Be In A Position Of Control

1. It could save you a commission!  If you don’t have documents ready, your buyer may go looking for them.  Most people know someone that is an agent and buyers usually head there first.  Next thing you know, you’re getting a call from an agent saying “I have a buyer…”

2. You have better control of your terms.  Some say contracts are meant to be changed, but there’s a distinct advantage to having your default terms all lined out.  Depending on the source of your contract, it’s language may favor the buyer or the seller, or be neutral.  Investors often have separate contracts for buying and selling, depending on which side of the deal they are on.  If you don’t want your buyer to have thirty ways to back out, control the terms by having a fair contract available.

3. When your buyer is excited, that’s the time to get the offer on paper.  Until buyers are committed with a contract, the tend to “look at one more house to be sure” and sometimes change their mind.

Because contracts are legal documents, and laws vary by state, you aren’t likely to find a free source for them.  Some office supply stores carry basic contracts, but with “new and improved” regulations in the lending industry, more and more lenders are rejecting these generic contracts because they aren’t comprehensive enough.  If a lender were to reject a contract, it could spook the buyer and cause them to back out.  Play it safe by using documents that are customized for the state that the property being sold is located in.  Here are three places to locate custom real estate contracts:

After you have your real estate contract, make a photocopy of the blank form and put it away for a back-up.  Then pre-fill in your name as it appears on the title in the seller section and the legal property description (not the address, but the legal property description.  Call a title company if you need help with this.)  By pre-filling in this information, you prevent the buyer from using your contract on a different home.  After you’ve filled in your information, you can make more photocopies and have them available for buyers that want to make an offer.  Just don’t give out your only copy.

It’s important that the buyer understands where they can get questions answered about filling in the form.  (They are the ones making the offer, they fill out the contract.)  Most buyers will call a real estate agent to get help with the contract.  If they do, it just cost you up to 6% more money.  Prevent the extra expense of an agent’s commission by calling some local businesses like: real estate attorneys, real estate closing or escrow offices or title companies.  Ask them if they can either assist the buyer or make a recommendation that isn’t a real estate agent.   If the buyer has a group legal membership, their membership may cover reviewing or answering questions about the contract.   Either way, let the buyer know that if they choose to bring in an agent to help with the contract that, you want them to pay the agent themselves.