If you are purchasing a home or other piece of property in Georgia, you will be asked to sign a real estate contract.
Knowing the basics about real estate contracts and what should be in them can help you when you are going through the purchasing process. There are some key terms to most real estate contracts and understanding them is important.
Price and timeline
Two main pieces of information in your contract will be the price and the timeline of the entire transaction, which should end with a closing date.
On the closing date, you meet with the sellers of the property to sign documents finalizing the sale and receive your keys to the property. After the closing, the property is officially yours.
However, there are often many things that must happen between the time you sign your real estate contract and your closing date. Your real estate contract will address these things and how they will be accomplished.
Inspections and financing
For example, the sale might be contingent on the property passes an inspection. Your contract could specify that if the property does not pass the inspection, the closing will not occur until it does or the sale is cancelled altogether.
Your real estate contract should address other situations that could affect the successful completion of the sale. These could include you securing adequate financing or what happens if one of you wants to cancel the contract due to an unexpected event.
You will need to pay additional costs at your closing. The price of these costs is another term that should be in your real estate contract.
What happens in the event of a breach
The goal of your real estate contract is to agree on all terms of the sale and what will happen if something goes wrong.
It is natural to feel confused or unsure about some of the terms in your contract, especially if it is your first time purchasing a home. If the seller breaches a term of the contract, you could be heading toward real estate litigation.
