Once you have found the house of your dreams, the selling agent will help you write up a purchase contract. This contract is your offer to the Seller. It should include all of the terms and conditions under which you agree to purchase the home and also your offering price. The selling agent will present your contract to the listing agent and the Seller.

The Seller may accept your contract as it is written by signing at the bottom. When this happens, you have a ratified contract. However, in many cases the Seller will counter your offer by changing some terms, including, but not limited to, the sales price, Buyer’s closing costs, specifications on who will be responsible for the transfer tax and recordation fees, or even the date of transfer. If this happens, the selling agent will bring that contract back to you. At this point, you can either accept the offer, reject it, or counter the Seller’s counter offer. Most contracts do not go back and forth very many times before being acceptable to both the Buyer and the Seller.