Making an offer to purchase a home in Washington state is complex. It's not unusual for a Buyer's eyes to glaze over a bit when faced with the stack of 20 pages or so that comprise a typical offer on a new(er) home built in a subdivision or city. Add to that "typical" stack unique properties of homes with septic systems or private wells ... or any of what seems like a bazillion unique features ... and the stack of pages just seems to grow exponentially.
When working with a buyer for the first time, I like to provide them with a couple of the most commonly used forms so that they're prepared a wee bit for the onslaught still to come. Here are arguably the most common forms used, along with a very brief summary of their purpose. Remember that every agent has their own list of favorites ... and forms vary hugely in different areas.
- Purchase and Sale Agreement This five page form specifies the overall terms of the offer, along with identifying any other addenda that is attached and made part of the offer. Not only does it clearly identify the property plus what is included in the sale, but it identifies the purchase price and "who will do what and when."
- Financing Addendum Another two pages, this addendum identifies the type of financing the buyer will use, the amount of their down payment, any closing cost contribution to be made by the Seller, when and how the Seller can request confirmation of a lender's commitment to close on the sale, along with appraisal issues.
- Optional Clauses Addendum (2 more pages!) This form is commonly used to identify (or not) the type of title insurance requested by the Buyer, what types of utilities the property may be connected to, obligations to maintain the property during the course of the transactions, along with builder statements regarding insulation, identification of any leased property, homeowner association issues, and a list of items that may be excluded from the sale.
- Lead Paint Disclosure and Identification of Utilities Lead Paint Disclosures are mandatory for homes built before 1978 (one page) ... and Identification of Utilities (one page) by the Seller, generally for use by an Escrow Officer when paying the last, lienable utility bills.
- Title Addendum (one page) asks a Seller to provide a copy of the property's title to the Buyer for review ... and identifies a Buyer's responsibilities during the review.
- Inspection Addendum (two pages) This form sets out the various conditions surrounding an inspection (basically who must reply to whom and by when). In combination with a property inspection, this form allows a Buyer a time period to check out the neighborhood.
Okay, that's 14 pages so far ... Then there are some others
- Well Addendum (1 page)
- Septic Addendum (1 page)
- County Addendum for Septics & Wells (1-2 pages each)
- Short Sale Addendum (1 page)
- Contingency Sale (for Buyer's existing property) (2 pages)
- Blank Addendum (1 page) ... This one is added to many contracts, maybe most. It's a blank form that allows a Buyer and/or Seller to set out terms that aren't included in any other standard form
When you consider that over 70 forms exist for Purchasing property in Washington, it's not surprising that a contract is easily 15 pages or waaaay more!
No wonder a Buyer's eyes glaze over when they sit down to prepare an offer! That's a lot of pages!
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