Are you "signing your life away"?

by Hugh Hardy

Available Articles

• Article Index
• Are you "signing your life away"?
• Buying new versus resale
• Choosing a Realtor - What does it take to sell your home?
• Don't push the river!
• Getting the most from your Realtor
• Home ownership is part of smart money management
• Knowing your strengths and weaknesses
• Let's talk about commissions
• Open vs Closed? Making the most of your mortgage
• Prepare your home to command a premium price
• Real estate trivia
• Recognizing the paper tiger
• The easy way to buy a custom home
• The importance of pricing right
• The value of a buyer's agent
• Two safe ways to trade up
• What does irrevocable really mean?
• What to expect from your agent when you buy
• What's a Chattel, What's a Fixture (and why should I care)

In today's column, I thought would make a list of the ommitments that you make, and of the things you consent to, when you sign an up-to-date Agreement of Purchase and Sale. These are the items that are "buried' in the fine print - the stuff that most of us never read when we buy or sell a house. The good thing is that the fine print is designed to provide a balanced offer without favour to either the Purchaser or the Vendor. But the fine print is designed to cover a wide range of disputes and to make provisions for issues that are not likely to be covered in the negotiations.

I thought I would write this column in the form of a numbered list - for easy reference. So without further ado, here are a few of the things you are agreeing to when you sign an offer...

1. If you are buying or selling a house, it has to be VACANT for closing (unless otherwise detailed in the offer).
2. Watch out if you are buying a house because you are consenting to a credit check when you sign the offer!
3. Who the real estate agents represent is now filled in on the back of the offer - be sure to find out.
4. The owner guarantees that, to the best of his knowledge, there is no urea-formaldehyde foam insulation nor has any been removed.
5. Anything that a buyer and a seller agree to isn't legally binding unless it is in the offer in writing.
6. If you sell your house and die before it closes, your heirs must honour the Agreement. If you buy a house and die before the transaction closes, it's the same thing - your estate must honour the Agreement.
7. If you buy a house, and it burns down before you take possession, you can either get your deposit back or, if you prefer, it is your right to take the insurance money and whatever is left of the house and property.
8. Any taxes, utility bills, etc. are the Vendor's responsibility up until closing and the Purchaser's responsibility after closing. But what about the actual day of closing? That is the Purchaser's responsibility.
9. You can't make a contract that involves an illegal act.
10. Are you selling a dilapidated house? If the house can't be insured against fire then the deal is void - according to clause 8 in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

Well, that's all for this week. I hope you found these ten items interesting. Perhaps there were a few things in there that you were not aware of already. It's all in the fine print, as they say.

REALTYGUY.com