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The use of escalation clauses may also lengthen the negotiation process, a potential disadvantage to sellers and buyers. The buyer who is unsuccessful in a negotiation where a competing buyer used an escalation clause may feel that they were treated unfairly.
When you include an escalation clause in your offer, you're telling the seller your highest possible offer right out of the gate. This can limit your negotiating power. Additionally, some sellers won't accept offers that include escalation clauses. So you may be limited in the homes you can make these types of bids on.
Many states, including Texas, California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, recognize escalation clauses as a matter of contract law.
However, buyers need to be careful with these clauses as they can sometimes backfire. “An escalation clause needs to be in conjunction with a really good offer,” said Madani of Room Real Estate. “It's really the whole package to get your offer accepted.”
Bidding higher is the best way to beat an existing offer with an escalation clause. In most cases, the seller's agent won't and can't reveal the highest offer in an escalation clause, so you may have to guess.
How Do You Write an Escalation Clause With a Home Offer? Let's say you make a $410,000 offer on a house listed for $400,000. There are other offers on the table, so you include an escalation clause with a cap of $450,000 and a factor of $5,000. If another buyer's offer is $425,000, your offer will increase to $430,000.