Buyers

How to Make an Offer on a House

A good offer is not the highest one, it is the one that wins the property at a price you can defend, on terms that still protect you if something turns up. Those two goals pull against each other, and most of the skill is in the middle.

Below is how to work out what to offer, the terms that make you competitive without spending more, and the protections that are genuinely expensive to give up.

How to Make an Offer: Start Here

Send us the address and we will pull the closed comparable sales so you know what it is actually worth before you decide what to offer.

How to Make an Offer That Starts From Value

The asking price is a seller's opinion, and sometimes it is a bad one. Before deciding what to offer, work out what the property is worth from closed comparable sales: what similar properties nearby actually sold for recently, adjusted for the ways yours differs. That gives you a range you can defend, which is a much better position than a number you arrived at by subtracting a percentage from someone else's guess.

This matters more than it sounds, because your lender will do the same exercise. An appraiser works from those same closed sales, and if your offer runs well above what they support, the loan will be sized against the lower figure and you will be covering the difference in cash. Knowing the evidence in advance means you are choosing that deliberately rather than discovering it three weeks in.

Then read the situation. A property listed two weeks ago in an area with little inventory is a different negotiation from one that has been available four months and reduced twice. Time on market is public, price history is often visible, and both tell you how much room there is. So does the seller's motivation when it is knowable, though you should never assume it.

Our page on how a home gets priced is written for sellers, and reading it from the other side is one of the more useful things a buyer can do. The recently sold homes pages show the closed sales both you and the appraiser will be working from.

How to Make an Offer Stronger Without Paying More

Sellers are choosing the offer most likely to close. Everything that reduces their uncertainty makes you more competitive, and none of these costs you a dollar more in price.

Real pre-approval

A lender who has seen documents, not a conversation. Sellers and their agents can tell the difference, and it is the first thing a listing agent checks. Get it before you tour anything.

A shorter inspection period

Shortening the window is far better than removing it. You keep the protection and the seller gets certainty sooner. Line up your inspector in advance so a short period is realistic rather than reckless.

A larger deposit

It signals commitment because it is what you risk by defaulting outside your contingencies. It still applies to your purchase, so it costs you nothing except having the funds available earlier.

Flexibility on dates

Sellers often care more about when than about the last few thousand. Ask what closing date suits them and match it. It is the cheapest concession in real estate and almost nobody offers it.

How to Make an Offer Without Waiving Protections

In a competitive situation someone will suggest removing a contingency to win. It works, and it is the most expensive way to be competitive, so it deserves a clear head rather than a quick decision at the point you are already emotionally committed to the house.

Waiving the inspection is the one we would push back on hardest in Florida, because the things that go wrong here are financial as much as structural. A property can be sound and still be difficult or ruinously expensive to insure, and roof age alone can decide that. The inspection period is where you find that out while you can still leave. Giving it up to win by a small margin can commit you to a problem far larger than the margin.

Waiving the financing contingency means you may be obligated to close whether or not your loan comes through, and your deposit is at risk if it does not. Waiving the appraisal contingency, or agreeing an appraisal gap, means committing to cover a shortfall in cash. Both can be reasonable for a buyer with genuine reserves. Both are dangerous for a buyer who is stretching, which is exactly the buyer most tempted to use them.

The better route is to compete on certainty rather than on protection: shorten the inspection period instead of removing it, raise the deposit, get properly pre-approved, match the seller's preferred dates. See what happens when an appraisal comes in low and the Florida home inspection guide for what you would be giving up.

After You Make an Offer

Expect a counter rather than a yes. A counter is a good outcome: it means the seller wants to trade, and the negotiation usually moves on terms as much as on price. If you are close on number, look for what else you can give that costs you little, such as the closing date or a shorter inspection period.

Once you are under contract, the clock starts and most of the deadlines are yours. The deposit is due, the inspection period runs, and financing and appraisal have to happen inside the timeline you agreed. Missing a date can cost you your deposit, so put every deadline in a calendar the day the contract is signed and work backwards from each one.

Our post on earnest money covers how the deposit works in a Florida transaction, and what a buyer's agent does covers who is tracking all of this on your behalf if you have representation.

Questions About How to Make an Offer

How much should I offer on a house?

Start from what the property is worth rather than from the asking price. Pull the closed comparable sales, adjust for the differences, and you have a defensible range. Then decide where in that range to come in based on how long it has been listed, how much competition there is, and how much you want it. Offering a fixed percentage below asking is not a strategy, because the asking price may itself be wrong in either direction.

What makes an offer stronger without paying more?

Certainty. A documented pre-approval rather than a pre-qualification, a larger deposit, a shorter inspection period, flexibility on the closing date to suit the seller, and fewer conditions overall. Sellers are choosing the offer most likely to close, so anything that reduces their risk is worth real money and costs you nothing in price.

Should I waive the inspection to win?

We would advise against it, particularly in Florida. The inspection period is what lets you discover that a roof is at the end of its life, that the property is hard to insure, or that there is unpermitted work. Waiving it to win a bidding contest can commit you to a property with a problem that costs more than the amount you were competing over. There are better ways to be competitive.

What is an escalation clause?

A term that automatically raises your offer above competing offers, up to a stated ceiling. It can win a property without you guessing high. It also tells the seller your maximum, which is information you do not otherwise give away, and not all sellers accept them. Use it deliberately and understand you are showing your hand.

What is an appraisal gap clause?

A promise to cover a shortfall in cash, up to a stated amount, if the appraisal comes in below your offer. It makes you competitive because it removes the seller's appraisal risk. Understand it precisely: you are committing cash you must actually have, on top of your down payment, and it is not refundable simply because you were surprised.

How much earnest money should I put down?

Enough to look serious for the price band, which varies by market and property. It is not a fee, it is a deposit that applies to your purchase, and you generally get it back if you cancel within your contingencies. What matters as much as the amount is when it becomes non-refundable, which is a contract term rather than a fixed rule, so read it.

Can I offer below asking price?

Of course, and whether it works depends on the evidence behind it rather than the boldness of it. An offer supported by closed comparable sales and by how long the property has been listed is a reasonable position that a seller can evaluate. An offer that is simply low invites no response. If several properties in the area sold well below their asking prices, say so.

General guidance only, current as of August 2026, and not legal advice. Deposit amounts and contract deadlines are negotiated terms rather than fixed rules, so read your contract. Consumer guidance on buying is published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Reviewed by Onias Derilus, Florida Real Estate Broker, license BK3276618.

How to Make an Offer You Can Defend

Send us the address of anything you are considering and we will pull the closed comparable sales an appraiser would use. Free, and useful whether or not you work with us.

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