I'm not calling you "STUPID"

What up, People?
Today's message is really just some advice on how I would go about buying a home. Not telling anyone this is the only way or that you and your realtor are stupid if you don't think like me.
Write offers. No duh, right? The thing is, I come across so many buyers who want to check on the area or the schools or perform a seance before they put in an offer and end up losing out. Put the offer in first! You have a contingency period (usually between 10 & 17 days but not set in stone so it is negotiable) to check all of that out, it's called your "inspection contingency period" (catchy). This contingency allows you to perform inspections on the physical conditions of the house, the zoning for natural disasters (mainly earthquakes zones, fire zones, flood zones and any other biblical plague or curse), any permits on the property, rental restrictions (important if you're ever going to rent it out), any safety issues, area nuisances (ranges from airport noise to a next door neighbor who might be a little too nazi like), and anything else you can think of (anything without actually damaging the property. You can't open up a wall to make sure you like the way the wiring looks).
What about your deposit? It's safe as long as you cancel escrow (cancel on your offer to purchase the property) before your contingencies expire. Yes, that means if you do what is contractually correct and cancel before the contingency is up you will get your full deposit back. You don't even have to shake hands with the seller.
When do contingencies expire? When the contingency period is over AND you release your contingencies in writing. (?) You sign a form stating that you release your contingencies. Once that happens you either buy the property or forfeit your deposit.
The reason that i'm so hot on making offers first before you investigate anything (except that the price is acceptable) is you might lose out. If you like a property rest assured that someone else likes it too. That is the law of.... I don't know what it is the law of. But, I've seen it over and over and over again (no matter what the market is like) that when a buyer becomes interested in a home then at least someone else is interested in the home. If you do not move quickly two ugly things can happen: First, the property could be tied up by someone who wrote an offer sooner. And, unlike buyers, the seller does not have the luxury of cancelling if he recieves a beeter offer. Second, you could end up in a bidding war and either get beat out or paying more than you wanted. Both scenarios suck.
Once again, I'm not telling you how to do it, just how I would do it.
God Bless.