Here is one question I have never seen asked about making offers on properties.
When I make an offer without a real estate agent, do I fax/scan a real estate purchase agreement with blanks filled out; purchase price, earnest money deposit etc.
Or should I use a different form? If so, what form should I use
-Steven
I personally favor altering the same contract used by the licensed agents. Just make sure that you remove any references to realtors or real estate organizations. These forms are standard and sellers feel comfortable with them. They also are a good legal contract.
I use a simple 2 page purchase agreement. The 17 page standard Realtors purchase contract is over loaded with legal gibberish than can intimidate Granma the seller.
Most sellers dont have faxes. I fill it out mostly on MS Word and email them the contract, it’s easy for them to print it out and if they dont have a scanner I can pick it up or it takes 2 days for them to snail mail it to me.
A few of the older sellers dont have emails or computers, and I’ve been known to use snail mail only to complete a deal with them.
Randoskie, man what kind of paranoid real estate agency is in your state? Unless it is a commercial property purchase agreement, all the residential purchase agreements run only 2 pages and that includes all the legal jargon. But, it is that legal stuff we never read that protects us if a deal goes south, so I use what is accepted by the market.
It’s called “California.” The epicenter for cya’ness.
Frankly, I’ve never heard of a uniform real estate purchase agreement, in any state, being only two pages long. I mean that would barely cover the due diligence timetables in California…
I thought Missouri’s was pretty short, but it was still about 8 pages long (probably longer now).
Depending on the complexity of the deal, I will make my offers on a one-page agreement. I usually have to attach an addendum with additional stipulations that don’t fit on the one-page form.
Ha, I should have known it was in California, the home of the lawsuit. Regardless of what type of form is used, the key here is to make sure that it is written in a way to provide the buyer enough due diligence time and contingencies for condition. Wholesalers must also carefully write their offers to provide time for end buyer acceptance. Its all in the contingencies.