Residential Real Estate Purchase and Sale Contracts in Seattle and Washington State

NOTE:  Since this writing all major forms have been revised and a new system of Statewide forms has been implemented.  While the principals discussed below remain relevant, their implementation and the use of contracts has been changed.  Don't try to enter into a Real Estate Contract without a Realtor or Attorney!  My intention here is not to provide legal advice but simply an overview of the various contracts being used in Seattle Real Estate.

Residential Purchase and Sale contracts contain a number of provisions that protect both buyer and seller. Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate should always have representation as the use of these contracts is always changing. New versions of the contracts are frequently published and adopted as the de-facto standard for the area.  Some forms are MLS specific, others are Statewide and some are Federally Mandated.

Committees of Realtors, Brokers, Lawyers and others constantly review and revise the forms that are used as standard practice for Real Estate Transactions.  It is up to the Realtor to ensure that he is using the most current versions of the forms, is using them correctly, and is using the appropriate addenda and contingencies.

The specific addenda that should be used depend upon your circumstances, the type of property, market conditions and more.  Your agent should advise you regarding optional addenda and how they can be used to protect your interests as well as the potential positive or negative impact upon your contract.

Purchase and sale agreements are a collection of the primary agreement and a set of addenda.  The addenda are referenced on the primary agreement either explicitly or for some, simply via a checkbox.  They are then attached to the primary agreement and submitted as a package.  Both the primary contract and its addenda need signatures or initials from both buyer and seller.

If you have purchased real estate before, you probably understand the basic contingencies involved in most purchases.  They are however constantly evolving and the clauses in the purchase and sale documents that you used 5 years ago are not the same as in use today.  In fact today's contracts are different from those used less than 1 year ago!

So what are contingencies? They are addendums to the basic agreement that allow cancellation of the contract under specific conditions and within specific time-frames.  The standard contingencies that you will find on almost all Residential Purchase and Sale Agreements in Seattle are as follows:

• Inspection Contingency                                     (almost always)
• Financing Contingency                                       (almost always)
• Neighborhood Review Contingency     
• Update No longer Available but an option on the inspection contingency 
• Title Review Contingency                                 Significant for Planned unit Developments when covenants and restrictions may effect the buyers use of property.
• Buyers Sale of Property Contingency             (when required)
• Buyers Pending Property Contingency           (when required)

Because these contracts are changing so frequently, all buyers and sellers should protect themselves by hiring a qualified agent to represent them.  There are many more contingencies and addenda available depending upon your needs.  If you would like assistance, feel free to call me direct at (206) 412-0466.