You want to buy one of two flats. You have already made a declaration for the first; a response is pending. The second flat now threatens to be allocated elsewhere. Another offer may sound like securing a choice; in fact it must be clarified whether this can create several obligations at once.
A personal alternative does not automatically become a contractual alternative
§861 ABGB ties the contract to a congruent intention with valid acceptance. §862 governs, among other things, the binding effect during the acceptance period. [VERTRAG] [BINDUNG] Your private intention to choose only one flat in the end is therefore not yet a examined condition of the declarations you have made.
Ask legal advice to assess the actual status of the first process. Which version was sent, which conditions does it contain and what responses are there? A polite conversational refusal or the mere silence of the other party is not, without examination, the same status as a concluded binding offer.
Bring all open declarations together in a single overview
Our editorial recommendation: Record for each property your declaration, dispatch, confirmed recipients, acceptance period and responses. Distinguish organisational offer deadlines from the legal binding effect of your concrete declaration. Mark a legally not yet clarified line as open.
The overview should not pre-empt any legal decision. It helps to present all simultaneously relevant proceedings to the adviser. Someone who only examines the second draft may not be aware of the possible binding effect already existing from the first transaction.
Hypothetical case: Two positive messages on the same day
A buyer can only finance one flat. He submits offers for two properties because he assumes the chances of success are low in each case. Subsequently he receives positive messages for both. However, his private probability calculation was not a contractual reservation.
Now it must be professionally examined what content the messages have and which bindings have arisen. This article does not decide any concrete contract conclusion. The example shows why a low expected probability of acceptance is not a useful protection against a second obligation.
Choose a deliberate course before making a further declaration
Have it assessed whether the status of the first process must first be completed or what effective structuring of the further plan is possible. The article does not provide an alternative clause for this and does not promise any unrestricted withdrawal from the first transaction at any time.
Relate your financing to the obligation that is actually possible. A bank calculation for exactly one flat must not quietly serve as coverage for several parallel possible purchases. An expected later resale of an unwanted property is also not a confirmed solution.
Conclude completed processes in a traceable manner
Keep the professionally classified completion of the process you are not pursuing. Note which declaration is affected and on what basis the status is determined. A mere change in your favourites list does not terminate a contractual obligation.
The aim is not the longest possible list of secured options. You need a choice in which personal purchase intention, legal declaration and financing fit together. If an old process is open, its clarification belongs before the next binding commitment.