What conditions should I put in my offer?
Financing and inspection at minimum, plus status certificate review on a condo. Each is a dated right to walk away with your deposit, and each one you remove makes your offer stronger and your position worse.
Financing. Gives you an exit if the lender declines the property or appraises it low. A pre-approval does not replace it, because pre-approval is about you and not about the house.
Inspection. Usually two to five days, and it lets you walk or renegotiate on what the inspection finds. On a property you have not had inspected, this is the difference between discovering a structural problem and owning one.
Status certificate review, on any condo. Ten day production plus a few days for your lawyer to report.
Sale of existing home, if you need the proceeds. Sellers dislike it and it weakens your offer significantly, but the alternative is bridge financing or owning two homes.
Every condition has a deadline in calendar days and it is enforced. Waiving one can be a rational trade for a stronger offer, provided you know what you are accepting: an appraisal gap you can fund in cash, or a house you have already had inspected before bidding.
Next questions
What happens if my financing falls through after I have an accepted offer?
If you kept a financing condition and it fails within the deadline, you walk away and your deposit is returned. If you waived it, you must close anyway or breach the agreement, losing the deposit and exposing yourself to a claim for the seller's loss.
Ontario
What is the difference between a waiver and a notice of fulfillment?
A waiver removes a condition you could have relied on. A notice of fulfillment confirms it was satisfied. Both make the deal firmer, and which one you sign can matter if a problem surfaces later.
Ontario
How do bidding wars actually work in Toronto?
The property is listed below market, offers are held to a set date, and you bid blind: you are told how many competing offers there are but not what they contain. Winning usually requires no conditions, which is where the risk sits.
City of Toronto