Many people that deal with real estate on a daily basis do not realize the ramifications of a signed Offer to Purchase Real Estate (the “Offer”). If the Offer meets the requirements of the Statute of Frauds, the parties intend to be bound and the other essential contract terms are present, presto, you have a Purchase and Sale Agreement or an enforceable contract to purchase real estate (“P&S”).

1 The Requirements of the Statute of Frauds:

A contract for the sale of land must be in writing and signed by the parties or an authorized agent of the parties. The parties would be the buyer and seller. Make sure the record owner of the property is signing the Offer. The property must be described so that it can be identified.

Compliance with the Statute of Frauds does not necessarily require a purchase price, a time to complete the transfer or the quality of title that has to be conveyed Inflatable Arches.

2. Intention to be Bound:

It is not sufficient to make the offer contingent upon the execution of a P&S. If the parties do not want to have the Offer become a P&S, they must include language that is similar to “this offer is intended only as a memorandum of the anticipated agreement and the parties do not intend to be bound but its terms.” The inclusion of this language may not be enough for a court to find that the Offer was a P&S but it gives you a much stronger argument.

3. Essential Contract Terms

The parties are indentified, purchase price, title condition and a closing date. In certain cases even these terms have been determined to be non-essential. Most of the Standard Offers used contain all of the essential terms and a binding agreement will be found. So if you are completing an Offer to Purchase assume it can be determined to be a P&S. If you assume this you must make sure that all of the anticipated terms of the transaction are included.

Your continued conduct and actions will also determine your ability to enforce the contract. If you do not comply with all of the terms of the offer your ability to enforce the Offer as a P&S will be significantly negatively impacted.

So before you execute that Offer make sure you have met with and discussed it with an attorney that will be representing your interests as a buyer or seller, we recommend that you contact us Topkins and Bevans.