My house recently was on the market for 4 days. We received three offers. The offer we accepted requested we put the home TNFS (temporarily not for sale) during the inspection period.

If after the inspection we failed to come to an agreement, the house would have been back on the market. As it happens, it went straight to pending.

So in our case it would not have been a red flag necessarily, but that the deal fell through for some reason.

I don't know that other realtors would know exactly why the home had been TNSF. Maybe that one had something come up on the inspection, which is why it is for sale at a lower price now.

jn3344, that is what I was wondering--can other realtors find out why the home had been off the market? If there had been something that came up on inspection, could a realtor find out about that?
sylviatexas2, we would love to be able to go and see it but we are 8 hours away so we need to find out as much as we can from a distance. I was just wondering if our agent would be in a position to find out why the house is back on the market. Would hate to rule out this property as it seems so perfect.

When we were discussing the offers I asked my agent about the optics of having a house TNFS then going back on the market, and wondered exactly as you are wondering what, if anything, our agent would say about it. He said if asked he would just explain that the two parties were unable to come to a deal.

So it doesn't seem like that would be very helpful for you to hear. It doesn't tell you anything. Likely it was something with the inspection and the buyers backed out. If you like the house do your own inspection and then make your decision. One person's deal breaker is another person's weekend diy project!

It happens a lot. I wouldn't let it bother you. The buyers might not have qualified for a loan or been able to provide docs that the lender based a prequel on. Or they may have found something they liked better. Or may have found out they were being transferred/or not. Or may have had a contract on a home they (buyers) were selling, and it fell through, so they backed out of this one. It really doesn't make a difference.

If you like the house, get preapproved, make offer, get inspection. I'd never try to rely on what someone else's inspector says anyways, much less hearing from a 3rd party that is biased, what an inspection said.

"The listing agent can't tell anybody anything that would be detrimental
to the seller, & I don't know of a way for a buyer's agent to find
out, sorry"

Say what? Maybe in Texas.

Saltidawg, maybe she means things like "The seller is unreasonable and abusive." Since the listing agent is supposed to be working for the seller, saying things like that would not be ethical since it's just an opinion and not a fact.

If it's because of some actual flaw in the house that was revealed during the inspection, then the listing agent (and seller) is required to disclose the defect whether it's detrimental to the seller or not. But I'm not sure if they are required to do so before you even see the house, just before any agreements are signed. I'm sure someone will jump in to clarify that point. Probably, if asked, they have to disclose it right away.

If it was something to do with the buyer (financing fell through, etc) then the listing agent isn't required to let anyone know, but it would probably be in their best interest to do so in order to put speculation to rest.

Thanks for these replies, very helpful. Since we are not right there on the spot, would our agent be able to find out for us, or ask the listing agent if it was a simple problem not connected with the actual house? I know that we need to get to the location and see for ourselves, just am not sure how much our agent can find out before we get there. Thanks again for the replies!

If it fell thru because of a true problem with the house, then the listing agent is required to disclose it. But you need to get your own inspection anyways. And if it was a problem that showed up on the prior buyer's inspection, it should show up on yours. So it really doesn't matter what the reason was. Plus they should have a seller disclosure form that discloses defects. You might ask your agent if it is online and can be emailed to you.

Right now, you are worrying about something that is irrelevant. Going on/off the mkt is very common. Most of the time it is due to one of the reasons I listed above.

You don't even know if you will like the house. Find a bunch of houses you like, and then make a trip to go see them. If that house ends up being one you want to make an offer on, then do so. If you get a contract, get an inspection.

While you might be able to understand what you should or possibly could be able to find out by asking here, the easiest way to discover what your realtor can or cannot find out is to ask your realtor. Give him a call.

Excellent advice, Linda Doherty. I just did not realize this was such a common thing. Will absolutely do what you recommend. Many thanks!!

It's interesting that a house can be temporarily pulled from the market because a party desires that to happen (and the seller allows it).

But why would a seller allow it? Seems like madness to me.

Many MLS's require that realtors must update their listings within a certain number of days (some w/in 24 hrs). So if a home goes pending, it will show that in the computer once there is an executed contract. If it falls thru (say, during the termination option period/or when in the financing contingency period), then it would go back on the market and show active.

Or, if the seller needs it off the market for a short time (say a family member is ill or has surgery, and they don't want showings while they are bedridden, or if you have out of town company coming, and will have air mattresses out for them, and a crowd, and having showings would be inconvenient), then the agent can withdraw the listing for a while, then put it back on the market when the seller is ready.

@tete

In my case the prospective buyer requested it. I though about countering but the offer was over asking so I wanted to acknowledge their request. In addition, showings are a pain - I have to pack up the animals, put all their stuff away, do all the crazy things you do for showings, etc. I figured if it went back on the market I could put the animals in the kennel for a few days for showings and open houses like I had done the previous week. So for me it was to honor the buyers wishes and save myself a lot of hassle.

Heather,

All good advice above. And yes, there are numerous reasons why it could have been pulled from the active market. I would not spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, especially since you are trying to purchase from out of town. To do that successfully, you have to be quick on the draw. Most of the time, when you see a home that has what you want and need, the same holds true for at least one other buyer out there too.

Getting a "dream home" under your control is the first and most important step in purchasing RE. So, you do not want to waste time sweating about the petty stuff. There is plenty of time for that if the contract is written up well.

I would ask your agent to call the seller's agent and ask if they can give some insight as to why it went off the market.