Travels through Property Law by Tom Brodersen, Esq.
It is not irrational to long for a time when life was simpler than it is today, and fewer things seemed destined to go wrong. Perhaps life was like that, when more people were “straight shooters” and believed in fair play, and many peoples’ affairs played out in much smaller communities than is the case today.
Sadly, however, much has changed, and our lives are genuinely more complicated than they were. For example, real estate transactions seem almost as complicated now as major corporate business used to be. The basic contract for buying and selling residential property is 12 pages long, with many different subjects covered, and contingencies for financing, title, pests and condition of the property, among others. There are also many addenda and riders to cover other complications.
That, of course, does not mean everyone ever reads (or understands) all that boilerplate language. Some, even, don’t even bother with it!
I recently spoke to a person who put over $5,000 down as an earnest money deposit to buy a piece of real estate he wanted. The contract was one and a quarter page long! It addressed the earnest money deposit only to the extent to point out that it was non-refundable. It didn’t even consider that there may be situations in which the buyer may be entitled get his money back.
In addition, the buyer was required to procure and pay for his own title insurance (along with all other closing costs). Title insurance is almost always the seller’s responsibility, at least here in Pinellas County. The buyer would also have had to pay additional thousands of dollars for documentary stamps (also usually a seller cost). There was no indication that the buyer got any benefit for absorbing all of those costs. Plus, the buyer had four days to get title insurance (which usually takes a couple of weeks, often more), and 20 days to close.
Almost needless to say, something came up, and the buyer had to back out. Given the wording of the contract, there wasn’t any realistic chance of getting his earnest money back. For all we know, it might have been even worse had he gone forward and closed, only to find out after closing that there were more issues with the property that were not addressed by the contract.
Trust (or “good karma”) are not values that protect the unsuspecting in today’s marketplace.
Do yourself a favor and talk to a real estate lawyer before you sign contracts to buy or sell property!
ANDERSON & BRODERSEN, P.A.,
350 Corey Avenue, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
727-363-6100 • www.PropertyLawGroup.com