Making a subject-free offer

Common questions about subject-free offers

• What does a "subject-free" offer actually mean?+

  An offer to buy comes with conditions — called "subjects" in BC — that have to be satisfied before the deal becomes firm. The common ones are subject to financing (your mortgage comes through), subject to inspection (the home checks out), subject to reviewing the strata documents (for a condo or townhouse), and subject to the sale of your current home. A subject-free offer simply has none of these: the moment the seller accepts it, the deal is firm. That’s what makes it attractive to a seller in a competitive situation — and what makes it risky for you, because the usual ways out are gone.
• Isn’t there a cooling-off period that protects me?+

  There is one, but it’s narrower than most people hope. BC’s Home Buyer Rescission Period gives a buyer of residential property three business days after the offer is accepted to back out for any reason — even on a subject-free deal, and it can’t be waived. But it isn’t a free do-over: you pay a rescission fee of 0.25% of the purchase price (that’s $2,500 on a $1,000,000 home), and three business days is rarely enough time to arrange financing or a proper inspection from scratch. Treat it as a last-resort safety valve, not as a substitute for doing your homework first.

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  The Home Buyer Rescission Period took effect January 3, 2023 under the Property Law Act. The window is three business days after acceptance — business days exclude weekends and BC statutory holidays, so a long weekend can stretch the calendar. The 0.25% fee is payable to the seller and has no cap. The right cancels for any reason at all, but the cost and the short clock mean it works best as protection against a genuine change of heart or a fast-surfacing problem — not as the plan for doing diligence you skipped before writing.
• Why would anyone make a subject-free offer?+

  To win. In a competitive situation — multiple offers on a desirable home — a seller will almost always prefer a clean, subject-free offer over one that could still fall apart on financing or inspection, sometimes even over a slightly higher price that carries conditions. So a subject-free offer can be the thing that gets you the home. The goal isn’t to avoid them on principle; it’s to make one only when you’ve done enough homework beforehand that you’re not actually taking a blind risk.
• How do I make a subject-free offer without flying blind?+

  You front-load the diligence — you do, before writing, the things the subjects would normally let you do after. That usually means getting fully underwritten financing (not just a quick pre-qualification) so the money is genuinely there; arranging a pre-offer inspection where the seller allows it, or attending one from an earlier showing; and reviewing the strata documents (depreciation report, minutes, financials) in advance for a condo or townhouse. Done that way, the offer is subject-free on paper but not reckless in practice. It takes preparation and a bit of luck on timing — which is exactly where having your team lined up early pays off.
• What are the real risks if it goes wrong?+

  They’re serious, which is why this deserves a clear head. If your financing falls through on a firm deal, you’re still legally bound to complete — and if you can’t, you can lose your deposit and potentially be liable for the seller’s losses if they have to resell for less. If an inspection you skipped would have caught a major defect, that’s now your problem. And a strata special assessment you didn’t see coming lands on you. None of this is meant to scare you off; it’s to make sure that if you go subject-free, it’s a decision you make on purpose, with eyes open, having done the work first.