Can you still withdraw an accepted offer on a house?

Last modified on: 11 April 2025

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In the overheated housing market of today, the process of buying and selling has changed significantly. Most properties receive a flood of bids, which leads to hasty decisions by buyers and doubts among sellers. Which bid is the best? And is there perhaps a better offer on the market? In this article, we discuss whether you can withdraw an accepted bid on a house and what the possible consequences are.

When can you as a buyer still withdraw after an accepted bid?

The bidding on a property is an exciting and stressful period. Buying a house is one of the biggest financial decisions in your life, and yet you often have to act very quickly. Knowing that there are many other interested parties puts extra pressure on the process and can lead you to outbid (a lot). Despite this haste and uncertainty, there are fortunately times when you can reverse an impulsive or undesirable purchase, even after your bid has been accepted. Want to know more about how to make a good bid? Read these 7 tips for a better chance of an accepted bid.

The purchase contract and the statutory cooling-off period

If your bid has been accepted, but the purchase contract has not yet been signed, you still have the freedom to withdraw the bid. Until the moment of signing, you are therefore not definitively tied to the purchase. As soon as the purchase contract is signed, the situation changes. From that moment, you have a statutory cooling-off period of three days, during which you may withdraw from the purchase without giving any reason.

Note: before the purchase contract is signed, the seller may still accept other bids. The sale is not final yet. Do not yet incur costs for a valuation report or a building inspection, but wait until the purchase contract is signed. Otherwise, you run the risk that the purchase does not go through and you will be left with the costs.

The dissolution conditions

Because the period of the statutory cooling-off period is not enough to cover all risks, you can include dissolution conditions in the purchase contract. A purchase real estate agent can help you draw up these conditions. If one of these conditions occurs, even after the statutory cooling-off period, you can dissolve the purchase agreement on the basis of that condition.

Common dissolution conditions include the reservation of financing, the reservation for a structural survey, and the reservation for the sale of your own house. It is important that you dissolve the purchase contract in the manner set out in the purchase contract. You must also adhere to the deadlines included in the purchase contract. If you do not, the sale is final.

Penalty of 10% of the purchase price

Do you want to withdraw from the purchase, while the statutory cooling-off period has already passed and you cannot invoke a dissolution condition? Then you must pay a penalty to the selling party. This penalty is not insignificant: usually, 10% of the purchase price is used. In some cases, it may be wiser to let the purchase go through and put the house back up for sale immediately.

However, it is important to know that some mortgage lenders may impose restrictions on quickly reselling a property. It is therefore advisable to ask your real estate agent and your mortgage advisor for advice if you are considering this.

Let a real estate agent and mortgage advisor guide you

In order to bid on houses with a confident feeling and to know your rights and obligations, we recommend engaging a real estate agent and a mortgage advisor during your house hunt. A real estate agent helps you find the right houses, adopt the correct bidding strategy, and take care of paperwork. Real estate agents often act as purchasing and selling agents, so they can also help you sell your old home.

A mortgage advisor provides insight into your financial possibilities, so you know what you can bid at most (also with a student debt). This professional can also advise you on possible mortgages, such as a bridging mortgage. This way you can enter the bidding phase with peace of mind.

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When can you as a seller withdraw an accepted offer on a house?

If you as a seller have accepted an offer on your property, there are still a few situations after that in which you can withdraw from the sale.

The written requirement

It is important to know that, if both the buyer and the seller are private individuals, the 'written requirement' applies. This means that the sale is only official once the purchase contract has been signed by both parties. Please note: if one of the parties is a company, this requirement does not apply. An offer that is confirmed orally or, for example, by email, is then immediately final.

Until the signing of the purchase contract, as a seller (in a consumer purchase) you can still negotiate with other interested parties and continue to receive bids, even if you have already accepted a bid. Although this is legally possible, it is of course not polite to approach the sale in this way. But sometimes a new bid is so good that you can choose to accept it anyway.

The resolutive conditions

In a consumer purchase, you can reconsider until you sign the purchase contract. From that moment the acceptance of the bid is final, unless the buyer withdraws from the purchase or if there is a resolutive condition. To be able to invoke a resolutive condition as a seller, you must remember to include the correct resolutive conditions in the purchase contract. A Real estate agent can help you with this.

Penalty of 10% of the purchase price

If you have signed the purchase contract and you cannot invoke a resolutive condition, then the purchase is final. If you still want to withdraw from the sale, you usually have to pay a penalty of 10% of the purchase price.

The importance of a sales Real estate agent

As a seller, it is also important to engage the right professionals when selling your home. A sales Real estate agent guides you through the sale of your home and ensures that you get the best possible selling price. This professional also ensures that you are aware of all your rights and obligations - such as the matters mentioned in this article - and handles a lot of paperwork for you.

Compare the best Real estate agents from the neighborhood

Through Mijn Verkoopmakelaar you can easily and quickly find the best Real estate agents from the neighborhood. Register your home and receive proposals from various Real estate agencies in the coming days. Compare the Real estate agents based on costs, performance and click. Schedule a preliminary meeting and choose the best Real estate agent for the job.