What is an offer to purchase real estate?

Verified 17 July 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)

Are you interested in a property you just visited? You may submit to the seller a purchase offer in which you express your intention to purchase on terms that you determine yourself. It's not a mandatory process.

We are taking stock of the offer to purchase.

The offer must be precise. It generally takes the form of a letter which contains at least the following elements:

  • Designation of the property
  • Date of offer
  • Price set by the buyer
  • Duration of validity of the offer

To make it easier for the seller to decide, you can add the following information:

  • Financing plan (personal contribution, loans, bridge loan, sale of a property to finance the purchase...)
  • Amount of security deposit given to the notary at the signature of the sales compromise
  • Desired date of entry to the premises
  • The city planning permission you want

You must mail the offer to the seller or real estate agent RAR: titleContent or by email.

Warning  

To write an offer to purchase, you must have the legal capacity to sign a contract (the future bill of sale). If not, the offer is invalid.

The offer is generally valid for a few days (1 to 2 weeks).

After this period, the offer is no longer valid.

Warning  

If you have not indicated the duration of your purchase proposal, it will be determined by the judge.

It's yours forbidden to pay a sum of money to the seller, because that makes the offer void.

You may withdraw from the offer until the buyer has received your offer.

Once the offer has been received, you can no longer do so for the entire duration of the offer.

You can retract after the signature of the sales compromise, within 10 calendar days.

The right to withdrawal does not apply to the seller.

The seller must respond in writing, preferably by letter RAR: titleContent.

During the period of validity of your offer, the seller has several possibilities:

  • Accept the terms of the bid from the proposed acquirer (with the words “ good for agreement ' and its signature on the offer to purchase)
  • Reject the offer if the price proposed by the proposed acquirer is lower than the price initially fixed
  • Make a written counterproposal, i.e. a new offer that makes the original offer "null" (it is no longer valid)

If the seller doesn't respond, it means they refuse your offer.

When the seller accepts an offer to buy, he undertakes to sell and he can no longer change his mind. It must stop visits to the property by other prospective buyers.

Warning  

The seller cannot refuse an offer at the requested price.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.

    Cost: free service

    Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and therefore cannot provide information on their progress.

    The service is available at the following times:

    • Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
      • Lundi : de 08h30 à 16h15
      • Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15

    Request a call

  • Departmental Agency for Housing Information (Adil)