THE OFFER TO BUY: A CRUCIAL STEP IN THE BUYING OFFER

The offer to buy is one of the most important and crucial steps in the buying process.
It includes clauses, terms and conditions of the sale, most of which will be reported in the final contract; it is a proper agreement, binding for both parties, the seller and the buyer; it defines the sale and therefore it is of utmost importance to devote time to it and make sure it is properly done.

The offer to buy is usually made of a template estate agents use to fill in. However, these templates usually offer very little space for specific legal clauses, since the absence of any condition makes the offer almost immediately binding and the deposit almost immediately payable, hence the absence of conditions makes the offer more convenient for the seller.
If you wish to add specific clauses, you need to make sure that these are properly and legally worded, or they won’t be valid nor binding.
Please note that the use of agencies’ templates is not binding, and that offers drafted on blank sheets of paper are equally valid; in private sales (still very popular in Italy) the offers are usually drafted just on blank sheets of paper.

In the offer to buy, you can add suspensive or resolutive conditions, you can spell out the way the deposit is paid (and protected), you can include deadlines to fulfil specific requirements, etc.

Sometimes, the same requirement can be included in a suspensive or in a resolutive condition.
It goes without saying that, where it is possible to choose which type of condition to include, including a suspensive or a resolutive condition depends on the circumstances, and that the kind of condition selected also determines when the deposit is paid.

Also, if you wish the deposit to be paid into the notary’s escrow account, a specific and clear clause must be added in the offer to buy.

As you can see, a lot of factors must be taken into account when it’s time to draft an offer to buy and to decide which conditions to include, when to pay the deposit, whom to pay the deposit to, etc. and it all depends on specific circumstances and on how the different factors interact. Different scenarios can lead to different solutions and different arrangements of conditions included in the offer to buy.

This article is not exhaustive and is a guidance only.

If you need assistance in the buying process, please contact us.

 

Barbara De Benedittis Relocation and Legal in Italy