I then put in a counter offer officially and only received a decline by text stating that my offer of 136k was still too low.

By saying there is none, the assumption (to me) is that I shouldn't need to budget for lead paint when coming up with my offer.I made an offer, got a counter offer, and said that I would accept the counter offer if I could get a lead paint inspection done (I didn't know then that the law lets me unless I waive the right).So if a lead paint inspection shows that there is lead paint, should I get quotes for abatement and try to get the seller to cover the whole cost?

Should I send in a counter-offer and cancellation contract at the same time?

UPDATE: The bank counter offered and is asking for $45k, $1,000 earnest money and closing by February, 15th.

This includes a duty to exercise reasonable care and skill in working for the client, a duty to be honest and deal fairly and in good faith, and a duty to disclose all facts within the agent’s knowledge that materially affects the value or desirability of the property and of which the client is not aware, or that the client would not become aware of through diligent attention or observation.As discussed below, a dual agent, attempting to act on behalf of both parties to a sale, risks violating the fiduciary duty to act only in the best interest of one client, because the agent may have to balance the interests of both clients.Pros of Using A Dual AgentHere are some of the positive aspects of sharing a real estate broker with the seller:Using a dual agent can streamline the transaction.Many agents feel that when a buyer and seller are both working with the same agent, forms and documents can be prepared and signed more quickly, and offers and counteroffers can be communicated more quickly. 

There was NO chance to counter offer (i would have waived inspection now that i knew the competition was pretty fierce and i would have upped my bid by as much as 18% higher if i had a chance to counter.I suspect the listing agent wouldn't be interested in us because we're represented by an agent ourselves so the commission would have had to have been split.

. - You offer 50k, they counter back at 62k, you counter 60k, they accept.In this case you offered 55k and they thought it's less than what they wanted, but it was high enought for them to take it without a counter offer.

I did some research and most of what I read said FM is fairly quick with a counter offer, accepted offer, or denial.

Just keep that figure in mind when deciding what your max counter offer is going to be.

So, landed myself in an unplanned opportunity...potentially.Run down, I have a counter offer from a motivated seller for 417K.