Real Estate Contracts - Yes, They Mean What They Say
Dateline: Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota- Twice in as many months I've had to deal with agents that don't seem to think that the language in a contract matters much.
In the first situation, my Buyer requested the Seller to clean the furnace and chimney and provide receipts for the work performed 3 days prior to closing. A few days before that I called the agent to remind him of that and his answer was: "well, the Sellers are moving boxes, but I'll see if they can locate that for you by Monday." On Monday (the day it was contractually due) I again called the listing agent and asked. He seemed quite upset (and surprised?) that I was asking for them and said the Sellers had moved out of town now and might not be able to find the receipts and/or fax them. At that point I kindly reminded him that this requirement was agreed to by the Seller in writing and that I had reminded him of it three days before.
We did get the receipts the next day after he again vented that it was "no big deal" and I had to restrain from explaining to him that since the Sellers had been in breach of contract, the Buyers might have had recourse against the Seller. The receipts weren't a big deal... everything was indeed fine... but they were to be provided on a specific date and because they were not I had to jump through lots of hoops, the Buyers were just that much more uncomfortable in a tough transaction, and the Sellers were technically in breach of contract.
In the 2nd situation, I'm representing a seller and we had agreed that the Buyer would provide a "written statement" from the lender confirming financing was complete 21 days from Final Acceptance of the offer. On day 19 I talk to the agent and inquire as to the status of that paperwork. His response is: "well, we had a holiday in there and because it is 21 calendar days but only 14 business days, we might not have it in time. Somehow the way he explains it makes me think he is arguing that the 21 day requirement wasn't reasonable. If you read the contract correctly, if that documentation is not provided by the date noted, the Purchase Agreement is automatically cancelled.
This is a seasoned agent... does he know that his buyer might lose the house if it isn't provided in time? Additionally, why would you agree to that timeframe if you didn't think it was going to be completed successfully?
Edina Realty agent Aaron Dickinson works with buyers, sellers, banks and investors in the Twin Cities, MN area and is the author of the Twin Cities Real Estate Blog and Minneapolis Real Estate Blog
Source: www.articletrader.com
