Does a Highest & Best Letter Cancel Existing Counter-Offers

[J Fox]

I made an offer on a bank owned home. The bank counter offered on a Monday with no expiration on the offer. The same week they requested highest and best offers on Thursday. I attempted to accept the counter offer from the bank to purchase the property on Friday and was told the counter-offer was no longer valid. Is that acceptable?

[J Scott]

REO counter offers are rarely made on an official contract (and aren't signed), so there is nothing legally binding by a bank counter-offer. That said, banks are generally pretty good about adhering to a counter-offer if you accept it prior to them getting another offer or asking for H&B.

Had you accepted the counter within the first 48 hours or so, my guess is that you would have gotten the property under those terms. Why did you wait a week to accept?