Making an offer in Northern VirginiaWhat to offer, and the terms that win

In a home’s first week, sellers here often see several offers, and 63% of those homes sold over asking.¹ The offers that win usually combine a strong price with terms that make the seller’s life easy and the sale certain.

One thing I never send: a personal “love letter” about your family. It can bring fair housing problems for everyone involved. Let the price and the terms speak.

An escalation clause (an addendum to your offer) says: I offer this price; if the seller gets a higher real offer, I will beat it by a set step, up to a cap. It keeps you from overpaying when there is no competition, and keeps you in the race when there is.⁸

Three things to settle before you use one. Ask to see the competing offer that triggers it. Choose a cap you would truly pay, with the appraisal in mind: the loan follows the appraisal, not your cap. And know that some sellers dislike escalations and just ask everyone for a best and final offer instead.

Your lender sends an appraiser to confirm the home is worth the price. When a bidding war pushes the price up, the appraisal can come in lower. The loan is based on the lower number, so the difference comes out of your pocket unless you renegotiate or cancel. An appraisal contingency gives you the right to do that.

With a VA or FHA loan, that right is built in. The VA’s clause says you are not obliged to buy, and lose no earnest money, if the price is above the VA’s value; you may still choose to go ahead.³ FHA’s amendatory clause works the same way.⁴ That is why NVAR’s waiver form notes that waiving the appraisal contingency does not apply to FHA, VA or USDA loans.⁸ With a conventional loan, some buyers offer to cover a set part of any gap to compete.

Your earnest money deposit goes with the offer and counts toward your down payment at settlement. Virginia has no set amount; you and the seller agree on it in the contract. After ratification, the broker puts it in an escrow account by the fifth business banking day, unless the contract says otherwise, or delivers it to the escrow agent the contract names.²

If the sale falls through, the deposit is released only when both sides agree in writing, a court orders it, or the contract’s own terms allow it.² That is the real job of your contingencies: as long as you end the contract within one of them, on time and in writing, your deposit comes back. Miss a deadline, and it can be at risk. Before you wire it, call the escrow agent at a number you looked up yourself: wire fraud targets exactly this moment.

A home inspection contingency gives you a set number of days to have the home inspected and act on what you learn. Shortening it, to a few days, is usually a better way to compete than waiving it.

If you do waive it, you are not giving up the facts: Virginia sellers still give the disclosure statement, and in an HOA you can still cancel within the resale certificate’s review period.⁹

Do you need a buyer’s agent? No law requires one. You can buy on your own, or work with the listing agent, who may represent you only if both you and the seller agree in writing, after a written explanation of what that means.⁶

If you work with an agent, Virginia requires a written agreement first. It must state when it ends (90 days if it says nothing), what the agent will do, and how much and how the agent is paid.⁵ Since August 2024, agents in MLSs like Bright also sign that agreement with you before touring a home.⁷ The pay is negotiable, and it is written down; sometimes a seller pays part or all of it, and we talk about that on every offer.

What an agent adds at offer time: the street-by-street sales behind your number, a call to the listing agent to learn what the seller values, contract terms that protect your deposit, and the deadlines tracked after ratification.

The same home draws different offers in different months. In the last 24 months, 54% of homes sold over asking in the busiest spring month, and 30% in the quietest early-fall month.¹ Timing is a decision, not a coincidence: in fall and winter, buyers face fewer rivals and more room to negotiate.