Conditional vs firm offer
The BrokerFold Team — Product + Engineering
Last reviewed
A conditional offer is an accepted offer that only becomes binding in full once stated conditions are satisfied or waived — financing, inspection, the sale of the buyer’s home, a status-certificate review. A firm offer (in BC vocabulary, subject-free) contains no conditions: once accepted, the buyer is committed, and walking away puts the deposit and more at risk.
How conditions actually work
Each condition names who it protects, what has to happen, and a deadline. Before the deadline the protected party either fulfils the condition, waives it in writing, or lets the deal die — usually with the deposit returned, because the contract ended on its own terms. Conditions must be exercised honestly: a buyer who uses an inspection condition as a free exit for cold feet is inviting a dispute. Sellers have tools on their side too — an escape clause lets a seller accept a conditional offer while continuing to market the home.
The strategy trade
Conditions are protection; firmness is a bid. In competition, sellers routinely take a lower firm offer over a higher conditional one — certainty has a price. The responsible way to compete firm is to move the diligence earlier: financing fully underwritten, inspection done before offer day, documents reviewed. The irresponsible way is simply deleting the conditions, which is how buyers end up owing deposits on financing that never materialized.
Why it matters for your practice
“Should we go in firm?” is the single most consequential question a buyer asks their agent. A website that explains the trade honestly — including what firm really costs when it goes wrong — earns the trust that question requires, and the offer-timing mechanics pages carry the rest of the conversation.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common conditions?
Financing (the buyer's lender formally approves the loan on this property), home inspection, and — in slower markets — sale of the buyer's current home. Condo purchases add a status-certificate or strata-document review condition. Each has a deadline; the buyer must waive or fulfil it by then or the deal ends.
Why would anyone make a firm offer?
Competition. In multiple-offer situations a firm (BC: subject-free) offer often beats a higher conditional one, because the seller values certainty. The honest version of that strategy is doing the diligence before offering — pre-inspection, strong financing work — not skipping it. BC buyers also have a separate short statutory rescission period; it softens but does not replace conditions.
Keep reading
- Real estate deposit The deposit is the buyer's good-faith money held in trust after an accepted offer — how much is typical, where it sits, and when it's at risk.
- Escape clause An escape clause lets a seller keep marketing after accepting a conditional offer — and force the buyer to waive or walk when a better offer arrives.
- Irrevocable period The irrevocable period is how long an offer stays open for acceptance and cannot be withdrawn — the clock every Ontario negotiation runs on.
- Agreement of purchase and sale The APS is the contract at the centre of every Ontario home sale — offer, acceptance, deposit, conditions and closing terms in one document.