Many buyers submit a good faith offer to purchase a home, only to discover they are too late. Another similar offer has been accepted. Don’t lose all hope at this point. You still have a chance to acquire the home.

Ask your real estate agent to submit a back-up offer to the owner of the desired home. This way you’ll be ready and waiting if the first offer falls through for some reason. Back-up offers are increasingly common in today’s market. As mortgage interest rates rise, there is a chance that the first buyer won’t qualify for the needed financing, thus opening the purchase opportunity to the back-up buyer.

It’s important to be “second in line” when a back-up offer is considered. Numerous problems can scuttle a pending transaction. Sometimes the buyer can’t sell his old house in the contract allotted time period. Buyer may lack funds to go ahead with the purchase transaction. This is the point when the seller quickly turns to the back-up offer, and the second prospective buyer becomes the home’s proud new owner.