Real Estate Contracts – Have your lawyer review it!

In the course of our practice, we continually see buyers of properties come to our office after they have signed the Contract of Purchase and Sale and it has been accepted by the seller.  By the time we see the contract it is often too late for the buyer to “fix” it or back out of the deal.  Signing a purchase and sale contract without having your lawyer review it is never a good idea but if you must, have your agent write in a clause that the contract is subject to a satisfactory review of the contact by your lawyer within a specified number of business days from signing or by a specific time (a “subject to condition” clause). Having your lawyer review the contract before you sign it or after, if there is a “subject to condition” clause, will avoid court action and save you thousands of dollars.