Q: In light of this busy real estate market where homes are selling quickly or even before they hit the public market, what type of contingencies are you seeing become popular and what would be your most frequently asked concern for clients that you work with?
A: Buyers are shortening or waving certain contingencies to make their offers stand out in this competitive market. For example, I’ve seen buyers shorten their inspection period from the standard fifteen days to ten days.
Another buyer trend is “all cash” offers when they plan to finance, so their offer bypasses the loan approval period. In this case, if the buyer is unable to obtain financing, they must close cash or forfeit their deposit. This is very risky! Speaking of the deposit, we’ve seen contracts with additional clauses that the deposit is non-refundable. This language is vague but could mean if the buyer cancels during the inspection period, they must forfeit the deposit.
Lastly, we’ve seen an increase of buyers offering Post Occupancy Agreements to sellers with no per diem charges. Always consult an attorney prior to adding, waiving, or shortening contract conditions so that you fully understand the potential consequences.
To read the original article, please click here.
As Director of Operations, Elana Friedman Polashuk oversees all business functions for Becker Title, empowering its talented team to provide platinum-level customer service. In her role as an attorney with Becker Title’s law firm, Becker & Poliakoff, Elana represents both buyers and sellers in all aspects of commercial and residential transactions. To learn more about Elana, please click here.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!