Oklahoma Uniform Contract for Purchase of Real Estate - #2
This past week I posted on “How Do We Go About Getting Property Under Contract” because that question is often asked. If you’ve never purchased property through an Oklahoma Real Estate Brokerage Office , such as Integrity Real Estate Services, then you may not know what the steps are or what to expect.
Today I’m going to go over the first three paragraphs contained in the Oklahoma Uniform Contract for Purchase of Real Estate.
- Paragraph 1 - Legal Description
- Paragraph 2 - Purchase Price, Earnest Money and Source of Funds
- Paragraph 3 - Closing Funding and Possession.
The Oklahoma Standard Contract made available through the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission is only 4 pages long until you add in any related addendums and/or attachments. Those become part of the contract and can end up being several pages long. As we go through the contract over the next few days, we will also go over possible addendums and attachments.
The Real Estate Purchase Contract is valid and binding once it has been correctly signed by both the buyer and seller. Those signatures can be on the same document or on separate identical Contract Counterparts (fax copies, photocopies, or carbon copies).
1 – Legal Description – This area of the contract should have both the legal description as it is on the title held by the seller and it should also contain the physical property address of the property.
The Standard Contract states that the sale includes “all sub-surface/mineral/water rights owned by the Seller unless specifically reserved by the Seller and noted in the Contract and excluding mineral rights previously reserved or conveyed of record.” So if you purchase using this contract, all mineral rights that the seller owns are passed to you UNLESS the Seller reserves them in the contract.
For some interesting reading on Mineral Rights and the Conflicts that get into the court system in Oklahoma:
2 - Purchase Price, Earnest Money and Source of Funds. Unless a Financing Supplemental Agreement is attached to
the contract and checked at the top of the first page of the contract, the contract is designed for a cash purchase. We will talk about the Financing Supplemental Agreement and mortgages in a later post. This section has your purchase price which includes the amount of earnest money indicated on the blank for that. It also tells you that the balance is due at closing. The earnest money will be held by the Listing Broker in a trust account unless buyer and seller agree and instruct it to be held otherwise. If the trust account is an interest bearing account, the interest is paid to “Oklahoma Affordable Housing Foundation”.
3 - Closing, Funding and Possession. At closing, the buyer brings the balance of the purchase price plus closing costs, paid by either cash, cashier’s check, certified check, wire transfer, or other certified funds. Many closing companies will not accept cash. The closing company should contact you prior to closing about payment: acceptable form and amount. They should supply you or your broker with a copy of the settlement statement prior to closing. The Buyer will need a photo identification (i.e. driver’s license,etc.) at Closing.
This section also contains the date that the transaction will close by, unless extended prior to closing. The closing can take place ON or BEFORE that date. In another section, we will discuss some automatic extensions that are built into the contract, such as if there is a title problem. This section has a place for a time when actual physical possession will transfer from seller to buyer.
This area lists the standard closing costs paid by each side unless the contract is altered by agreement between the buyer and seller.
Next time we’ll pick up with what accessories, equipment, and systems are usually included in a purchase.
Property is selling in Southeast Oklahoma. Call me for your real estate needs, whether buying or selling. Judi Barrett, broker, Integrity Real Estate Services, Idabel, Oklahoma. Serving both McCurtain and Choctaw Counties. Specializing in Lake Raymond Gary waterfront properties. For your Lakefront desires, call me 580-212-5946 and let me tell you about Lake Raymond Gary at Fort Towson, Oklahoma. The “little gem” of Choctaw County and Southeast Oklahoma.
Graphic courtesy of Image Chef.
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