When an offer comes in, almost every seller looks at one number first. Completely understandable.
But the price is only part of the story. The conditions tell you how likely that price is to ever reach your bank account, and reading them properly is one of the more valuable things I do for a seller.
The direct answer
Conditions are the windows where a buyer can still walk away. Fewer and shorter conditions mean less risk for you. But the goal is not to eliminate them at any cost, it is to understand which buyer is genuinely likely to close.
A conditional offer from a strong buyer beats a clean offer from a weak one, every time.
The two you will see most
Financing. The buyer's lender has to approve the deal. Five business days is the norm.
Home inspection. The buyer has an inspector go through the property. Also commonly five business days, though this one can often be shortened to about three, since it is mostly a matter of scheduling.
Once all conditions are met, the deal goes firm, and that is the moment your home is genuinely sold. Not when one clears, when every one of them does.
Why you cannot squeeze financing the way you can squeeze inspection
This is the part I want sellers to really hear, because it is where well-meaning pressure backfires.
Inspection timing is mostly about booking an inspector. That is why trimming it to three business days is often reasonable.
Financing is different. The buyer is not the one deciding how fast it moves. The lender is. Underwriting a file and issuing an approval commonly takes four to five business days, and no amount of pressure from your side changes the bank's queue.
And if the lender requires an appraisal, add more time. The appraisal has to be scheduled, attended, and then the report has to be written and submitted. That can be another day or two on its own.
I have watched listing agents push a buyer down to two business days on financing. It feels like a win in the moment. In practice it almost never holds, because the lender's timeline does not care how the offer was negotiated.
What usually happens next is that everyone signs an amendment to extend the financing condition anyway. So the pressure bought you nothing except paperwork and an anxious week. And if that extension does not get agreed, you have a failed deal, which costs you far more than the three days you thought you were saving, because now your listing is back on the market with days on market showing and a story attached to it.
Why I ask the buyer's agent questions
Here is something a good listing agent should be doing that most sellers never see.
I do not represent the buyer. But before I advise you on an offer, I will call the buyer's agent and ask about their client's financing. Are they pre-approved or only pre-qualified. Which lender, and how long have they been working with them. Is the down payment confirmed and where is it sitting. Is an appraisal likely to be required.
The buyer's agent does not have to answer all of that, and I would never expect them to share anything confidential about their client. But the conversation itself is informative. A clear, specific answer from an agent who obviously knows their buyer's file is reassuring. Vagueness, or an agent who has clearly never asked, tells you something too.
It is not a guarantee. It is a read on whether that financing condition is a formality or a genuine risk, and it costs one phone call.
The other conditions worth knowing
Sale of the buyer's property. The purchase only completes if the buyer sells their own home first. This one has real implications for your listing's momentum, and I wrote about it in detail in the sale of property condition.
Status certificate. For condos, the buyer reviews the corporation's financial and legal health. Standard, expected, and covered in my post on status certificates.
Insurance. Less common, but it does come up, and it is almost always older homes. Insurers care about things like knob and tube and aluminum wiring because of fire risk. Some will insure with conditions, some require the wiring to be dealt with within a set window after closing, and some will not write the policy at all. If your home has older wiring, expect this to surface, and plan for it rather than being surprised by it.
Well and septic. For rural properties, buyers will often want water quality testing and a septic inspection. Completely normal outside serviced areas, and worth building realistic time into the schedule.
Lawyer or solicitor review. Usually short, and rarely a problem.
How I actually weigh an offer
Price matters. So do these.
- Who is the buyer, really? Are they pre-approved or just pre-qualified? Is the deposit meaningful? A strong deposit is a signal of seriousness, because it is money they stand to lose.
- How many conditions, and how long? Each one is a window where the deal can end.
- Is the timeline realistic? An aggressive timeline that cannot actually be met is not a strength, it is a risk.
- Does the closing date work for you? Your timeline is negotiable too, and it has real value.
- Are there unusual terms? Odd inclusions, exclusions, or requests deserve a close read.
An offer that is slightly lower but genuinely likely to close is often worth more than a higher offer that collapses in eight days and puts you back at square one.
The thing you can do before any offer arrives
Tell me about the property's issues at the very start.
If there is older wiring, a past leak, a permit that was never closed, anything at all, I want to know before we list, not during a conditional period. Buyers in this market almost always inspect. Whatever is there tends to come out.
Knowing early means we plan for it, price for it, and handle it deliberately. Finding out during conditions means handling it while the buyer holds the leverage.
The takeaway
Do not read an offer as a single number. Read it as a number attached to a set of risks and a timeline.
Understand which conditions are compressible and which are not. Respect the lender's clock. And judge the buyer, not just the bid.
If you are getting ready to sell and want someone who will walk you through an offer line by line rather than just the top number, that is exactly the conversation I like having.