u/Miserable-Cap-3224

I’m a first-time homebuyer in Ontario and encountered a clause in an Agreement of Purchase and Sale that I hadn’t seen before.

My offer included two standard conditions: financing and home inspection for 5 business days. The seller accepted the price but added the following clause:

>Provided further that the Seller may continue to offer the property for sale and, in the event the Seller receives another Offer satisfactory to the Seller, the Seller may so notify the Buyer in writing by delivery to the Buyer personally or in accordance with any other provisions for the delivery of notice in this Agreement of Purchase and Sale or any Schedule thereto. The Buyer shall have 48 hours from the giving of such notice to waive or remove this condition by notice in writing delivered to the Seller personally or in accordance with any other provisions for the delivery of notice in this Agreement of Purchase and Sale or any Schedule thereto, failing which this Offer shall be null and void, and the Buyer’s deposit shall be returned in full without deduction.

From what I’ve read, this appears to be a 48-hour escape clause used when a seller accepts a conditional offer.

My questions are mainly about how this clause functions legally:

1. Is it generally interpreted as only applying during the conditional period (until the buyer waives financing/inspection conditions)?
2. Once the buyer waives those conditions and the deal becomes firm, does this clause effectively become irrelevant?
3. Is there any scenario where the seller could attempt to rely on this clause later in the transaction (e.g., close to closing)?

Just trying to understand how this clause is typically interpreted in Ontario APS contracts.

I’m a first-time homebuyer and ran into a clause in an Agreement of Purchase and Sale that I hadn’t seen before.

My offer included two standard conditions: financing and home inspection for 5 business days. The seller accepted the price but added the following clause:

"Provided further that the Seller may continue to offer the property for sale and, in the event the Seller receives another Offer satisfactory to the Seller, the Seller may so notify the Buyer in writing by delivery to the Buyer personally or in accordance with any other provisions for the delivery of notice in this Agreement of Purchase and Sale or any Schedule thereto. The Buyer shall have 48 hours from the giving of such notice to waive or remove this condition by notice in writing delivered to the Seller personally or in accordance with any other provisions for the delivery of notice in this Agreement of Purchase and Sale or any Schedule thereto, failing which this Offer shall be null and void, and the Buyer’s deposit shall be returned in full without deduction."

From what I’ve read, this looks like a 48-hour escape clause allowing the seller to continue marketing the property while my offer is conditional.

I’m trying to understand a few things from people who’ve actually dealt with this:

1. Is this clause common when sellers accept conditional offers?
2. In practice, is it understood that this clause only applies during the conditional period (until the buyer waives conditions), or could it theoretically be used later in the transaction?
3. From a seller’s perspective, why add this clause if the house has already been on the market for 40+ days? What happens, when Seller recieved a better offer than mine?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has accepted or added a clause like this and how it played out.

P.S Used AI to formulate my thoughts.