Property Purchase Offer in Geneva: Template, Commitment, Price and Withdrawal

A property purchase offer in Geneva opens negotiations with the seller of a home. It is a statement of intent by which the buyer proposes to acquire a specific property at a precise price and under precise conditions. It does not amount to a sale, as Swiss law reserves the sale of a property for the notarial deed executed before a notary (art. 216 CO).

This article covers drafting the offer using a sample letter, its required details and its conditions precedent. It addresses the commitment it creates, the deposit, its validity period and its withdrawal. It looks at the price to offer, the Geneva-specific rules and the documents to obtain, then the offer's place alongside the promise of sale and the counter-offer.

How do you draft a property purchase offer?

To draft a property purchase offer, write a dated letter, signed by each buyer and addressed to the seller or their broker, setting out the price offered and the deadline for a response.

The sample letter below serves as a template to complete with the details of the property in question.

[nom de l'acheteur]

[nom du vendeur]

Genève, le 29 septembre 2026

Objet : offre d'achat, [adresse du bien], [commune]

Madame, Monsieur,

Par la présente, je vous soumets une offre d'achat pour le bien suivant :

- Type de bien : appartement en propriété par étages (PPE)
- Adresse : [adresse du bien], [commune]

Le prix que j'offre est de CHF [prix offert].

J'entends financer cette acquisition au moyen de fonds propres et d'un prêt hypothécaire.

Cette offre est faite sous les conditions suspensives suivantes :
- l'obtention par mes soins d'un prêt hypothécaire de CHF [montant] au plus tard le [date].

Cette offre est valable jusqu'au [date de validité] inclus. Sans acceptation écrite de votre part à cette date, elle sera caduque.

La présente offre est faite sous réserve de la signature d'un acte authentique de vente devant notaire, forme exigée par l'article 216 du Code des obligations. Elle ne constitue ni une promesse de vente ni une vente.
Aucune somme n'est versée à ce stade.

En cas d'acceptation, je vous remercie de me le confirmer par écrit, afin que l'acte de vente puisse être préparé par un notaire.

Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées.


[nom de l'acheteur]

Have the letter signed by both buyers if you are purchasing jointly. The offer expresses only the intent of its signatories: a buyer who is not party to the letter has expressed no intent.

Send the offer by email to the broker, with the signed letter attached as a PDF, or by registered post to the seller if there is no intermediary. A dated dispatch keeps a record of the offer.

Legally, a purchase offer received by email carries no more weight than a letter handed over in person: neither takes the notarial form that art. 216 CO prescribes for the sale and the promise of sale of a property. A verbal offer has the same effect, without any written record of the price or the deadline should a dispute arise.

What must a purchase offer contain?

A purchase offer must contain the following 7 details, which set out the property, the price and the limits of the buyer's commitment.

• The buyers' identity: names and the intended form of ownership, as recorded in the land register (art. 970 para. 2 CC).
• The description of the property: municipality, parcel number and, for a flat, the condominium (PPE) unit (art. 655 CC).
• The price offered: amount in francs, with a separate price for any furniture, otherwise taxed at the 3% property rate (art. 58 LDE).
• The method of financing: equity and the expected mortgage loan.
• The validity period: the deadline for the seller's response.
• The date of entry into possession: a date aligned with the notice on the home the buyer rents, given three months before the end of the lease (art. 266c CO).
• The reservation of the notarial deed: a clause ruling out any sale before signature before the notary (art. 216 CO).

Which conditions precedent should a purchase offer include?

The common conditions precedent in a purchase offer number three, each making the purchase conditional on an uncertain event (art. 151 CO).

• Obtaining the mortgage loan: amount, maximum rate and deadline; without bank approval by that date, the buyer withdraws.
• Authorisation to purchase by a person abroad (LFAIE): required for certain foreign buyers, other than for a main residence; a refusal renders the purchase void.
• The sale of the buyer's current home: without a buyer by the set date, the offer lapses.

A condition precedent protects the buyer only if it is carried over into the promise of sale or the notarial deed of sale (art. 216 CO). In a tight market, an offer with no condition precedent reassures the seller, but a buyer who then signs the promise of sale with no financing condition remains bound even without a loan.

Does a purchase offer commit the buyer?

No, a purchase offer does not commit the buyer to acquiring the property: the sale of a property is valid only if signed by notarial deed before a notary (art. 216 para. 1 CO), and an offer letter does not meet this form requirement.

The seller benefits from the same rule, since the agreement they countersign is void for want of the notarial form reserved for the promise of sale (art. 216 para. 2 and 11 para. 2 CO). The buyer cannot compel the seller to go before the notary, and nor can the seller compel the buyer. The words "firm and irrevocable" add no legal effect to the offer.

What the law says (art. 216 paras. 1 and 2 CO): "Sales of immovable property are valid only if made by notarial deed. Promises of sale and rights of pre-emption, purchase and repurchase relating to immovable property are valid only if executed in notarial form."

Setting a deadline in the offer changes nothing: it binds the buyer in principle until it expires (art. 3 CO), but this binding effect is without consequence: an acceptance received in time forms only a void agreement.

The table sets out each party's commitment at the 4 stages of the purchase.

Stage	Binds the buyer?	Binds the seller?	Form
Purchase offer	No, except for pre-contractual liability	No, except for pre-contractual liability	Free form; the written document serves as evidence
Accepted offer or private reservation	No, void agreement (art. 216 para. 2 CO), except for pre-contractual liability	No, void agreement, except for pre-contractual liability	Simple writing, insufficient
Promise of sale	Yes, to conclude the sale	Yes, to conclude the sale	Notarial deed
Deed of sale	Yes, payment of the price	Yes, transfer of ownership upon registration (art. 656 CC)	Notarial deed

The real commitment lies in pre-contractual liability (culpa in contrahendo). Under ATF 140 III 200, each party remains free to break off negotiations, but a party who has led the other to believe the sale would go ahead, and who then refuses the notarial deed at the last moment, may be ordered to compensate the negative interest: the expenses incurred for the contract, such as a valuation or a financing file. An offer withdrawn after acceptance can, above all, damage the buyer's credibility with the seller's broker.

Should a deposit be paid with a purchase offer?

No, a deposit should not be paid with a purchase offer: a private reservation agreement that commits the parties to concluding the sale of a property is void for want of a notarial deed (art. 216 para. 2 CO).

The Federal Supreme Court ruled to this effect for a "reservation agreement" accompanied by a deposit of 50,000 francs: the agreement was void, the clause forfeiting the deposit was void along with it, and the sum had to be repaid (ruling 4A_109/2018). The buyer recovers it through an action for unjust enrichment (art. 62 para. 2 CO).

Only a clause limited to the expenses incurred by the seller (negative interest) remains valid without a notarial deed, and the seller must still prove the buyer's fault and their loss.

A deposit becomes valid once the promise of sale is signed before the notary; the promise of sale sets its amount.

How long is a purchase offer valid for?

The validity period of a purchase offer is the deadline the buyer sets in it (art. 3 CO); a purchase offer with no validity date remains valid for the time normally needed for a response to arrive (art. 5 CO).

An offer with no deadline handed over in person, or discussed by phone, lapses if the seller does not accept it immediately (art. 4 CO). Online guides from French-speaking Swiss brokers report a usual period of between five and ten days; stating a precise date and time avoids any dispute over the deadline.

Once the deadline passes with no response, the buyer is released from the offer (art. 3 para. 2 CO).

Can a purchase offer be withdrawn?

Yes, a purchase offer can be withdrawn as long as neither a promise of sale nor a sale has been signed by notarial deed, since the private offer forms no valid property contract (art. 216 CO).

Send the withdrawal in writing, by email or by registered letter, to the seller or their broker. A withdrawal that arrives before the offer or at the same time as it, or before the recipient has taken notice of it, renders the offer void (art. 9 CO). Arriving later, it no longer has this effect, but the buyer remains free: the seller's acceptance forms only a void agreement.

A seller who withdraws after having given their agreement enjoys the same freedom: the buyer cannot demand the sale, nor the expected gain. They can only obtain reimbursement of their expenses, on the basis of pre-contractual liability.

Once the promise of sale is signed, withdrawal is no longer free: each party is bound to conclude the sale (art. 22 para. 1 CO), unless there is a forfeit clause (art. 158 para. 3 CO) or an unfulfilled condition precedent.

This decision tree shows, for each of the three stages, whether the offer can still be withdrawn and why.

At what price should you make a purchase offer in Geneva?

In Geneva, a purchase offer is made at the price justified by comparable sales in the neighbourhood and the property's valuation, and is then tested against the value the bank uses for the mortgage loan.

The bank lends against its own lending value, not against the price offered. The guidelines of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA, December 2023) require 10% equity excluding the 2nd pillar on this value. The portion of the price above it is settled entirely in equity excluding the 2nd pillar.

According to the Geneva Chamber of Notaries, acquisition costs run to around 4% of the price. The cantonal statistics office (OCSTAT) recorded a vacancy rate of 0.31% on 1 June 2026, the lowest level since 2011.

This diagram breaks the price offered down into two portions that the bank treats differently, then adds the acquisition costs.

There are three price positions relative to the asking price.

• Offer below the asking price: the buyer negotiates on the basis of lower comparables, work that needs doing, or a lower bank valuation.
• Offer at the asking price: the buyer matches the asking price and stands out through confirmed financing or a short timeline.
• Offer above the asking price: the buyer bids higher to outdo other candidates.

Which Geneva rules should you check before making an offer?

The rules to check in Geneva before making an offer number four, arising from three cantonal laws and one federal law.

• Rented flat (LDTR): the law on the demolition, conversion and renovation of residential buildings (L 5 20, art. 39) makes the sale of a previously rented flat subject to authorisation if it falls within a category in short supply. The offer makes this authorisation a condition precedent.
• Development zone (LGZD): the general law on development zones (L 1 35, art. 5) controls the price of homes built for sale for 10 years and requires the owner to occupy them, save for good cause. The price offered must respect the maximum authorised by the cantonal office for housing and land planning (OCLPF).
• Right of pre-emption (LGL): the general law on housing (I 4 05, art. 3 to 5) reserves a right of pre-emption for the State and the municipalities over parcels in a development zone, or rezoned parcels, that can accommodate housing. The State has 60 days from the filing of the deed at the land register.
• Buyer based abroad (LFAIE): the Lex Koller makes cantonal authorisation compulsory for a purchase by a foreign national domiciled outside Switzerland, or domiciled in Switzerland without EU/EFTA nationality or a C permit, except for the main residence of a buyer domiciled in Switzerland (art. 2 para. 2 let. b). Without authorisation, the deed has no effect (art. 26).

What documents should you request before making an offer?

The documents to request from the seller or the condominium (PPE) administrator before making an offer number five.

• Land register extract: reveals easements, charges and notations; the land register office certifies it for 50 francs.
• Deed of constitution and condominium (PPE) regulations: set the unit's share and the allocation of charges.
• Minutes of the general meetings: announce the works voted on.
• Statement of the renovation fund and charges statement: quantify the reserve for works and the annual charges.
• Heating expenditure index (IDC): measures the building's energy consumption, declared every year to the cantonal energy office; the compliance threshold is 125 kWh/m² per year.

Where does the purchase offer fit into a property purchase in Geneva?

The purchase offer comes at the start of the negotiation of a property purchase in Geneva, before the promise of sale and the deed of sale, both of which are signed before a notary.

The process follows four stages through to the transfer of ownership.

1. The buyer's written offer.
2. The seller's acceptance, or their counter-offer.
3. The promise of sale, in notarial form (art. 216 para. 2 CO).
4. The notarial deed of sale, followed by registration at the land register, which transfers ownership (art. 656 para. 1 CC).

The timeline below shows what is binding at each stage, from the non-binding purchase offer to the notarial deed before the notary, which binds both parties, then to registration at the land register, which transfers ownership.

The time between acceptance and the deed varies from a few weeks to a few months. This timeline places the offer within the full set of steps involved in buying a property. Two themes follow from this: the distinction between an offer and a promise of sale, then the seller's response to the offer.

What is the difference between a purchase offer and a promise of sale?

A purchase offer and a promise of sale differ on three points: form, binding force and content. In Geneva, the notary executes the promise of sale, which follows the accepted offer.

• Form: the offer takes the form of a signed letter or email; the promise of sale is valid only in notarial form (art. 216 para. 2 CO).
• Binding force: the offer obliges neither party to sell nor to buy the property; the promise of sale obliges both parties to conclude the sale.
• Content: the offer sets out the price offered, the response deadline and the conditions precedent; the promise of sale adds the date of the deed, the deposit and, where applicable, a contractual penalty in the event of withdrawal (art. 160 CO).

Is the seller required to accept an offer at the asking price?

No, the seller is not required to accept an offer at the asking price: the asking price does not bind them to any buyer, and the sale of a property is valid only by notarial deed (art. 216 para. 1 CO).

Where several offers are made, the seller chooses freely, without being required to accept either the highest offer or the first one. The brokerage agreement binds the seller to the broker, not to the buyer.

Can the seller respond with a counter-offer?

Yes, the seller can respond with a counter-offer, which changes the price or conditions proposed by the buyer.

In the absence of matching consent (art. 1 para. 1 CO), no agreement is formed: the counter-offer stands as a new offer, which the buyer is free to accept or refuse.