Real Estate Purchase Contracts and Required Disclosures

Posted on: February 27, 2014

A real estate purchase transaction can be quite complicated due to the complexity of the property rights being transferred, the amount of money and financing being exchanged, and government regulations. Real estate transactions are governed by a wide body of federal and state statutes, local regulations and common law, including laws imposing duties on the seller for specific disclosures. To be enforceable under the Statute of Frauds generally, all agreements for the sale of real property must be in writing.  To be compliant under the law of disclosure, the seller must be careful to disclose all material facts – even if the seller may not think that the matter is important.

The substantial amount of money and financing involved in most real estate transactions, together with the complexity of the transaction process, entails a certain amount of risk of loss or legal problems if the transaction does not close as agreed.  Standard form contracts such as those from C.A.R. are typically used for residential and some commercial transactions. Such contracts are usually adequate and quite comprehensive.  However, adding complicated counter offers and addendums to the contract may warrant having a real estate attorney review the final agreements before signing.

Posted in: Real Property - Transactional • • •