Home Seller's Guide by Cynthia Rich

DUE DILIGENCE PERIOD : In the current Purchase and Sale Agreement. the inspection occurs during due diligence. The buyer has an agreed-upon amount of time from the Binding Agreement Date to conduct any evaluations, inspections, appraisals, examinations, surveys or testing at the buyer's sole expense during this period. The buyer may terminate the agreement during that time for any reason and receive a refund of their earnest money. To terminate the agreement, the buyer must give the seller written.notice before the due diligence period ends. However, the buyer may want to proceed after the inspection. If so, the buyer may give the seller an amendment to address concerns (i.e., repairs) with the property, which can then be negotiated between the buyer and seller. Buyers also now have the specific responsibility to determine neighborhood factors that may be undesirable. The GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement instructs buyers to research the registered sex offender database if they are concerned about offenders residing in the neighborhood. Once that is done and the due diligence period has expired, the buyer must proceed with the sale. EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT: The earnest money or "good faith" money that accompanies the Purchase and Sale Agreement or offer is typically one percent to five percent of the sales price (this amount may be negotiated). A secure link will be sent to you with wiring instructions or ACH deposit instructions for the selling broker's escrow account within five banking days of reaching the Binding Agreement Date. It is always a good business practice for you to verbally verify wiring instructions with the recipient. The Purchase and Sale Agreement does state that if the buyer breaches any of the buyer's obligations or warranties under the contract, the holder or seller may have the right to retain earnest money as liquidated damages. Recent changes to the GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement have tightened the buyer's responsibility to obtain financing and perform other duties that may prove to be advantageous to certain sellers.

Made with FlippingBook Online document maker