The ads, open houses, and flyers paid off. You have an interested buyer, and it’s just a matter of fine tuning negotiations and putting your agreements on paper.
It’s crucial that you consider all the details and communicate your preferences clearly. Many real estate deals fall through at the last minute because of a wrong assumption. Maybe the buyer thought the price of the property included the antique chandelier hanging in the foyer; maybe the owner didn’t expect to shoulder the cost of termite inspections (and the cost of having the darn pests removed).
You also have to protect yourself any worst-case scenarios that could occur during the negotiations. Put everything in paper. For example, how much “earnest money” or deposit do you require, and what’s your policy is if the buyer suddenly backs out? How long does the buyer have before he makes up his mind? You don’t want to wait for months on end, turning away other buyers, while he scrambles together the cash.
Our real estate sales agreement or condo sales form contains all these details, from a legal description of the property, to the financial agreements, to a list of fixtures to be included or excluded in the property. Think of it as a checklist so you don’t have to spend any sleepless nights worrying if you forgot something important (or worse, finding solutions because of something you did forget).
Once signed, the real estate sales agreement also acts as a legally binding document. You’ve not only agreed on everything, there’s no risk of confusion or manipulation. And with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake, that’s not a risk you want to take.
