What is a bully offer in Ontario?

A bully offer, also called a pre-emptive offer, is an offer submitted before the seller's scheduled offer-review date, designed to end the competition before it starts. They are usually firm with no conditions, carry a large deposit, and set a very short irrevocable period of just a few hours so the seller has to decide fast. How it is handled depends on the seller's written direction: if the seller has directed their agent to hold all offers until a set date, the agent generally will not present a pre-emptive one; if the seller is open to considering it, the agent must present it and must notify everyone who registered interest in the property. A bully offer can work, but its strength usually comes from stripping out your own protections and forcing a fast decision, so weigh it carefully.

Are you told how many competing offers there are in Ontario?

Yes, in part. Under Ontario's current rules, a buyer who has submitted a written offer is entitled to know the number of competing offers on the property. The contents of those offers, the prices, conditions, and terms, cannot be shared unless the seller gives written direction to disclose them, and if the seller does, the information must be shared with everyone making an offer. Knowing the count, but not the contents, is meant to keep the process fair, and it is one reason to make sure your own offer is written and registered rather than informal.

What should I check before making an offer on a house in Richmond Hill, Ontario?

Before you sign anything, confirm five things. First, who represents you: in Ontario your agent only owes you a buyer's duties under a written buyer representation agreement, so know whether you have one. Second, the property's parcel register through Ontario's land registry (ONLand), so you know who is on title and what is registered against it. Third, a home inspection, which still matters even though Ontario does not licence inspectors. Fourth, for a condo, the status certificate (a condo corporation must deliver it within 10 days of receiving your request and payment, for a maximum of $100 including taxes, though in practice a management portal usually adds a convenience fee that brings the real cost closer to $150). Fifth, your real numbers: your down payment under the December 2024 rules, your closing costs, and a financing condition that gives your lender time to confirm the mortgage. None of these is exotic in a 2026 buyer's market, and each one is a place to catch a problem while you can still walk away.

Is a buyer's agent free in Ontario?

No, and an agent who tells you it is free is not describing the current rules. Under Ontario's Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA), your brokerage's fee is set in your written buyer representation agreement, it is negotiable, and it is ultimately your responsibility. In many transactions the seller agrees to contribute toward it, often through the listing arrangement or a term negotiated in the offer, but there is no law that requires them to, and if they offer less than your agreed fee you can owe the difference. The honest version is: the fee is negotiated up front and written down, and often the seller covers some or all of it, but you should know the number before you start, not after.

Does my real estate agent actually represent me when I buy a home in Ontario?

Only if you have signed a buyer representation agreement with their brokerage. Since TRESA took full effect on December 1, 2023, the old 'customer' category is gone, replaced by the 'self-represented party.' An agent showing you a home they have listed does not automatically owe you a buyer's duties. The agent who advertises a property, shows it to you, and helps you write the offer may be acting for the seller. Before any of that begins, a registrant must give you the RECO Information Guide, which explains your options. Read it, and ask plainly: are you representing me, or the seller?

What are the risks of buying a power of sale home in Ontario?

A power-of-sale property is sold by the lender, not the homeowner, and that changes your protections. It is sold strictly as-is with the standard representations and warranties struck out, so there is no seller disclosure of defects, and the lender will not repair anything an inspection finds. Appliances and fixtures you saw at a showing can be gone by closing. The original owner keeps a right of redemption: they can reclaim the home by paying their arrears right up until the deed transfers, so a deal can collapse late. If the property is tenanted, you take it subject to the Residential Tenancies Act, and vacant possession is not guaranteed. A power-of-sale purchase can be sound, but it needs a real estate lawyer, a careful title search, and title insurance more than any ordinary purchase does.

How much do I need for a down payment as a first-time buyer in Ontario?

Under the rules that took effect December 15, 2024: 5 percent on a home priced at $500,000 or less; 5 percent on the first $500,000 plus 10 percent on the portion above it for homes between $500,001 and $1,499,999; and 20 percent for homes at $1.5 million or more, where no insured mortgage is available. Anything under 20 percent down requires mortgage default insurance. This matters in Richmond Hill specifically, where the May 2026 average sat around $1.21 million: a single offer can push you across the $1.5 million line, where the minimum down payment jumps to a flat 20 percent. Know which side of that line your price sits on before you fall in love with the house.

Do I still need a home inspection in Ontario if inspectors are not licensed?

Yes, and the fact that they are not licensed is the reason to be careful, not a reason to skip it. Ontario passed the Home Inspection Act in 2017 but never proclaimed it in force, so as of 2026 anyone may legally call themselves a home inspector, with no mandatory licensing, standards, or insurance. Choose an inspector who belongs to a recognized professional association and carries errors-and-omissions insurance, ask what the inspection does and does not cover, and in a 2026 buyer's market write the inspection in as a condition so you have the time to do it properly.

For buyers · Advisory

What to Check Before Making an Offer on a Home in Richmond Hill

The buyer-protection checklist I walk my Richmond Hill clients through before they sign anything: who actually represents you, the documents to pull, what a 2026 offer should be conditional on, and the costs nobody warns you about. Written by a buyer's agent who has worked these streets since 2006.

Originally published January 2006 · Updated 2026 · 10 min read

Jasmina Zivkovic

REALTOR®, RE/MAX Your Community Realty Inc.

I first wrote a version of this page in 2006, under a plainer title: “How can home buyers protect themselves?” Twenty years and two full market cycles later, I am writing it again, because the question has not aged a day. What has changed is the answer. The law that governs how I represent you was rewritten, the down-payment rules moved, and a quiet crime wave gave the old warnings a sharper edge. So this is the 2006 advice, brought up to 2026, for the town I actually work.

I have called Richmond Hill home since the late 1990s and sold real estate from these streets since 2006. In that first article I opened with a warning I still believe is the most useful thing a buyer can hear, so let me give it to you again, in today’s terms.

Who is actually on your side when you buy?

Here is the sentence I wrote in 2006, and it is worth reading slowly: the real estate agent who advertises a property, shows it to a buyer, helps the buyer make decisions, and prepares the offer does not necessarily have the buyer’s best interests in mind. That helpful agent could be acting for the seller, with a duty to get the seller the best deal possible and no such duty to you.

That was true then, and Ontario’s Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA), in full force since December 1, 2023, has since built the rulebook around it. The short version: you are represented only under a signed buyer representation agreement; the old “customer” middle ground is gone, so unsigned you are a “self-represented party” the seller’s agent cannot advise; you must be handed the RECO Information Guide before any services begin; and a brokerage can name one designated agent whose loyalty is yours. The “totally free, paid by the seller” line I wrote in 2006 is no longer accurate either: your fee is negotiable, written into that agreement, and ultimately yours, though the seller often still contributes. I walk through what each of those means, and what representation actually costs now, in how to avoid buying the wrong home.

So the first protective act of buying a home is not about the home at all. It is asking one plain question, out loud, early: are you representing me, or the seller?

What should you check before you make an offer in Richmond Hill?

This is the heart of it. When my clients find a home they love, this is the list I walk them through before anyone signs. None of it is glamorous. All of it is cheaper than the mistake it prevents.

Pull the title. You can search a property’s parcel register through Ontario’s online land registry (ONLand) for a small fee, or have your lawyer do it. It shows the registered owners and anything charged against the property. Surprises here are the cheapest surprises you will ever buy.
Get a home inspection, and choose the inspector carefully. Ontario passed the Home Inspection Act in 2017 but never proclaimed it in force, so in 2026 anyone may call themselves a home inspector, with no licence, standard, or insurance required. Pick one who belongs to a recognized association and carries errors-and-omissions coverage, and in this market, write the inspection in as a condition so you have time to do it right. For the older-home red flags worth slowing down for, and what an inspection does and does not cover, see my full guide to home inspections in Ontario.
For a condo, read the status certificate before you commit. A condo corporation must deliver the status certificate within 10 days after it receives your request and payment, for a maximum of $100 including applicable taxes, though in practice a management portal usually adds a convenience fee that pushes the real cost to about $150. It is the building’s financial and legal health record, the reserve fund, the rules, any lawsuits or special assessments, and your lawyer reviews it. I wrote a whole piece on reading a condo before you trust it, because a beautiful unit in a troubled building is still a troubled building.
If it is a new build, check the warranty and the builder’s licence. New homes in Ontario carry Tarion’s tiered warranty (one, two, and seven years for different defects), and since February 2021 every builder must be licensed by the Home Construction Regulatory Authority. Look the builder up in the Ontario Builder Directory before you sign.
If it is a power of sale, treat it differently. A lender selling a property under power of sale sells it as-is, with the usual warranties struck out and no seller disclosure. The former owner can redeem it right up to closing, fixtures can vanish, and a tenant can come with it under the Residential Tenancies Act. These purchases can work, but they need a lawyer and title insurance more than any ordinary deal. I walk through the whole thing, for buyers and for owners who have fallen behind, in power of sale in Ontario.
Know your real numbers. Confirm your down payment under the rules below, get a true closing-cost estimate from your lawyer, and keep a financing condition so your lender can confirm the mortgage on the actual property, not a pre-approval guess.

If you want the longer version of how a good-looking home hides its problems, I keep that list in how to avoid buying the wrong home and in how to read a listing beyond the photos.

How do you protect yourself in a multiple-offer situation?

Even in a calmer 2026 market, a well-priced Richmond Hill home in a sought-after pocket can still draw several buyers. In 2006 I published a list of bidding-war basics; the worthwhile half of it has aged well, so here it is, with the bravado removed.

Be pre-approved before you look. Know roughly the most a lender is likely to advance, so your ceiling is a number you bring with you, not one you discover at the worst moment. A pre-approval is a working estimate, not a final commitment.
Research fair market value, not asking price. Look at what comparable homes on neighbouring streets actually sold for. The asking price is a starting position; the comparables are the evidence.
Compete on the levers that are not price. Price is not your only card, and often not the one that wins. A closing date that matches the seller’s own move, or a clean but still protected offer, can mean more to a seller than a few extra thousand dollars. Ask your agent what this seller actually needs, then compete on that, not only on the number. This is the half of the old bidding-war advice that has aged well: find the seller’s real priority, and meet it.
Understand the deposit and the irrevocable clock. Your deposit, commonly around 5 percent in the GTA, is held in trust and credited to you at closing; a strong deposit signals you can complete the deal. The irrevocable period is the deadline for the seller to accept before your offer expires, often a matter of hours in a competitive situation. A short clock presses for a fast decision, which can work for you or against you, so set both deliberately with your agent in advance, not under pressure when the offer is due.
Keep your conditions where you safely can. Financing and inspection on a house, financing and a status certificate review on a condo. A clean offer can win, but a clean offer is also a stripped-down one, and stripping out protection to win a house is how people get hurt in a slow market too. I wrote separately about why waiving your financing condition deserves real thought.
Decide your walk-away number before the emotion starts. Write it down. The whole point of a multiple-offer situation, from the other side, is to get you to move it.

I left one line out of the modern version on purpose. In 2006 the popular advice ended with “buy the most expensive house you can afford.” I no longer pass that on. The most expensive house you can afford is the one with the least room left for a job loss, a rate change, or a roof. Protection means buying comfortably inside your limit, not at it.

What about a “bully offer”?

A bully offer, or pre-emptive offer, is one submitted before a seller’s scheduled offer date, built to end the competition before it starts: usually firm with no conditions, a large deposit, and a very short irrevocable period of a few hours. There are two sides worth understanding, because you may end up on either.

If you are tempted to make one, be clear-eyed about where its power comes from. A bully offer wins by going firm, dropping the inspection and financing conditions, and forcing a fast decision with a short clock. That is the opposite of nearly everything on this page. Sometimes, on the right home, it is the right call; more often the short clock is doing the seller’s work, not yours, and it can backfire by waking the other buyers and starting the very bidding war you hoped to skip.

If a bully offer lands on a home you are watching, the rules protect you in a small but useful way. When a seller chooses to entertain a pre-emptive offer despite a scheduled offer date, their agent must notify everyone who registered interest that one has come in. That notice is your cue to decide, quickly but on your own terms, whether to act now or let the home go. Do not let someone else’s short clock push you past the walk-away number you set.

In both directions the protection is the same idea: a bully offer compresses the time you have to think, and time to think is exactly what this whole page is trying to buy you.

Richmond Hill, specifically

This is where I stop quoting the rulebook and start talking about the town, because the protections that matter shift street by street.

What protects you shifts by pocket. In the established neighbourhoods like Mill Pond, Crosby and North Richvale, the homes are older and your inspection earns its fee, so keep that condition here especially. The newer pockets north toward Jefferson and Oak Ridges trade lot size for fewer mechanical surprises but are car-first, so check your real rush-hour drive before you decide the commute is fine. And along the Yonge corridor, where most of the condo and townhouse choice sits, the status certificate is the document that does your protecting.

One number ties all of this to a real Richmond Hill decision: with the town’s average sale around $1.21 million in May 2026, a single strong offer can push you across the $1.5 million line, where the minimum down payment jumps to a flat 20 percent with no insured mortgage available (the December 2024 rules are in the FAQ below). I have watched that line surprise good buyers. Know which side of it your price sits on before the offer, not after.

The neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood read, and how Richmond Hill compares with Markham, Vaughan and Aurora on the 2026 numbers, lives in buying in Richmond Hill and York Region in 2026. I would rather link you to one honest page than pad this one with thin paragraphs about towns that deserve their own.

What about title fraud?

It belongs on a protection checklist, but it is mostly a homeowner’s worry rather than a buyer’s, so I will keep it to its place. Title fraud is when someone uses stolen identity or forged documents to transfer your title or mortgage your home without you knowing, and the GTA had a documented wave of it. As a buyer, your lawyer will almost certainly arrange title insurance because your lender requires it; the one question worth asking at that meeting is whether your owner’s policy covers fraud after closing, and to what limit. I cover the whole subject, including what to do if it happens to you, in real estate fraud in the GTA.

What does buyer protection actually cost?

Less than people fear, and the costs are knowable in advance, which is itself a form of protection.

Your representation fee is negotiated and written down before the work begins, and is often covered by the seller. Your closing costs, the part buyers most often underestimate, include land transfer tax, your lawyer’s fees, title insurance, and adjustments; ask your lawyer for a written estimate specific to your price and municipality rather than a rule of thumb. And do not forget the cost that arrives every year after you own: property tax varies by municipality across the GTA, and it belongs in the comparison too. Your inspection runs a few hundred dollars. A condo status certificate is capped at $100, though a management portal usually adds a convenience fee that brings it closer to $150. A parcel-register search is a few dollars. Set against the size of the purchase, the entire protective layer is a rounding error, and almost nobody regrets paying for it.

The short version

If you remember nothing else: get your representation in writing, pull the title, inspect the home, read the condo’s status certificate, and keep the conditions that buy you time. Know your down payment and your closing costs before you make the offer, not after. The market in 2026 gives Richmond Hill buyers something the busy years took away, which is time to do all of this properly. Use it.

The honest reason I still write this page, twenty years on, is that the protections are cheap and a little boring, and most people do not put them in place until something has already gone wrong. My job is to get them in place first.

If you are weighing an offer on a specific Richmond Hill home, tell me the address and what you have seen so far. I will walk through this list with you against that actual property, tell you which documents to pull and what to ask your lawyer to review, and give you my honest read of where the risks sit. No cost, no obligation, and no pressure to go further than a conversation.

Frequently asked questions

What is a bully offer in Ontario?: A bully offer, also called a pre-emptive offer, is an offer submitted before the seller's scheduled offer-review date, designed to end the competition before it starts. They are usually firm with no conditions, carry a large deposit, and set a very short irrevocable period of just a few hours so the seller has to decide fast. How it is handled depends on the seller's written direction: if the seller has directed their agent to hold all offers until a set date, the agent generally will not present a pre-emptive one; if the seller is open to considering it, the agent must present it and must notify everyone who registered interest in the property. A bully offer can work, but its strength usually comes from stripping out your own protections and forcing a fast decision, so weigh it carefully.
Are you told how many competing offers there are in Ontario?: Yes, in part. Under Ontario's current rules, a buyer who has submitted a written offer is entitled to know the number of competing offers on the property. The contents of those offers, the prices, conditions, and terms, cannot be shared unless the seller gives written direction to disclose them, and if the seller does, the information must be shared with everyone making an offer. Knowing the count, but not the contents, is meant to keep the process fair, and it is one reason to make sure your own offer is written and registered rather than informal.
What should I check before making an offer on a house in Richmond Hill, Ontario?: Before you sign anything, confirm five things. First, who represents you: in Ontario your agent only owes you a buyer's duties under a written buyer representation agreement, so know whether you have one. Second, the property's parcel register through Ontario's land registry (ONLand), so you know who is on title and what is registered against it. Third, a home inspection, which still matters even though Ontario does not licence inspectors. Fourth, for a condo, the status certificate (a condo corporation must deliver it within 10 days of receiving your request and payment, for a maximum of $100 including taxes, though in practice a management portal usually adds a convenience fee that brings the real cost closer to $150). Fifth, your real numbers: your down payment under the December 2024 rules, your closing costs, and a financing condition that gives your lender time to confirm the mortgage. None of these is exotic in a 2026 buyer's market, and each one is a place to catch a problem while you can still walk away.
Is a buyer's agent free in Ontario?: No, and an agent who tells you it is free is not describing the current rules. Under Ontario's Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA), your brokerage's fee is set in your written buyer representation agreement, it is negotiable, and it is ultimately your responsibility. In many transactions the seller agrees to contribute toward it, often through the listing arrangement or a term negotiated in the offer, but there is no law that requires them to, and if they offer less than your agreed fee you can owe the difference. The honest version is: the fee is negotiated up front and written down, and often the seller covers some or all of it, but you should know the number before you start, not after.
Does my real estate agent actually represent me when I buy a home in Ontario?: Only if you have signed a buyer representation agreement with their brokerage. Since TRESA took full effect on December 1, 2023, the old 'customer' category is gone, replaced by the 'self-represented party.' An agent showing you a home they have listed does not automatically owe you a buyer's duties. The agent who advertises a property, shows it to you, and helps you write the offer may be acting for the seller. Before any of that begins, a registrant must give you the RECO Information Guide, which explains your options. Read it, and ask plainly: are you representing me, or the seller?
What are the risks of buying a power of sale home in Ontario?: A power-of-sale property is sold by the lender, not the homeowner, and that changes your protections. It is sold strictly as-is with the standard representations and warranties struck out, so there is no seller disclosure of defects, and the lender will not repair anything an inspection finds. Appliances and fixtures you saw at a showing can be gone by closing. The original owner keeps a right of redemption: they can reclaim the home by paying their arrears right up until the deed transfers, so a deal can collapse late. If the property is tenanted, you take it subject to the Residential Tenancies Act, and vacant possession is not guaranteed. A power-of-sale purchase can be sound, but it needs a real estate lawyer, a careful title search, and title insurance more than any ordinary purchase does.
How much do I need for a down payment as a first-time buyer in Ontario?: Under the rules that took effect December 15, 2024: 5 percent on a home priced at $500,000 or less; 5 percent on the first $500,000 plus 10 percent on the portion above it for homes between $500,001 and $1,499,999; and 20 percent for homes at $1.5 million or more, where no insured mortgage is available. Anything under 20 percent down requires mortgage default insurance. This matters in Richmond Hill specifically, where the May 2026 average sat around $1.21 million: a single offer can push you across the $1.5 million line, where the minimum down payment jumps to a flat 20 percent. Know which side of that line your price sits on before you fall in love with the house.
Do I still need a home inspection in Ontario if inspectors are not licensed?: Yes, and the fact that they are not licensed is the reason to be careful, not a reason to skip it. Ontario passed the Home Inspection Act in 2017 but never proclaimed it in force, so as of 2026 anyone may legally call themselves a home inspector, with no mandatory licensing, standards, or insurance. Choose an inspector who belongs to a recognized professional association and carries errors-and-omissions insurance, ask what the inspection does and does not cover, and in a 2026 buyer's market write the inspection in as a condition so you have the time to do it properly.