How to Make an Offer on a Property

So you’ve found a property you like, you’ve inspected it (maybe a few times) and you’re ready to put pen to paper. Before you fire off a text to the agent saying “we’ll pay $750k”, it’s worth understanding what actually needs to go into a proper offer. 

Why a Proper Offer Matters

A vague verbal offer doesn’t protect you and it doesn’t look professional to the seller or the agent. A well put together written offer shows you’re a serious buyer and gives you legal protection through the conditions you attach. Impressions matter and I know just proving I’m committed and well versed has got me over the line vs other buyers. 

What Needs to Be in Your Offer

  1. Your Name/Purchaser(s) Names and Postal Address
  2. Your offer amount. Be clear and specific. This isn’t the place for round about language.
  3. The property address. Make sure it matches the listing exactly.
  4. Your conveyancer or solicitor’s details. This is who the seller’s side will liaise with once the offer is accepted, so this needs to be locked in before you make an offer, not after.
  5. Your conditions. This is the part people often forget or get wrong. Common conditions include:
    Finance condition: the offer is subject to you getting formal loan approval by a certain date.
    Building and pest condition: the offer is subject to a satisfactory building and pest inspection.
    Sale of another property condition: if you need to sell your current place first.
    Settlement date: when you’d like the sale to actually settle.

Conditions protect you. If your finance falls through or the pest inspection turns up termites, a properly worded condition can let you walk away without losing your deposit.

Sample Offer Layout

Here’s roughly how a written offer might look:

Offer to Purchase

Hi [Real Estate Agent],
Below is my written offer for [Address of property].
Purchaser Name: [Your name]
Contact Details: [Mobile number] / [Address]
Postal Address: [Current home address]
Conveyancer Details: [Conveyancer name, email, phone number, address]
Offer Amount: [Dollar figure]
Offer Expiry: [# of days]
Deposit: [Insert percentage eg 5, 10]% 
Conditions:
     Subject to finance approval by [date]
     Subject to satisfactory building and pest inspection by [date]
     Settlement 42 days from contract date

A Few Tips

Get your conveyancer sorted before you make the offer, not after it’s accepted. Know your numbers (including your upfront costs) before you go in, so you’re not offering more than you can actually afford once stamp duty and other costs are added on. And always put it in writing. Verbal offers are easy to walk away from and hard to enforce. Putting a quick offer expiry puts pressure on the agent and seller to make a decision about your offer rather than using your offer to continually fish for others. 

The Bottom Line

A good offer isn’t just about the number. It’s the number plus the right conditions and the right people already lined up behind you. I’ve had times where I’ve secured a property $10,000 under the top offer just because I removed my finance condition (I wouldn’t recommend this).