In the days of technology and access to information, many people are considering or taking on the task of selling their home on their own. As we’ve written in the past, for people that can handle it, have the time and know what they are doing, by all means go for it.
We have found though in the last few years as people jump on different wagons in an attempt to save some money, we have heard more than the normal amount of horror stories. Some stories were more horrific than others but they were still unfortunate nonetheless.
The word ALL can be a big word in a condition and we had an experience where a private seller underestimated its importance. In an escape clause, which is basically a paragraph that allows a longer condition (Sale of Buyer’s property is the most common) to become acceptable, there is a line that discusses what happens if another offer should come in on the property.
This particular seller had signed off on an escape clause that instead of the word ‘ALL’ had the word ‘THIS’. The end result was once a 2nd offer came in, those buyers weren’t asked to wait for 24 or 48 hours as it should have been but rather for 12 days. The end result was the deal was dead in the water simply because of the word ‘this’.
A few years back we met with a seller in a similar situation but there was no escape clause. What this meant was that regardless of anything that should come in on the property, the buyers had complete control of the home for the duration of the condition which was approaching 6 weeks.
Moral of the story - we all want to save money but the big picture is that the services of a professional Realtor can save you stress, increase the ultimate purchase price and make sure that the contract that has been drafted protects you from start to finish. If nothing else, remember to check for the word ALL!
Thank-you for visiting.
THEbTEAM
Thank-you to Gabrielle Henderson for the photo.