I've not personally purchased a home through a RELO Company but have worked with Buyers on the successful purchase of several and the last one was 2 years ago...sushipup1 pretty much described my experiences so it doesn't appear to have changed much. I would say the experience is just a small step above a foreclosure purchase....but that is just my opinion and in my area.

We bought a home in Charleston, SC, that was owned by Price Waterhouse, which was in the Relo business at the time. House had been vacant for 6-8 months, vandalized, gutters falling off the eaves, ceiling down in Dining room, ivy growing in under the windows.

Had been a beautiful home. My wife bought it for us as I was not able to get to Charleston, so she went on the 3-4 day house-hunting trip alone. She made an offer on the 2nd day requiring all of those repairs and also a price reduction.

They agreed the same day, and the next day my wife flew home.

This was 1979... maybe times they are a changin',

As an aside, we were relocating from the Seattle area, where three years before my wife had not been able to go on the house hunting trip so I ended up buying a new-construction home unseen by her. (Pre-internet and fax not viable.)

We were relocated in 2007 by my husband's company and the deal included the use of a RELO company to sell the house. We had x days to try to sell on our own and it then went into contract with the RELO company. We did get a buyer, but it was after we were in the RELO contract. It does make the deal more complicated and a bit longer. We no longer lived in the same state and were actually in the middle on an international move. Papers had to be fedex'd to us for signatures, back to RELO company, who then took ownership and then they signed all the paperwork with the new buyer.

If you really like the house, then you need to be more patient, because RELO deals have a few more steps and hoops to jump through.

The OP is trying to buy a home owned by a relo outfit. As I said above, it can be a seamless process. The relo outfit knows what it has into the property and knows what it need out with no pride of ownership issues nor unreasonable expectations. They know exactly how much it is costing to carry the home on the books.

They also have the best comp possible!

I know the OP is buying ... but as I explained in my case, the deal took longer because we still owned the house when the offer came in, but the transfer to the RELO company had been started. We had to close with the RELO company first (in the middles of a stressful international move) and only then could they make a deal/close with the buyers, so the whole thing took longer than a regular transaction. As I said above, it can be a longer process. Your experience isn't the only way that these deals happen ...

My office lists many Relo transactions each month. Every relocation company is different, but they all work similarly. Responsiveness depends on the relocation property coordinator - some respond quickly, others take longer.

I'm sure the listing agent has forwarded the offer to the relocation coordinator, who may have to consult with several others on the offer. The relo companies usually make counter offers and there are several addenda that need to be processed and signed. Often, the person authorized to sign contracts is not the same as the relocation coordinator and getting the authorized signer to move quickly is rare.

Your agent should be able to find out from the listing agent if the relo company has received your offer. Unless authorized, the listing agent cannot tell your agent about other offers.

In my experience, relocation companies do not like taking contracts with contingencies. Perhaps that is the sticking point and the listing agent is working to get the relo company to consider the offer.

Good luck, relocation transactions require lots of patience.

This RELO was the most bizarre home purchase my DH and I have ever been through.

First, a few of you were absolutely right. If the coordinator is on vacation, nothing happens. And guess what, the coordinator was on vacation. Second, the sellers were on vacation, but no-one bothered to tell us. Third, the listing agent may not have understood what the RELO process was.

On late Friday afternoon, I ended up calling the RELO company directly just to ask what their process was, so I could understand what I could expect. Whomever I was transferred to was absolutely wonderful and also informed me, when she looked at the property file, that we did not have an offer in on the property.

Maybe I misunderstood what she was saying to me, as my heart was in my throat, and I can't recall anything else she said. I immediately called my realtor.

She reached out to the listing agent's company RELO liaison on Saturday to ask for information on my offer. Since it was Saturday, she would have to wait until Monday to find out where we were with our offer.

On Monday, we did receive confirmation they had my offer, but the seller had been out of the country.

Then on Monday, the listing agent told my realtor that I would need to have my current property sold, before they would consider my offer. So I was trying to find financing that would permit us to carry both mortgages. One company I was in touch with flat out said that just wasn't going to happen. Too high DTI, regardless of how many assets we had (which is a reduced risk)L

So, at 12:33 pm on Wednesday of this week, after letting my realtor know the financing would not happen, I resigned to let go of that dream home. I couldn't get the financing to carry both mortgages even though it would be only be for a couple days. I felt bad for the buyers of my current home, for the sellers of my dream home, and for my realtor, for all the hard work she did.

And amazingly, just when I lost all hope, 10 minutes later my realtor forwarded me an e-mail. The RELO liaison contacted my realtor directly.

It was the most heart stopping 10 minutes of my life, as I waited for my realtor to call me…and when she did…my phone didn’t ring, she went straight to voice mail. ARGH!!!!

So, when I listened to the first few words of her message, and heard her giggle, I knew we had the house. I called her immediately.

It turns out the RELO company did want to accept our offer, but they wanted a copy of the contract the buyers signed for our existing property, a copy of their pre-approval letter, and for my husband and I to sign off on the RELOs inspection report. The RELO liaison realized the listing agent wasn't understanding what was needed, so reached out directly to my realtor.

It is Thursday night, and we finally have a signed contract. It has been a nerve-racking couple of weeks with this rollercoaster of a home purchase experience.

So all in all, if we had a better understanding of what the process was, had known the coordinator and seller decided to vacation during the same week, and there would have been better communications, this would have been a less stressful process.

So I appreciate everyone's comments about length of transaction, the need for relocating sellers to sign the contract, the comps, and the patience really helped. The most amazing thing is the inspection the RELO company did. They were very thorough, and the seller has resolved, and will resolve the issues prior to closing. I hope someone else trying to purchase a home through a RELO reads this and has a better understanding of why these are longer purchases. This will be well worth the wait!

Thank you everyone!