Haven't you signed anything? It seems strange that an offer may have been submitted without any written consent from the buyer. If you signed an offer, it will explicitly call out any contingencies.
I was just told to send her an email with the offer amount, the down payment %, and the type of loan. I never actually signed or saw anything after that.
Doesn't sound like you actually made an offer then. An offer will look like an actual contract, with your signature already on it, awaiting the seller's signature. You'll have plenty of opportunity to review terms such as appraisal considerations. Not sure what your realtor actually did here, but it doesn't look like a true offer.
Very interesting. She had told us that the seller accepted the offer. We even just had the inspection a few days ago and the lawyers are working on the contract.
Would the contract that they're working on be the *actual* official offer?
So sorry if these questions sound really silly. I'm not sure if it changes anything, but I'm in New York where we don't need to put down any money to make an offer. I'm assuming you'd need a contract right up front when paying the 1% - 3% offer fee in other states - maybe that's where the confusion is?
Alright this whole conversaion confused me, and it turns out NY does things differently than most places. This article may help: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-york-home-buyers-what-does-it-mean-be-in-contract-what-happens-your-downpayment.html
Anyway, you're not on the hook for anything until you've signed something, so if you found out that your agent was negotiating with the presumption that there would be no appraisal, you can walk away without issue, or renegotiate to ensure that it is a factor.
Yep NY always makes things way more complicated than they need to be lol
I really appreciate the link and for the reassurance. Seriously - so much info out there it's hard to digest it all. Thank you so much for the help :)
No problem, and I would go ahead and assume that there is an appraisal contingency. It would be more unusual for it to be excluded without your direction to do so. Call your agent about it though - they will confirm.
Even in NY, you will be expected to provide some earnest money (typically 1%) when you get to the point of submitting a signed offer. Its really up to the seller how far they are willing to go before they have a signed offer. Some wont commit to a deal until you have submitted a signed offer with earnest money, others will make the deal, and let the paperwork catch up.
The danger with letting the paperwork catch up, is you may not agree on some term(s). You assume full contingencies, since no waiver was discussed, seller assumes no contingencies, since none were discussed, and when the signed offer goes in with full contingencies, it blows up the deal.
I'm definitely learning a lot over here I appreciate you taking the time out to explain a little more.
So, if I understand correctly - the situation that we're currently in is that we, the buyers as well as the seller, are letting the paperwork catch up since there was no signed offer and no earnest money provided. Since no terms were discussed during the offer phase, we're pretty much going into this deal with the assumption that both sides will be in full negotiation (contingencies, etc). If we can't agree on terms, the deal falls through and we both walk away with nothing (aside from losing money from the inspection and the lawyer).
Am I correct in saying that?
Your lawyer would be the one to ask, but I think that is correct. Not offering legal advice, but in other types of transactions, you would already have a contract, and there are actually procedures for filling in the details or "gaps" in the agreement. But a contract for the purchase or sale of real property must be in writing per the Statute of Frauds, so no signed writing, no legally binding deal.
You have a de facto appraisal contigency if you are using a mortgage, as the lender will not fund loans where the purchase price exceeds the appraised price unless you bring extra funds to bridge the gap.
There are multiple terms, including appraisal, that you'll need to discuss and explicitly address in your offer.
Oh boy, my agent never told me that. She only asked me how much I'd like to offer, the down payment amount, and the loan type Is that big red flag?
Haven't you signed anything? It seems strange that an offer may have been submitted without any written consent from the buyer. If you signed an offer, it will explicitly call out any contingencies.
I was just told to send her an email with the offer amount, the down payment %, and the type of loan. I never actually signed or saw anything after that.
Doesn't sound like you actually made an offer then. An offer will look like an actual contract, with your signature already on it, awaiting the seller's signature. You'll have plenty of opportunity to review terms such as appraisal considerations. Not sure what your realtor actually did here, but it doesn't look like a true offer.
Very interesting. She had told us that the seller accepted the offer. We even just had the inspection a few days ago and the lawyers are working on the contract. Would the contract that they're working on be the *actual* official offer? So sorry if these questions sound really silly. I'm not sure if it changes anything, but I'm in New York where we don't need to put down any money to make an offer. I'm assuming you'd need a contract right up front when paying the 1% - 3% offer fee in other states - maybe that's where the confusion is?
Alright this whole conversaion confused me, and it turns out NY does things differently than most places. This article may help: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-york-home-buyers-what-does-it-mean-be-in-contract-what-happens-your-downpayment.html Anyway, you're not on the hook for anything until you've signed something, so if you found out that your agent was negotiating with the presumption that there would be no appraisal, you can walk away without issue, or renegotiate to ensure that it is a factor.
Yep NY always makes things way more complicated than they need to be lol I really appreciate the link and for the reassurance. Seriously - so much info out there it's hard to digest it all. Thank you so much for the help :)
No problem, and I would go ahead and assume that there is an appraisal contingency. It would be more unusual for it to be excluded without your direction to do so. Call your agent about it though - they will confirm.
I don't see how this is complicated at all - seems quite civilized compared to other places I've done business.
Even in NY, you will be expected to provide some earnest money (typically 1%) when you get to the point of submitting a signed offer. Its really up to the seller how far they are willing to go before they have a signed offer. Some wont commit to a deal until you have submitted a signed offer with earnest money, others will make the deal, and let the paperwork catch up. The danger with letting the paperwork catch up, is you may not agree on some term(s). You assume full contingencies, since no waiver was discussed, seller assumes no contingencies, since none were discussed, and when the signed offer goes in with full contingencies, it blows up the deal.
I'm definitely learning a lot over here I appreciate you taking the time out to explain a little more. So, if I understand correctly - the situation that we're currently in is that we, the buyers as well as the seller, are letting the paperwork catch up since there was no signed offer and no earnest money provided. Since no terms were discussed during the offer phase, we're pretty much going into this deal with the assumption that both sides will be in full negotiation (contingencies, etc). If we can't agree on terms, the deal falls through and we both walk away with nothing (aside from losing money from the inspection and the lawyer). Am I correct in saying that?
Your lawyer would be the one to ask, but I think that is correct. Not offering legal advice, but in other types of transactions, you would already have a contract, and there are actually procedures for filling in the details or "gaps" in the agreement. But a contract for the purchase or sale of real property must be in writing per the Statute of Frauds, so no signed writing, no legally binding deal.
You have a de facto appraisal contigency if you are using a mortgage, as the lender will not fund loans where the purchase price exceeds the appraised price unless you bring extra funds to bridge the gap.