“If you are asking about the Purchase and Sale Agreement, I find the most difficult section to explain is paragraph 15, the maintenance, inspection and repair section. Buyers like to have everything crystal clear or black and white, and it is here where things sometimes get a little fuzzy or we find some shades of gray. Buyers need to understand what responsibilities the seller has per the contract, what items must be conveyed in working condition, what must be corrected verses what would be considered cosmetic, etc. Buyers also need to understand that, if the cost to repair exceeds the amount the seller has initially agreed to pay, that the deal then needs to go back to the bargaining table. Beyond the negotiation of the purchase price this whole area of maintenance always seems to be the most difficult to get through, often all the way to the closing table.”
— Sue Ann Ogden,
Suncastle Properties, Inc.
“I would have to say that depends on the customer and the amount of options and which home they choose. I have written so many contracts that the paperwork itself goes very smooth, so I guess the only difficult part would be pricing out all of the upgrades and making it clear that they only have three days to make changes after the contract is signed. I think the amount of paperwork is sometimes difficult as well. It takes some customers 2-3 hours to select options and then we have two hours of paperwork remaining so if I have appointments back to back [especially at the end of the month] it is sometimes very difficult to keep the customer focused so I do not lapse over in to my next appointment time. I enjoy talking with them and personalizing their time with me but at the same time I have a very busy schedule to keep up with.”
— Jami Maxwell Bloedow
“After reading the question, I think difficulties arise with individuals, much more so than with our contract at Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. I try to explain it paragraph by paragraph to first time buyers, or buyers who have not bought a house in a long time. The most difficult are customers who do not trust the process and/or those people who ask questions without listening to the answers! Those I usually to try and explain exactly what their concern is and then I can usually deal with those concerns with the material already in the contract, or with the conditions they wish to attach to the offer.”
— Toy Scott, Norville Realty
“I feel going over and explaining the closing costs is the most difficult.”
— Leslie Burke,
Sandcastle Real Estate, Inc.
“The most difficult part and the most important in my opinion is in the financial area regarding the mortgage involved and the closing costs and prepaids associated with the mortgage.”
— Peter Hurd,
Admiral Homes
“Offer price is number one. After that, probably closing date, and then closing costs involved.”
— Bill Savage, Realty
Executives The Professionals
“Price, everything else just sounds like legal jargon. Because it is typed there is less concern with it because looks like a formality.”
— Todd Arnold, Kent and Associates Realty Services
“I think it depends on who is buying the house. Some people are concerned about each and every word. They actually want to read it all, including the addendums. Some customers, the experienced and savvy ones, can breeze right through it. Numbers are always big. How much am I paying? What is the bottom line? What is the other guy paying for? They also like to see that there is an out. Will I be held to the contract if I have trouble with the financing? What if major problems come up during the inspections? Most of these concerns are easily dealt with. If you are dealing with one of those buyers that is extra cautious, well, be prepared to sit and wait while they read through six plus pages of fine print.”
— Kathrin Lancelle,
Prudential Network Realty
“First time homebuyers sometimes get confused over the home inspection/walk through portion. They are concerned that if there is something wrong with the home that they can’t get their binder back, should they choose to not go through with the sale. Some agents will make the contract contingent upon their approval of a home inspection which insures even if the seller will make repairs, if the buyers is not comfortable with the inspection report — i.e. the report shows blatant neglect of the home, they can get their binder back.”
— Judy Hicks, Re/Max
Real Estate Specialists
“As an ongoing practice, I always go over the entire contract with my clients, paragraph by paragraph. This is done for our buyer or seller after we first go over the good faith estimate. Usually the contract itself does not cause too many questions of concern. Most questions are avoided because by going through the contract first, you usually answer or explain everything that could become an issue. However, sometimes the home inspection clause and the wood destroying organism clause require further discussion to ensure the clients that the amounts indicated for general repairs or the amount shown in the contract [1 percent] for wood destroying organisms repairs are not automatically paid by the seller to the buyer and that actual repairs or treatment must occur to kick in those amounts. To be honest with you, the initial document we present to a buyer or a seller covering representation, as required by Florida Real Estate Law, is the one that cause the most questions with the people I work with. The verbiage of these forms, which starts out by telling a buyer or seller that you do not represent them at all until they decide on representation type, will always bring about questions. As with anything and everything we do, the way we respond makes all the difference in the world.”
— Dan Daniel,
Prudential Network Realty
“Paragraph 15A, B & C. Repairs, inspections and wood destroying organisms.”
— Ken Wood,
Watson Realty Corp.
“I guess the most frequent question from the buyer is, ‘How would/could I lose my deposit?’”
— Clare Berry,
Berry & Co. Real Estate
“Inspection process, repair limits and warranted items.”
— Pat Troxel, Re/Max
Professional Group