[SLSMan]

I had an escalation clause in my offer, but I adjusted it so it said something to the effect that the clause would only be in effect for comparable offers. Then I defined comparable offers to be offers that were for the same type of loan with a minimum down payment and deposit amount. I wanted to protect against the buyers getting a higher offer that they were likely to reject on some other basis, but using that higher offer to make me pay more for the house. The downside was that I could be beat out by other legitimate buyers whose escalation clause didn't consider the quality of the offer they were beating. I cared more about not feeling like I was being swindled though. I got the house after about a $10k escalation, and the seller's agent presented the competing offer so I could verify it met the conditions of my escalation clause.