ATTENTION BUYER!

IMG_7914The cover page of the Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract has boldfaced capital letters ending with an exclamation point, ATTENTION BUYER!

And underneath the exclamatory phrase is “You are entering into a legally binding agreement” in large letters.

The Arizona Association of Realtors® is nearly screaming at you to pay attention to what you are about to sign.

There are eight caveats:  Read the entire contract before you sign it.  If you don’t understand something, ask!

It will tell you to review the Residential Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement, otherwise known as the SPDS.    This will be given to you after mutual acceptance of the contract, if not before.  The seller discloses all that he knows about the house to the best of his ability.  With your agent, you should review all information to ascertain if there is additional information you may want to investigate during the ten day inspection period.  On the basis of information in the SPDS, you may decide not to proceed with the contract.  This is an important document.

The third item has to do with Inspections.  The buyer can inspect for anything that is important to the buyer.  This will include the Covenants, Codes and Restrictions (item 7) and other governing documents.  If you have three 150 pound dogs, it is important to read the CC and R’s to make sure they are allowed in the community.  But you may inspect for mold, have a roof inspection, a pest inspection, a pool inspection, and an HVAC inspection or anything else the buyer deems important.

During the inspection period, confirm that you can obtain insurance on the property.  And you should have verified you can obtain a home loan.  Any information requested by the lender should be provided immediately.

Your agent will review the title commitment with you and if there are problems with the title, they will be have to be resolved prior to close of escrow.

And finally, the buyer should conduct a final walk through to make sure the property is in the same condition as when originally seen and if repairs were requested, they were done in a workman like manner.

The cover page is explicit:  “Verify anything important to you.”

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One Response to “ATTENTION BUYER!”

  1. Chris Webb Says:

    Great Post Terry, you provide great advice on what buyers should do when writing an offer. Thanks for sharing!

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