Calgary Answers · Buying · Conditions

How Long Shouldmy condition period be?

There is no legally required length. It is negotiated like everything else, and it should be set by what actually has to happen inside it.

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There is no standard, and no required length

Nothing in Alberta sets the length of a condition period. It is a term of your offer, negotiated the same way price and possession date are. What people mean when they say a length is “normal” is only that it is what they usually see — and what they usually see is not what your purchase needs.

One detail catches people out: a condition ordinarily expires at a specific time on a date, not at the end of that day. Read the time.

Work backwards from what has to fit inside it

  1. Condo documents, if it is a condominium. They have to be ordered, produced, delivered and then actually read. This is almost always the long pole, and it is the one part of the process you cannot compress by trying harder.
  2. Lender approval — your broker needs the contract, your documents and, frequently, an appraisal booked and returned.
  3. The inspection — booking a good inspector, attending, and adding a specialist if something turns up.
  4. Insurance and your lawyer — quick, but they still need to happen.

Ask for the length your slowest step needs, not the length that sounds reasonable. The condo document order is usually the answer.

The pressure to go shorter

Sellers prefer short. A tight condition period is one of the genuine ways to strengthen an offer without paying more, and in a competitive situation it can matter as much as a few thousand dollars. Go short only when the work is genuinely pre-arranged — broker briefed, inspector on standby, documents already ordered where that is possible.

Do not plan on an extension. An extension requires the seller to agree in writing, and a seller who now has a better offer waiting has no reason to.