Can a Buyer Withdraw an Offer on a Home?

Question: We made an offer in the evening on a home in Glendale. In our offer we said that the seller had 24 hours to accept our offer or our offer would be withdrawn. The next morning my husband found a much better home for the same price. Do we have to wait 24 hours to see if the seller of the first home will accept our offer?

Answer: No. A buyer generally can withdraw an offer to purchase a home at any time prior to acceptance of the offer by the seller, even if the buyer had given the seller a specific time period to accept the offer.

Note: If the seller of the first home wanted to have the entire 24 hours to decide whether to accept your offer, this seller could pay you a small amount, e.g., $100, that would require you to keep the offer open for the entire 24 hours.

Here is a related article on offers open for 24 hours.