How home offers work, step by step
An offer on a home is a proposed contract. It is not just a price: it is a set of terms that decide how much cash you bring, when you close, and what happens if something goes wrong. This page explains the mechanics of those terms and what the simulator calculates. It does not tell you what to offer. Price and terms are contract decisions, and with VroomBrick your licensed closing attorney handles the contract.
The parts of an offer
- Offer price. The amount you propose to pay. It drives the loan amount, the down payment in dollars, and any costs figured as a percentage of price.
- Earnest money. The CFPB defines it as a deposit a buyer pays to show good faith on a signed contract agreement to buy a home (as of September 2026). The contract says who holds it, how it is credited at closing, and when it can be kept or returned.
- Contingencies. Conditions that must be met for the sale to go forward, such as a home inspection, the buyer obtaining financing, or an appraisal. Each one is written as a term with its own deadline and its own consequences.
- Settlement date. The proposed closing date. It has to leave room for the steps a loan requires: your lender must give you a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close on the loan (CFPB, as of September 2026).
- Seller-paid costs.A request that the seller pay some of the buyer’s closing costs. Loan programs set their own limits on these, which your lender confirms.
- Response deadline. How long the seller has to answer before the offer expires.
What happens after you submit
The seller can accept, reject, or counter. A counteroffer changes one or more terms and replaces the original offer, and the exchange can go back and forth. When both parties sign identical terms, the contract is binding and its deadlines begin to run. In Virginia, the seller of a home generally must also provide the buyer a residential property disclosure statement under Code of Virginia § 55.1-703 (as of September 2026).
What the simulator calculates
In compare mode you build two scenarios side by side. For each one the simulator computes:
- Down payment = Offer price × down payment %
- Closing costs = Offer price × the closing cost % you enter
- Fee line = Offer price × the commission model you select
- Total upfront = Down payment + closing costs + fee line
- Estimated monthly payment from the loan amount at the example rate, term, tax and insurance shown in the assumptions
Changing one input at a time shows which term moves your cash and which moves your payment. A larger down payment raises cash at closing but lowers the loan; a higher price raises both. Practice mode walks through each term of an offer as a scored exercise so the vocabulary is familiar before you see a real contract.
A worked example of the fee line
The commission model toggle switches one line: an example commission or VroomBrick’s 1% technology fee. On the stated price we use in all of our materials:
Worked example
On a $400,000 home, a 1% technology fee is $4,000. If a seller's agent charged 3%, that would be $12,000, a difference of $8,000. Commissions are negotiable, so your number depends on what you'd have paid.
Where to learn more
The CFPB’s Buying a House guide covers the process from shopping for a loan through closing. For the loan side of an offer, the mortgage and affordability calculator goes deeper on loan types and points, and the buyer savings calculator shows how a closing credit can work. VroomBrick is a technology platform, not a brokerage. This simulator is an educational tool, not legal, lending or negotiation advice.