All about offers

A detailed look at making an offer and associated definitions

Making an offer can be a complicated process, as you may have to go back and forth with the other party via counter offers.

You've finally found the perfect property, and you are totally prepared to make your move. I will have the Agreement of Purchase and Sale ready for you to fill out, and will explain all terms to the agreement, clauses, and definitions to you as we go along. I will then present the offer to the seller's agent, and be prepared, they may counter your offer where you will have to go back and forth on negotiations until both parties come to an agreement or choose not to go forward.

With the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, you may have chosen certain conditions to be included, for example, the purchase of the house being conditional on an acceptable home inspection. You must complete all conditions within the time frame that was written into the agreement, it's important to note that the other party has the right to assume you have fulfilled all conditions if you do not say otherwise during the allotted time.

Clauses and conditions are included in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale to protect both parties to the transaction. A clause is a way to escape if something goes wrong during a sale, with the three most common ones being 'subject to financing, inspection, and/or sale of the buyers property'. A condition makes a sale conditional on something being done, or not done, and has a time limit attached. For example, if you make the sale conditional on a home inspection, you must get a home inspection within the allotted time, and without written notice the condition is deemed to be fulfilled.

When filling in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, you will be required to choose a purchase price, deposit amount, closing date, and time and date by which you must have financing and home insurance.

Once your offer has been signed and accepted, it's time to send it off to your lawyer for review, and off to your bank for your final mortgage approval. I am happy to refer you to a lawyer if you don't currently have one.

As a REALTOR®, I represent your best interests and negotiate on your behalf, so that when all is done, you know you've gotten the best deal you can.