Offers & negotiations

Seven stages from offer to accepted deal

Typical GTA resale — your agent manages presentation; you approve every decision.

1. 1

   Prepare before offers arrive

   During listing

   Strong marketing should include a conversation about offer strategy. Know your ideal closing date, whether you can accommodate a fast or slow close, and which conditions you prefer buyers to carry — financing and inspection are standard; sale of buyer's home adds risk.

   Shortlist a real estate lawyer before offers arrive — not after. Unusual clauses need legal review before you accept or counter.

   • Minimum acceptable price — write it down before emotion enters
   • Closing date range that works for your next home or lease
   • Inclusions confirmed — appliances and fixtures you expect to leave or take
   • Lawyer contact ready for same-day review on offer night
2. 2

   Receive and register offers

   Offer day

   Buyers submit offers through their agents to your listing agent. Each offer is registered with time stamp when multiple offers are held to one presentation date. Your agent confirms receipt and keeps you updated as deadlines approach.

   Do not deal directly with buyers or their agents — all negotiation goes through your listing agent to protect strategy and agency rules.

   • Irrevocable period — how long you have to accept, reject, or counter each offer
   • Complete signed APS required — incomplete offers get less consideration
   • Deposit cheque or proof may accompany offer — confirm amount and form
   • Stay reachable — counters expire on tight clocks
3. 3

   Review a single offer line by line

   Offer presentation

   Price is the headline. Read the rest with your agent: deposit amount and due date (GTA norm often 5% within 24 hours of acceptance), closing date and possession time, conditions and their deadlines, chattels and fixtures included, and any special schedules.

   Compare the offer to your list price and to recent solds in your pocket — not to what you hoped the home was worth when you bought it.

   • Purchase price — gross number before adjustments and credits
   • Deposit — larger deposits signal commitment; held in listing brokerage trust
   • Conditions — financing, inspection, status certificate (condos), sale of buyer's property
   • Closing date — must align with your move and next purchase
   • Inclusions — fridge, washer, window coverings — confirm explicitly
4. 4

   Multiple offers — compare the full package

   Offer night common in GTA

   When several buyers want your home, your agent may hold offers to one date and time. Each offer is summarized on a comparison sheet. You may accept one, counter one, or reject all — there is no obligation to pick the highest price.

   Some sellers request a best-and-final round — buyers improve once. Your agent advises whether that fits market norms and your timeline.

   • Net certainty — firm vs conditional often matters more than $10,000 on price
   • Deposit size and timing — weak deposit on high price is a red flag
   • Closing flexibility — your preferred date may tip a tie
   • Fewer conditions — inspection waived is buyer's risk; financing waived is yours if they cannot close
   • Bullying clauses and custom schedules — lawyer review before you sign
5. 5

   Counter-offers — change one thing at a time

   Same day to 48 hours

   A counter changes the buyer's original offer — they can accept, reject, or counter back. Keep counters focused: price, closing date, or a single condition change. Long chains frustrate buyers and kill momentum.

   Set a clear irrevocable time on your counter so negotiations do not drift. Your agent communicates counters in writing through the buyer's agent.

   • Counter price — know your walk-away before you counter up from a low offer
   • Counter closing — sometimes worth more than another $5,000
   • Request larger deposit or shorter condition periods instead of only higher price
   • Reject cleanly if terms are unacceptable — do not counter insultingly low offers without strategy
6. 6

   Accept and open the conditional period

   Upon acceptance

   Once both parties sign, you have a conditional or firm deal depending on what the buyer wrote. Standard conditional period is 5–10 business days for financing, inspection, and lawyer review. The buyer's deposit is delivered to trust per the APS timeline.

   Cooperate with inspections and status certificate access — blocking access gives buyers lawful exit and wastes your marketing time. Complete agreed showing access for re-inspection if repairs are negotiated.

   • Buyer inspection — you may be asked to leave; consider pre-listing inspection to reduce surprises
   • Repair negotiations — credits or fixes before closing; document in amendments
   • Financing failure — buyer exits under condition if APS allows; deposit returned per wording
   • Notify your lawyer same day — they review the accepted APS immediately
7. 7

   Firm deal — conditions waived

   5–10 business days after acceptance typical

   When the buyer waives all conditions, the deal is firm. Both parties are legally committed to close on the closing date. Plan your move, order mortgage discharge, and complete any agreed repairs before closing.

   If a buyer tries to renegotiate after inspection without a valid condition, your agent and lawyer protect your position — firm means firm.

   • Mark closing date and possession time on calendar — often 6:00 p.m. on closing day
   • Begin move planning and utility cancellation timing
   • Next guide: seller closing — lawyer, discharge, and handover
   • Relist only if deal collapses under a valid condition — your agent handles paperwork