What is an offer to purchase real estate?
Verified 23 May 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
If you are interested in a property that you have just visited, you can submit to the seller a purchase offer in which you express your intention to buy on terms that you yourself set. It's not a mandatory process. We are taking stock of the offer to purchase.
The offer to purchase is usually in the form of a letter that you send to the seller or real estate agent by mail RAR: titleContent or by email.
It must be firm, i.e. you must express your willingness to purchase the good in case the seller accepts the offer.
The offer shall contain at least the following information:
- Designation of the property
- Area of the property
- Date of offer
- Price set by the buyer
- Period 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...)
- Sale under condition suspensive to obtain a mortgage
- Amount of security deposit given to the notary at the signature of the sales compromise
- Sale under the condition suspensive to obtain a city planning authorization
- Desired date of entry to the premises.
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After this period, if the seller has not accepted the offer, it is “obsolete” (it is no longer valid).
Warning
If you have not indicated the duration of your purchase proposal, it will be determined by the judge in case of dispute.
He is forbidden to pay a down payment to the seller.
The payment of a sum of money makes the offer to purchase void.
You can retract your offer, that is, reconsider your decision, as long as the seller has not received your offer.
You can retract after the signature of the sales compromise, within 10 calendar days.
Please note
The right of withdrawal does not apply to the seller. When he has accepted the offer to purchase, he has an obligation to transfer his property to the buyer.
The seller must respond in writing to your offer to purchase, preferably by letter RAR: titleContent.
During its period of validity, the seller has several possibilities:
- Accept the terms of your offer (with the words “ good for agreement ' and its signature on the offer to purchase)
- Make a written counterproposal, i.e. a new offer that makes the original offer "null" (it is no longer valid)
- Don't answer. The offer then lapses.
When the seller accepts an offer to purchase, he undertakes to sell you the property and he can no longer change his mind. He must stop showing the property to other prospective buyers.
In the event of a refusal to sell, the purchaser may apply to the court forenforcement from the sale. The buyer can also request damages.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For a question on regulation
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.
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The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.
For legal advice
Departmental Agency for Housing Information (Adil)
Offer and acceptance
Obligations of the Parties
Nullity of the offer to purchase in case of payment of money
FAQ
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