Offer Subjects Explained: Financing, Inspection, Documents
First-time buyers in Greater Vancouver tend to stall on the same question: what subjects (conditions) should go into the offer, how many, and for how long? Too few feels unprotected; too many and the seller won’t bite. Here are BC’s standard subjects one by one, and where the balance point sits.
What subjects are
Subjects are conditions written into the Contract of Purchase and Sale for the buyer’s benefit. Within the agreed window (often about seven days, as the contract states), the buyer completes each check and then removes the subjects in writing — only then does the contract become firm. If the deadline passes without removal, the contract dies and the deposit is dealt with as the contract provides. Subjects are different from BC’s statutory rescission period: the home buyer rescission right gives you three business days after acceptance to walk away for a fee of 0.25% of the price, no reason needed. Subjects are the negotiated investigation period on top of that.
The six standard subjects
- Financing: final mortgage approval. Keep it even with a pre-approval — a pre-approval isn’t an approval of this property; the lender still appraises the home itself.
- Inspection: a full check by a licensed home inspector. Don’t skip it on older homes — inspection is your first line of defence against asbestos, Poly-B plumbing and oil tanks.
- Strata documents: for condos and townhouses — the Form B, two years of minutes, the depreciation report and financials. See our guide, How to Read Strata Documents When Buying a Condo in BC.
- Title search: easements, covenants and charges registered against the property.
- Property Disclosure Statement review: the seller’s written disclosure, checked line by line against the inspection.
- Insurance: confirmation the home can be insured at a reasonable premium — older homes, Poly-B pipe or an oil-tank history can make insurance expensive or unavailable.
How many, and how long: the balance point
- In a normal market: financing + inspection + documents (for strata) is the standard package, with about seven days to run them.
- In competition: shorten the window and pre-inspect before offering — but don’t strip every subject to win. Removing inspection and document review entirely means buying unknown risk at full price.
- From the seller’s chair: fewer subjects and a shorter window make an offer more attractive; at the same price, sellers almost always take the cleaner offer. That’s why preparation — a real pre-approval, a pre-inspection — is worth money.
Three traps that catch real buyers
- Treating a pre-approval as a done deal, deleting the financing subject, then getting squeezed when the appraisal lands below the sale price;
- Misreading the removal deadline — a late notice means a dead contract;
- Saying “we’re good on subjects” out loud — removal must be written and delivered to count.
Subjects exist to turn unknown risk into known decisions within a few days. Using them well is one of the places a good agent earns their fee — a point we expand on in Why Us.
I’m Jack Zhu, a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Select Properties, licensed for 14 years. If you’re preparing an offer and want the subjects and timeline mapped out first, call me at 604-889-1640.
This post is general information, not legal advice; contract terms should be confirmed with your lawyer or notary.
