*Offer to Purchase: A legal document which specifies the terms and conditions of your offer to purchase the home.

The offer can be firm or conditional.

Firm Offer to Purchase: usually preferable to the seller, because it means that you are prepared to purchase the home without any conditions. If the offer is accepted, the home is yours.

Conditional Offer to Purchase: means that you have placed one or more conditions on the purchase, such as "subject to home inspection", "subject to financing" or "subject to sale of buyer's existing home". The home is not sold until all the conditions have been met.

*In the province of Quebec, this is referred to as a "Promise to Purchase".

Acceptance of the Offer

Your Offer to Purchase will be presented as soon as possible. The seller may accept the offer, reject it, or submit a counter-offer. The counter-offer may be in reference to the price, the closing date, or any number of variables. The offers can go back and forth until both parties have agreed or one of you ends the negotiations.