While every deal is different, the following strategy is tried and true. Not under the law of England and Wales.A contract requires offer, acceptance, consideration and an intention to be legally bound. Your offer can be withdrawn anytime before they accept it in writing (it's not a deal for real estate until all parties have signed). The first point to be noted from Clark's succinct definition is that an offer must be something that will be converted into a contract once accepted. You can't have a contract without an offer. An offer is what kicks off the whole spiel. To be effective, at common law the acceptance must commit to exactly the terms specified in the offer, no more and no less.