When I first started selling real estate in 1984, every company had an attorney prepare their documents according to the broker’s specifications.

Back then, when an offer was received on a listing from a cooperating brokerage company , an agent would have to carefully examine the Purchase and Sale Agreement for unfamiliar language or unique clauses. Since both agents usually represented the seller, resolutions in differences were rarely, if ever, adversarial.

As time went on, documentation became more and more standardized, and the age of Buyer’s Agency dawned. Although the documentation was easier to examine, the actual negotiation of the offer was often verging on the brink of belligerency.

Fast forward to 2010, and we are seeing that in many cases, we have reverted back to the days of 1984. Many institutional sellers require offers on their own contract forms or addenda.

And once again, the bank/investor seller seems to be in charge of the negotiation process, often with a “take it or leave it attitude.”

It seems that much of the progress that was made over the last few decades has been lost, as nobody wants to buck the system.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.