If you’re looking to buy your first home, one of the agreements you’ll need to sign is a real estate purchase agreement. It’s essential that you understand your legal rights and obligations as set by this agreement before you sign, or else you may find it’s difficult to deal with any issues that arise later on.
First-time home buyers deserve to have the right understanding of the law and how it applies to purchasing their property. With the real estate purchase agreement, understand that this is a binding agreement and contract. With this contract, you’re committing to purchasing a home or piece of property based on the terms of that agreement.
What’s inside a purchase agreement?
A real estate purchase agreement usually has specific information about the property, the down payment being used, the terms of payment and other contingencies that you agree to. The purchase price is listed in this agreement, too, which you must be sure is accurate before signing.
Other pieces of information that may be inside the purchase agreement include:
- Financing information and how you plan to finance the purchase
- Contingency agreements, such as requiring an inspection before the sale can be finalized
- Title insurance details
- Representations and warranties, which are facts and promises about the property made by the seller
- Possession dates and when the new owner may move in
- Lead-based paint disclosures
- Closing dates
- The signatures of the buyer and seller
It’s a good choice to have a legal professional review the documents before you sign, because even small mistakes may end up hurting you in the long term. It’s a better idea to go through the contract carefully before you sign it, so that you know that it binds you to an agreement that you are happy with. If not, you may have to live with the decision for a while until you can sell the property or work out other solutions in court.
To avoid litigation as well as costly delays due to disputes, it’s worth reviewing the contract thoroughly. If issues do come up, then you’ll be in a better position to address them.