When we were married, what seems like another lifetime ago...the minister knew us both and the ceremony was very personal and very special. One of the things I remember clearly was he said that being married is an exciting adventure..you wake up to "a different person every day." Some days you wake up ready to face the world and have a bundle of energy just waiting to be unleashed. Other days, the flu, the full moon, the weather, your job may influence your otherwise sunny personality and you may be "a different person" sharing that marital space. Anyone who has been married more than a week...gets that. You write your own vows or you take them from a book or the church....you promise regardless of the health, wealth or lack thereof, you will be there for each other. You sign the marriage certificate, the vows are sealed with a kiss....and off you go...to a lifetime together to enjoy and endure all that awaits you as a couple.
An offer to purchase....you have the brief courtship prior to the inspection...that day you may "wake up crabby" to find that the dream house may have a flaw here or there requiring a licensed contractor or at the very least, a handyman to tighten this, replace that and you can then advance to the dreams of decorating and landscaping...the wall you want to remove, the pink tile...the wrong carpet color...making it "your own." Grown up buyers understand that the world...and no house...even new construction is perfect and there will be adjustments...sometimes in "fixes" and sometimes in prices. Like a marriage, the offer and the purchase are about compromise. There is give and take on both parts...the buyer and seller, the husband and wife. In a marriage of course, time is not always of the essence...you can and do have cooling off periods...you can choose to sleep separately, live separately and seek professional help in working toward a more solid union or the dissolution of the marriage.
When you buy a house...there are timelines and rules....laws that govern by when this has to be done, by whom and how. The contract that is signed dictates the rules...the state you live in writes the rules and the realtor can't bend them to accomodate cold feet....the agreement you had to do this, increase the price, close then...it doesn't matter if your agent is an "agent of the Buyer" or the seller...there are rules to follow and ethics to abide by..."A promise is a promise and it must be kept"...your mother said. So if after you have agreed, after the time has expired....after you have signed...your mother, brother, father, friend, neighbor...tells you that you "don't have to if you don't want to".....listen to the person who is working for you,. You may not agree with them...you should listen...the rules are for everyone's protection and a change of mind usually made from an emotional rather than logical state of mind, has consequences. Know what you don't know...Listen...learn...and respect you don't know the rules and how they apply to every situation. Respect that your Realtor knows or will find out the best way to work within the rules.
For some people, it's just too bad that they can't walk away from the marriage like people are walking away from their mortgages. Of course, who would take possession of the spouse who was left behind? LOL
There is a movie I can't find to give as a gift to one of our divorce lawyers...it's called"Who Gets the Friends"....people always feel they have to choose....