The offer playbook.

Firm vs conditional. Know which one you're signing.

A firm offer has no conditions. The seller accepts, and you're buying the house. Full stop. No take-backs, no second thoughts. Ontario doesn't give resale buyers a cooling-off period, so firm means firm.

A conditional offer only becomes final if your conditions are met on time. The usual suspects:

• Financing — your lender actually approves the mortgage.
• Home inspection — you get a professional look before you're locked in.
• Status certificate — buying a condo? This is the building's report card. Read it.
• Sale of your property — your purchase hinges on selling your current place.

Miss a condition deadline without waiving it properly, and the deal dies on its own. Deposit comes back.

A firm offer is a louder promise. Only make it if you can keep it.

The irrevocable window is real. Respect it.

Every offer carries an expiry — the irrevocable period. While that clock is ticking, the seller can accept your offer exactly as written. And you can't just pull it back because you got cold feet or found something shinier.

Once the window expires with no acceptance, the offer is dead. Nobody owes anybody anything.

So don't sign a 48-hour irrevocable unless you mean all 48 hours.

Bully offers: the pre-emptive strike.

Some listings set an "offer date" — everyone bids that night. A bully offer (or pre-emptive offer) tries to end the game before it starts: it lands early, with a big number, firm terms, and a short fuse.

In Ontario, the listing agent has to present it promptly and let other interested buyers know one has arrived. No sneaking it through.

When it works: the number is so strong the seller won't risk offer night. It has to genuinely wow them — not just beat asking by a polite margin.

When it backfires: it announces you're desperate, and all it does is kick off the bidding war a day early — with you as the opening act.

A bully offer only bullies if the number does.

Price gets you noticed. Terms get you picked.

In a pile of similar numbers, the small things decide it:

• Deposit size. A big deposit says you're serious and solvent. Sellers notice.
• Closing date. Match the seller's timeline and you just became their favourite.
• Clean conditions. Fewer conditions, stronger offer. Every condition is a small "maybe" — and sellers hate maybes.
• The letter. Some sellers love the personal letter. Others — and some brokerages — won't read them at all. Ask us before you pour your heart out.

Everyone obsesses over price. The winners obsess over the whole package.

Multiple representation, in plain English.

Sometimes the listing agent ends up writing your offer too — the same brokerage representing both buyer and seller. In Ontario, that's called multiple representation.

It's legal, but tightly controlled: the brokerage has to give everyone a written disclosure explaining how things change, and every client has to consent in writing before anything moves forward. The agent must stay neutral — no advocating on price or terms for either side. And anything confidential you shared stays confidential.

You can say no. And if you do, we'll find you another seat at the table.