and sold 2 of my own. This is just from experience only and questions that I would be asking.