Step 5: Make an offer and negotiate terms

An offer is more than a number. It is a package of price, deposit, financing, contingencies, and dates, and every piece of it tells the seller how likely you are to close. Two offers at the same price can look very different to a seller, and the stronger package wins more often than the higher number. Your agent's job is to build that package around what you can actually do.

How it works in Connecticut

Your agent submits a written offer to the listing agent, along with your pre-approval letter and sometimes a short personal note. The seller can accept, reject, or counter. Once terms are agreed, the deal goes to the attorneys. Connecticut is an attorney state: the seller's attorney typically drafts the purchase contract, your attorney reviews it, and both sides sign along with your deposit. Until that contract is fully signed by everyone, either side can still walk, so we move fast from accepted offer to signed contract, usually within a few days.

Setting the price

The list price is the seller's opening position, not the value. Before you write, your agent pulls recent sales of similar homes in the same town, looks at what is currently on the market, and tells you what the house is worth and what it is likely to sell for. In a slow market that may be below list. In a hot town, a well-priced house may draw multiple offers and sell above it. Knowing which situation you are in is what keeps you from overpaying or losing a house over a few thousand dollars.

The pieces of the offer

Beyond price, these are the terms that make an offer strong or weak:

• Deposit. Your earnest money, held in the listing brokerage's or attorney's trust account and credited to you at closing. A larger deposit signals commitment.
• Financing. Loan type, down payment, and the pre-approval behind it. A local lender with a reputation for closing helps.
• Inspection contingency. Your right to inspect, typically within seven to fourteen days, and to renegotiate or walk away based on what you find.
• Mortgage contingency. Your right to cancel and recover your deposit if you cannot obtain a written loan commitment by a set date.
• Appraisal. What happens if the lender's appraisal comes in below the price. Some buyers agree in advance to cover part of any gap.
• Closing date. Usually 45 to 60 days out for a financed purchase. Flexibility here can be worth money to a seller.
• Inclusions. Appliances, window treatments, the generator, the shed. Spell out what stays.
• Seller concessions. A request that the seller pay part of your closing costs. Useful when cash is tight, but it weakens the offer in a competitive situation.

Competing offers

When a house draws multiple offers, the seller often asks everyone for their highest and best by a deadline. This is where terms matter most. Options include a higher price, a larger deposit, a shorter inspection window, an appraisal gap commitment, or a closing date that fits the seller's plans. An escalation clause, which raises your price in set increments above competing offers up to a cap, is another tool.

What we will not recommend is waiving the inspection outright. A pre-offer inspection or a short inspection window keeps you protected while staying competitive. Losing a house is disappointing. Buying one with a failing septic and no way out is worse.

Negotiating

Most offers get a counter. The seller may come back on price, dates, or inclusions, and you can accept, counter again, or walk. Your agent handles the conversation so it stays professional and so you are not negotiating against yourself. Know your walk-away number before you start, and remember that the seller's agent is obligated to get the seller the best deal, not to be fair to you.

Under contract

Once the contract is signed and your deposit is delivered, the house is under contract and the clock starts. Your inspection window, your mortgage commitment date, and your closing date are all in the contract, and your agent tracks every one. The next two steps, inspection and financing, are where the deal gets done.