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Real estate law

The various types of proposals to purchase

The proposal to purchase a house may take on several forms:

• the offer to purchase

• the counter-offer

• the unilateral promise to purchase (i.e. option).

The offer to purchase differs in many ways from the promise to purchase, in particular, with respect to the right in principle to revoke it before receipt of the acceptance (if the offer does not have a deadline) and the liability that applies in the event that it is breached. Where a proposal to purchase is validly accepted, it generally becomes a bilateral contract binding both parties. As the name implies, it presupposes that another contract, the sale, will follow. Already at the stage of the preliminary contract, the purchaser must buy and the vendor must sell in accordance with the terms and conditions of the preliminary contract. Be careful when confronted with the many forms available. If you do not fully understand all the niceties, you could find yourself:

• paying a non-refundable deposit

• undertaking to respect absolute deadlines

• renouncing warranties.