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Making an Offer

Writing an offer on a multiplex home in BC

An offer on a home in BC is a written contract, usually on a standard form called the Contract of Purchase and Sale. Once you and the seller both sign it, it binds you both. Writing it well is the single most important thing you do as a buyer, and you do it before you own anything.

By MultiLiving Editorial · Updated October 23, 2026

Questions about this guide: Gary Paul, REALTOR®, Personal Real Estate Corporation, Grand Central Realty, 778-828-7476

This page goes through what the contract holds, how the deposit works, and what happens after you send it, using BCFSA's buyer guidance.

The short version

  • An offer is usually written on the standard Contract of Purchase and Sale, and your agent goes through it with you line by line.
  • The contract is legally binding once both sides sign it, even if it contains subject clauses.
  • The seller can accept, reject, ignore your offer until its deadline passes, or make a counter-offer.
  • The deposit is usually held in the brokerage's trust account as stakeholder, for neither side.
  • You receive a written disclosure of your right of rescission when you write the offer.

What the contract contains

BCFSA describes the offer as a written offer to purchase, usually recorded on a standard form entitled Contract of Purchase and Sale. Your agent goes through it with you line by line, makes sure the terms reflect what you intend, and makes sure you understand it before you sign.

It contains standard information, such as your name and address and the property's legal description, and the terms that matter to you. The ones that decide most purchases are the price, the deposit and when it is paid, the subject clauses and their deadlines, the completion date when ownership transfers, the possession date when you can move in, and what is included in the sale, such as appliances or window coverings.

BCFSA's warning is worth reading twice: once you and the seller both sign, a legally binding contract has been formed, and either of you can go to court to make the other perform it. A contract with subject clauses is binding as soon as it is signed.

  • Price, and whether anything is included in it.
  • Deposit amount, and when it is paid.
  • Subject clauses, with a date by which each must be removed.
  • Completion date, possession date and adjustment date.
  • The offer's deadline for the seller to answer.

The deposit

BCFSA says the deposit is usually paid with the offer or after it is accepted, and is usually held in your agent's brokerage trust account. The brokerage holds it as stakeholder, which BCFSA explains as a neutral party, holding it on behalf of neither the buyer nor the seller.

Getting it back is not automatic. If your contract has subject clauses and you do not remove them, both you and the seller must sign a separate release form before the brokerage pays the deposit back, except when you use the 3-day right of rescission. If one side refuses to sign, BCFSA says you will need legal advice, and the brokerage may pay the money into the BC Supreme Court for a judge to decide.

Ask how much the deposit should be and when it is due, because both are terms of the contract and no law sets an amount for a resale purchase. Interest has its own rule. Unless the contract says otherwise, interest earned on a deposit is payable to the Real Estate Foundation of BC. If someone other than a brokerage will hold your deposit, BCFSA advises getting independent legal advice about how it is held and released.

What the seller can do with your offer

BCFSA sets out four options for a seller. The seller can accept the offer as written, which forms a binding contract. The seller can reject it, with no duty to accept or counter. The seller can ignore it, and when the deadline in your offer passes, it is as if they had rejected it. Or the seller can make a counter-offer.

A counter-offer is any change at all. BCFSA says that if the seller changes anything, the seller has rejected your offer and made a new offer back to you. You then have the same choices: accept, reject or counter again. Once you counter, the seller cannot go back and accept your earlier offer.

In our view, the deadline is the most overlooked line in an offer. A short deadline puts pressure on the seller, and a long one gives them time to wait for other buyers. Ask your agent what the seller's situation suggests.

When several buyers want the same home

Multiple offers happen when several buyers compete for one home. BCFSA notes that buyers in that position look for ways to make their offer more appealing, and that some write subject-free offers, which carry several risks.

The seller's duties are limited. BCFSA says a seller does not need to tell each buyer what the other offers are, can choose the offer they consider best and reject yours with no chance to improve it, and does not have to disclose that other offers exist. A seller is not permitted to lie, though. If your agent asks whether your offer is in competition, the seller can answer truthfully or decline to share.

Before you compete, decide your limit and which conditions you will keep. A multiplex home is a share in a small strata, so the strata documents are the condition we advise buyers to keep in almost every case.

Before you write: the strata's information certificate

For a strata home, the most useful document can be in your hands before you sign anything. Section 59 of the Strata Property Act requires a strata to provide an information certificate, called a Form B, within one week of a request by an owner, a purchaser, or a person either of them authorizes. Before your offer is accepted you are not yet a purchaser, so ask the listing agent for a recent Form B from the seller, or for the seller's authorization to order one.

Section 59(3) lists what it must disclose: the monthly strata fees; any money the owner owes the strata; any approved special levy still to be paid and its due date; any amount by which this year's expenses are expected to exceed the budget; the contingency reserve fund balance less approved spending; bylaw changes not yet filed; 3/4 or unanimous resolutions not yet filed; notice of any upcoming resolution needing a 3/4, 80% or unanimous vote; any court, arbitration or tribunal case the strata is part of; outstanding notices or work orders; the parking stalls and storage lockers allocated to the home; and a summary of the strata's insurance. Section 59(4) attaches the rules, the current budget and the most recent depreciation report, if any.

Section 59(5) adds a protection worth knowing: the information in the certificate is binding on the strata in its dealings with a person who relied on it and acted reasonably. In our view, reading a Form B before you write an offer is the single best hour a multiplex buyer can spend.

Identity checks you should expect

BCFSA's agency page says that whenever a licensee represents a party in a real estate transaction, you will be asked for personal details to verify your identity, such as government-issued identification and what you do for a living. The Government of Canada requires real estate licensees to collect this information to prevent money laundering.

Your licensee must keep that information confidential, other than when required by law. If a licensee suspects money laundering or terrorist financing in a transaction, they must report it to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). Have your identification ready when you write the offer, so the paperwork does not slow you down. Your lawyer or notary and your lender will ask for identification too.

The rescission disclosure you will sign

When you write an offer, BCFSA says you will also receive a disclosure of your right of rescission, either in the contract or on a separate form. It tells you that the right cannot be waived by either side, how long it lasts, how the amount you would pay the seller is calculated and paid, that the rest of any deposit is returned to you, and which sales are exempt.

Read it with the contract. The three business days start when the acceptance is signed, so knowing the dates before you sign lets you plan the inspection and the strata review inside or alongside them.

Questions buyers ask

A Contract of Purchase and Sale is the standard form used to write an offer on a home in BC, according to BCFSA. It records the price, deposit, subject clauses, completion and possession dates and what is included. Once the buyer and the seller both sign it, it is a legally binding contract, even if it contains conditions.

On a resale home in BC, BCFSA says the deposit is usually paid with the offer or after the offer is accepted, and the exact timing is a term of the contract. It is usually held in the buyer's agent's brokerage trust account as stakeholder, for neither side, until the purchase completes or the deposit is released.

If your subject clauses are not met, BCFSA says you do not automatically get your deposit back. Both you and the seller must sign a separate release form, except when you use the 3-day rescission right. If one side refuses to sign, you need legal advice, and the brokerage may pay the deposit into court for a judge to decide.

Unless the contract says otherwise, interest earned on a deposit held by a brokerage in BC is payable to the Real Estate Foundation of BC, according to BCFSA. If you want the interest paid to you or the seller, the contract has to say so. Ask your agent before you sign if this matters to you.

A seller can ignore your offer, according to BCFSA. Every offer has a deadline for the seller to respond, and once it passes, it is as if the seller had rejected the offer. If either side wants to start again after that, a new offer has to be written and signed, with new dates.

Once a counter-offer is made, the earlier offer is gone. BCFSA explains that any change to an offer is a rejection and a new offer, so after you counter a seller's counter-offer, the seller cannot return to an earlier version and accept it. Only the latest offer on the table can be accepted.

An offer on a BC home usually sets a deadline for the seller to answer, a date by which each subject clause must be removed, a completion date when ownership transfers, a possession date when you can move in, and an adjustment date for splitting property tax and strata fees. BCFSA notes that completion and possession are not always the same day.

A subject-free offer gives up your conditions, so you are bound without first confirming financing, the inspection or the strata documents. BCFSA says it comes with several risks in multiple-offer situations and advises discussing them with your licensee first. In our view, a multiplex buyer should keep at least the strata documents condition.

The offer deadline is the date and time by which the seller must answer. If it passes without a signed acceptance, BCFSA says it is as if the seller rejected the offer. A short deadline limits how long a seller can wait for other buyers, and a longer one gives the seller more time to consider.

You should understand every line of the contract before you sign, because it binds you once the seller signs too. BCFSA says your real estate licensee will go through the Contract of Purchase and Sale with you line by line and make sure you understand it. If anything is unclear, ask a lawyer or notary before you sign.

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Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page comes from the body that issues it. Rules and rates change, so each entry says when we checked it.

  1. Offers to Sellers (drafting, subject clauses, sellers' options, multiple offers, rescission). BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
  2. Deposits. BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
  3. Completing Your Purchase. BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
  4. Agency, Your Real Estate Licensee, and You. BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
  5. Strata Property Act, Part 4: Governance (sections 40, 45, 53 and 59). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.

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