Three common issues or mistakes in a transaction

The third, most common and biggest error I see in transactions is caused when agent do not read and completely understanding what it says in the contract.

Read and understand the Offer to Purchase and then read and read it again!

Every time an agents comes to me about an issue with a transaction the first thing I say to them is let me see the contract.  They will then tell me their issues and ask for help figuring it out.  In almost every case the answer is right there in front of them in black and white.  I have read and re-read the offer to purchase so many times I think I could recite it in my sleep however, when an issue comes up I read it again. I try to ensure that I understand what the contract says and how it might have been changed by what the agent has written in it for their clients.

It is our jobs as agents to understand what is written in the contract.  We need to be able to explain it to our clients, both buyers and sellers.  I can tell by some of the issues there are agents in our market who have never actually taken the time to read or understand the contract.  It is very easy to pick out who has at least read it and who has not simply by what is written in the blanks the clients are supposed to fill in.  

Some of the most common things I see are the following:

In Paragraph 8. The entire paragraph is describing what the difference is between a pending and a confirmed assessment, and who is responsible to pay such assessments.  There is a blank for the agent to fill in any known special assessments.  Just prior to the blank there is a statement (insert "None" or the identification of such assessments, if any).  Why in the world would anyone write "None if any seller  to pay"?  The only answer to that question is that the agent has not read the contract, or if they have they do not understand the english language.  If there are NO KNOWN assessments the only correct word to be  written on that line should be "NONE".  That is it, nothing else is needed and in fact the agent has been told not to write anything else. 

Paragraph 7. c last sentence - this apply's only if the contract is NOT (and it is written in BOLD) subject to financing.  An agents who puts a date in that slot when the contract is subject to financing per the terms on page 2, I submit, has not read or does not understand the contract.  

With all that being said aren't you glad we are going to a new contract on January 1?  I am so happy with the new contract I could shout YEA!  At least in the new contract there are only 2 dates to worry about.  I can see it now however,  agents who do not read and understand the contract are going to freak out when they and their clients find out there is no financing contingency, or any number of other changes that only the agents who read and understand it will know about.  

As we move towards the new year all agents should take time every week to read the new contracts.  They should go to as much training as they can find about all the changes. If everyone would do this we would all be better off come January 1.  

If you want to be the best agent you can be, if you want to represent your client like a true professional, if you want to have a huge advantage over the competition, I beg you to READ and UNDERSTAND AND THEN READ READ AND READ  the new offer to purchase and contract again and again.