An offer is a price plus a set of conditions. In a competing-offer situation the conditions often matter more than the price, and understanding what each one actually does is how you decide which are worth keeping.
The main conditions
Condition on financing. Lets you walk if your lender won't fund the purchase. A pre-approval is not a guarantee. Lenders appraise the specific property, and an appraisal below your purchase price is exactly what this condition protects you from.
Condition on inspection. Typically 3–5 business days to have the property inspected and either proceed, renegotiate, or walk.
Condition on status certificate (condominiums). Gives your lawyer time to review the corporation's finances, reserve fund, rules, and any pending special assessment. Never skip this on a condo without understanding what you're accepting.
Condition on sale of the buyer's property. Strong protection for you, weak position in competition. Sellers dislike it.
Clauses that aren't conditions
- Chattels and fixtures. What stays and what goes. Vague wording here causes more closing-day arguments than anything else. Name appliances by make and model where you can.
- Irrevocable date. How long the seller has to accept before your offer expires.
- Completion and requisition dates. Closing day, and your lawyer's deadline to raise title problems.
- Rental items. Hot water tanks, furnaces, and water softeners are frequently under contract. Establish who assumes them.
A firm offer with no conditions is the strongest thing you can present and the most dangerous thing you can sign. It means that if your financing falls through, the inspection would have found a cracked foundation, or the status certificate reveals a $40,000 special assessment, you are still buying the property. People do it, and in a hot pocket they sometimes have to. Do it with your eyes open, having done the inspection and financing work before the offer date rather than skipping it.
If you plan to go firm, book a pre-offer inspection during the showing window and get your lender to review the specific property in advance. You can have the protection without the condition. It just costs money you might not recover if you don't win.