Recently I spent a good chunk of my time
working on a counter to a ridiculous and insulting low ball offer.
That bit of info aside, I was astonished at how many blanks were left in the purchase contract! In addition to countering the purchase price and seller carry terms, I had to tie up a long list of loose ends.
I have always been taught to NEVER leave any blanks. It's either None or N/A, depending on the section. And for that matter, None and Not Applicable are not synonymous, and something else I see a lot of people interchanging incorrectly.
In our counter, I had to fill in the blanks about exclusions, inspection time frames, Sellers Property Condition Form, who pays for the home warranty, date of possession, date of pro-rations of taxes, etc. Unbelievable!
The omission of information in those sections could have been disastrous not just for my seller, but also for the buyer. As I prepared the counter, I couldn't help thinking to myself how ashamed I would be if I were this buyer's agent, to present the counter and have to explain what all of those housekeeping items were, and why they were there in the seller's counter offer!
I also couldn't help but think how fortunate I have been through the years to have had top notch brokers who would not ever accept less than a complete, accurate and skillfully written contract. After all, it is one of our agency responsibilities to our clients to carryout our duties with "SKILL!" A contract full of blanks and loopholes just doesn't cut it.
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