The Offer to Purchase is a contract that proposes how much you are willing to pay, and also when you are willing to complete the steps in the buying process.

The property is described, including the size of the lot (for houses), and parking spaces or storages areas (for condos).

The sellers cannot remove the stove, the heating systems, plumbing or lighting fixtures, or any built-in or attached items in the house. The definition of “real estate” includes anything built-into a building (like a wall air conditioner) or anything affixed to the walls or ceiling (like curtain rod holders, chandeliers, and bolted-in mirrors or hanging storage units.) When something is in a “grey area,” we will write it into the Offer. A seller may specifically exclude something that they want to take with them. That gets written in, too.

You will need to enclose a $1000 check with your offer as a binder, to secure the right to purchase.

Offer good for 1-2 days. In most cases, you don’t want to give the seller more time than that to stir up competition.

If the Offer is accepted, your $1000 binder will go to the Seller’s attorney or Seller’s agent. Then, you have a series of tasks to finish in a short period of time.

  1. Inspections must be completed, you need to “digest” what the inspector told you and get back to the Seller by 5-10 days after Offer. Your option to renegotiate or terminate the agreement based on inspection issues and get your $1000 back ends on that date.
  2. Your Purchase and Sale Agreement is to be signed by 7-10 days after Offer. Your attorney will review the Purchase and Sale Agreement draft and negotiate changes in wording with the Seller or Seller’s attorney. You need to review this document with your attorney. Then your agent will meet you to sign multiple copies of the Agreement.With the Purchase and Sale Agreement, you need to have a check ready for your deposit of 5-10% of purchase price. This is a regular check; you don’t need a bank check yet.
  3. Your loan commitment is due 2-3 weeks after the Purchase and Sale agreement.You are entitled to get your deposits back if you cannot get a loan by this date. If the loan paperwork is not done on time, your agent will request and extension before the deadline. Once this deadline has passed, your option to get back your deposits is in jeopardy.Your attorney should review your loan commitment to be sure there are not conditions that may affect your financial ability to close.
  4. Your closing date is 4-5 weeks after the Offer (or longer if Buyer and Seller want it that way).Unless you have made other agreements, there will be no people or possessions in the house on closing day. We will walk through before closing to make sure the Seller and/or tenants have moved out and taken their things.

For more detail about what happens between the Purchase & Sale and the closing, click here.