The questions every Washington buyer asks me first

Sometimes, but never automatically. A well-priced home in a desirable Eastside neighborhood can still draw multiple offers, and in those cases the winning offer is often the one with the cleanest terms, not the highest price. Sellers weigh contingencies, timelines, and financing certainty as heavily as the number.

Your agent should advise you based on the actual comps and the actual competition for that specific house, not on a rule of thumb.

Earnest money is your good-faith deposit, held in escrow while the sale is pending, credited to you at closing. It signals to the seller that your offer is serious, and in competitive situations the size of the deposit can be a meaningful signal.

It is not a fee you lose capriciously: in Washington it is returned if the deal falls apart for reasons protected by your contract, such as a failed inspection contingency. Understand exactly what your contract says before you write the number.

Almost never. Washington's home inspection is your education about the largest purchase you will ever make, and waiving it to win a bidding war is how buyers end up owning someone else's surprise.

There are middle paths in competitive markets: pre-inspect a property before offering, or keep the inspection but agree to a price threshold on repair requests. Let your agent show you the tools before you give up the shield.

A typical purchase from accepted offer to keys runs about thirty to forty-five days in Washington, with the inspection and financing contingencies in the first weeks. The search itself is the variable: some buyers tour for a weekend, most for one to three months, and that is healthy, not slow.

The timeline that matters most is the one that leaves you enough time to be picky about the right house and decisive about the right one.

For people new to the region, renting for a season is time well spent: it lets you test commutes and neighborhoods with your own feet before you commit a down payment to one of them. For people who know exactly where they want to be, buying first can make sense on the numbers.

Either way, the first move is the same conversation: what does the life look like you are actually building here? The house should follow that answer, not lead it.