Making an offer
Conditional vs unconditional offers
Why sellers may prefer fewer conditions, why buyers use them, and why unconditional isn't automatically the stronger strategy.
- An unconditional offer removes the seller's risk that the sale falls through — a genuine reason a seller might prefer it, even at a lower price.
- Each condition should answer a specific unresolved question: finance, inspection, valuation, or a dependent sale — not be kept or dropped by habit.
- Removing a condition moves risk from the contract onto the buyer personally; it doesn't remove the risk.
- A deposit generally can't be recovered simply because the buyer changes their mind once the contract is unconditional.
Why sellers may prefer fewer conditions
A seller weighing two offers isn't just comparing price — an unconditional offer removes the risk that the sale falls through if finance, an inspection or the sale of another property doesn't come together. That's a genuine reason a seller might prefer a lower unconditional offer over a higher conditional one. It doesn't follow that removing conditions is automatically the stronger strategy for the buyer — it's a transfer of risk, not a free improvement.
Why buyers use conditions
A private-sale buyer can negotiate conditions such as loan approval naming the specific lender, the sale of an existing property, or a satisfactory building or pest inspection (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Each condition answers a specific unresolved question: finance uncertainty, valuation risk, undiscovered defects, or a chain dependent on another sale. An auction buyer generally can't add these unless the seller specifically agrees (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026) — which is exactly why conditions are the private-sale route's genuine structural advantage.
What removing a condition actually does
Removing a condition doesn't make the underlying risk disappear — it moves who carries it. Once unconditional, a deposit generally can't be recovered simply because the buyer changes their mind, and the deposit itself becomes eligible for early release to the seller after the qualifying period (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). If finance later falls through, a building defect turns out to be serious, or the valuation comes in low, those risks now sit with the buyer rather than being addressed by a condition negotiated in advance.
Worked example
Two buyers offer on the same property. Buyer A offers $700,000 subject to finance and a building inspection. Buyer B offers $690,000 unconditional. The seller accepts Buyer B's lower offer for the certainty — a rational seller decision. Buyer B's "win" only pays off if their finance, inspection and valuation would genuinely have cleared anyway; if a defect had emerged after signing, Buyer B would have no condition-based way out, where Buyer A would.
Practical checklist
Before deciding which conditions to keep
- List what specific risk each condition in your offer is meant to address
- Confirm which of those risks are genuinely resolved already, not just assumed to be
- Ask what happens to your deposit if you remove a condition and something goes wrong
- Don't remove a condition purely because a seller or agent implies it improves your chances
Questions for a professional
- For this specific contract, which conditions do I actually still need?
- What would I lose if I removed this condition and the underlying risk eventuated?
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- Buying property by private sale — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
- Buying property at auction — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.