A Practical Email Template for Submitting Your Offer
A written offer should be clear enough for the seller and their advisers to understand without reconstructing the terms from several phone calls. The wording does not need to be aggressive or overly legalistic.
The following structure can help create a useful record. It is not a substitute for a formal contract or legal advice, and the required offer process may differ between jurisdictions and agencies.
Example written-offer structure
Subject: Written offer for [property address]. We offer to purchase the property for [price], subject to [conditions]. Our proposed deposit is [amount or percentage], with settlement in [number] days. This offer remains open until [date and time]. Please confirm receipt and advise whether it will be presented or referred to the seller.
Include the buyer’s full name, contact details and any information the agent reasonably needs to identify the offer. Do not include claims about finance approval, legal readiness or conditions unless they are accurate.
Before signing a contract or formal offer document, ask your conveyancer or solicitor to review it. An email expressing interest may not carry the same legal effect as a signed contractual offer.
What to Do When the Agent Says There Are Multiple Offers
A multiple-offer situation does not automatically mean the agent is conducting an auction. The seller may invite several buyers to submit their best price and terms, negotiate with one buyer at a time or choose an offer that is not the highest.
The agent may not disclose another buyer’s exact price or confidential conditions. You should therefore avoid trying to guess the competing offer and instead decide what the property is worth to you.
1Confirm the deadline: Ask when the seller intends to review the offers and whether the process has a formal closing time.
2Ask whether revisions are allowed: Find out whether buyers will receive another opportunity or should submit their best terms now.
3Submit complete terms: Make the price, deposit, conditions, inclusions and settlement proposal easy to compare.
4Stay within your limit: Do not treat the existence of another offer as evidence that a higher price is justified.
A seller may prefer certainty, timing or simpler conditions over a marginally higher amount. That does not mean buyers should remove protections without understanding the consequences.
Your strongest offer is not necessarily the highest number you can produce. It is the best combination of price and terms that remains acceptable for your circumstances.
Price Is Only One Part of the Seller’s Decision
Two offers at the same price may present different levels of certainty and risk to the seller. Settlement timing, deposit, finance conditions, inspections and requested inclusions can influence which proposal the seller prefers.
PriceThe purchase amount must still be supported by your budget, comparable evidence and risk assessment.
SettlementA settlement period matching the seller’s circumstances may be valuable when it also suits the buyer.
ConditionsFewer or shorter conditions may appear stronger but can transfer more risk to the buyer.
DepositThe proposed deposit and timing should be clearly recorded and financially manageable.
InclusionsFixtures, appliances and other requested items should be clearly dealt with in the contract.
ReadinessPrompt legal review and organised finance discussions may reduce avoidable delays.
Ask the agent whether the seller has a preferred settlement period or another practical priority. You may be able to improve the offer without increasing the price or abandoning a necessary protection.
Private Sales, Auctions and Pre-Auction Offers Are Different
The offer process can change according to the method of sale. Advice that applies to an ordinary private negotiation may not apply in the same way to an auction or a pre-auction transaction.
Private saleThe buyer and seller negotiate price and terms, commonly through the selling agent and contract process.
Pre-auction offerThe seller may accept, reject or use the offer to reconsider whether the auction should proceed.
Auction purchaseDifferent contract, cooling-off and bidding rules may apply, and buyers should prepare before bidding.
If the property is scheduled for auction, ask whether the seller is genuinely considering prior offers and what form the offer must take. Do not assume that submitting an offer guarantees the auction will be cancelled or that you will receive another chance to improve it.
Prepare before auction dayComplete legal review, finance discussions, property inspections and valuation work before bidding. Auction contracts may provide less flexibility to add conditions after the bid is accepted.
How to Create a Useful Evidence Trail
If you believe an offer was mishandled, a clear record is more useful than a disagreement based only on competing memories. Keep documents organised from the beginning of the negotiation.
1Save the offer: Keep the signed document, email and all attached terms.
2Record timing: Keep the date and time the offer was sent, received and followed up.
3Confirm verbal discussions: Send a short email summarising important statements made by phone.
4Keep the response: Retain any acceptance, rejection, counteroffer or explanation from the agency.
5Separate facts from assumptions: Record what the agent actually said rather than what you believe may have happened.
A useful follow-up email might state: “Thank you for speaking with me today. My understanding is that the seller has instructed the agency not to consider further offers. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.”
This gives the agent an opportunity to clarify the position and creates a more reliable record if professional advice or a complaint is later required.
When a Complaint May Be Appropriate
A rejected offer is not, by itself, evidence that the agent has acted unlawfully. Sellers are generally free to reject offers and may choose between buyers according to price, conditions and other priorities.
A complaint may be worth considering when there is specific evidence of misleading conduct, a failure to follow an applicable statutory requirement, false statements about the offer process or another identifiable professional breach.
1Raise it with the agent: Ask for a clear written explanation of what occurred.
2Contact the principal: Provide the agency licence holder or principal with the documents and timeline.
3Obtain legal advice: Ask whether the conduct affects your legal position or available remedies.
4Use the correct regulator: Contact the consumer, fair-trading or property regulator for the relevant state or territory.
Provide concise facts, copies of the documents and the outcome you are seeking. Avoid accusing the agent of fraud, dishonesty or a criminal offence unless you have an appropriate evidentiary and legal basis.
Questions to Ask Before Increasing Your Offer
An agent may ask for a higher or improved offer without providing detailed information about the competition. Before changing your position, return to the property evidence and your own limits.
1Has new value evidence appeared? Another buyer’s interest does not automatically change the property’s underlying value.
2What does the increase cost? Consider the deposit, repayments, transfer duty and reduced financial buffer.
3Are the conditions changing? A higher price combined with reduced protections can increase risk in two ways.
4What are the alternatives? Compare the offer with other properties that meet the same brief.
Negotiating from evidence can help prevent the discussion from becoming a contest with an unseen buyer. Read the WTP guide to investment property negotiation for more on walk-away prices and comparable sales.
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