Legitimacy if offers when using an escalation clause?

Question

My wife and I are about to buy a property cash and we used an escalation clause in our contract. And conveniently we were maxed out. Is there a way to check the legitimacy of an offer?

Lydia S. · Answer

@Ethan Antwain Reynolds

If you won the bid and had an escalation clause, the clause should have been written up in such a way that it includes  receiving proof of the competing offer(s) that drove your offer up.  Next time, ensure your Realtor includes that language in the escalation clause.

Ethan Antwain Reynolds · Answer

yeah called to check to see if a bid was legit after I won the bid and it did not go well my realtor told me I kicked the hornet's nest. I figured trust but verify. I think the deal is still going to go through but I definitely offended a bunch of people.

Jonathan Greene · Answer

Do you mean to see if they really went higher than your escalation? You will never know. Escalation clauses are banned in my markets, not legally, but no listing agents will do them because everyone ends up complaining. We only do Best and Final offers, one-time shot. I would not offer with escalation clauses, it leaves you no strength and they will always say you got to your top even if you didn't. You have to be confident in your top offer and know that if someone outbids you, you were at your max. When you do an escalations clause, you are psychologically less attached to the house because you are saying you want it, but still trying to get it for less and less and there is no transparency in the process.