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Standard Agreements for Residential Property Transactions in PennsylvaniaIn this article, you will learn:

  • The right situations to use various forms of purchase agreements
  • What to expect at the closing of a property sale

I have access to the same forms, I’ve paid for them just like the realtors do, so I have access to all the standard forms where a transaction will clearly fit in the standardized forms. I’m a very large proponent of using the standardized forms because those documents were drafted, vetted, maintained, and updated as the laws have changed. They’re a great resource for anybody to use, because a lot of the issues that arise of a transaction are contemplated in those standardized forms.  Now, if you complete the form just filling in the blanks, you’re going to wind up making some mistakes.  Those forms are set up the way they are so that, as the buyer, there is latitude that gives you certain protections or not protections if you’re worried about the seller to accept your offer.

So, as much as it makes sense, I definitely would utilize standardized forms where applicable.  But there are circumstances that, in my opinion, are better to use custom forms and custom agreements, and I’ve done a number of both.  Sometimes I believe that a custom arrangement’s going to work better because you can provide for what’s going to happen in more circumstances that are unique to that transaction.  It’s not that the other one couldn’t work, I just feel that it’s a better fit to just work in that situation wherein drafting it more from the scratch per se.

What To Expect At A Closing For A Residential Property Sale?

A lot would depend on, as far as for me, what role I’m playing.  If I’m playing a role of an approved attorney for the title company, I’ll run a settlement for folks sometimes, and when I run the settlement, I’m really an independent person at that point. Still, if I have somebody that I have more allegiance to in running the settlement, it would be the buyer, because they’re the ones purchasing.  So, they’re also typically the ones that are faced with most of the documents that have to be considered and signed, especially if there’s financing involved, because the seller is perceiving whatever falls out of the transaction in terms of proceeds and payoffs, and they’re giving an executed deed to the buyer for whatever the terms of the deal were.

The review of the settlement has huge value to both sides to make sure that it’s what they had bargained for, and to make sure that the numbers are representative of what they expected.  Obviously, when they came with a check to pay for the difference, or in some instance, pay for the whole thing, they had to be representative of a deal, and both parties have their own spin to that because it means different things to them.  The underlying fact on almost any real estate deal as far as the purchase, the documents were provided by the lender when there’s a lender involved.  They provide the documents, they’re vetted out with the settlement company usually well beforehand before the actual settlement occurs, and issues that are apparent at that point are usually worked out prior to the actual settlement occurring.

So to some degree, the buyer doesn’t have a lot of latitude at that point, but hopefully they’ve had a healthy interaction with your lender along the way to know what the lender expects in terms of Escrow, what kind of insurance requirements might be tied to that property given where it’s located.  Now, if I’m representing one side or the other, instead of running the transaction, it would depend on which side I’m working for.  If I’m working for the seller, it’s really just making sure that again, those numbers are what we agreed to on the settlement sheet, making sure that there’s not any title affidavit for the seller, , and that there’s nothing we’re agreeing to or acknowledging to on that affidavit that may or may not be accurate or applicable to the deal.  Again, hopefully everybody’s looked at all of that and vetted that prior to the day of settlement, but those are things that you’d want to make sure of, and then, of course, making sure that that’s corresponding to the settlement sheet.  If you are the seller or a lender, then you have to make sure you had it paid off, and that those payoffs were provided to the closing company and that the deed that was prepared was correct conveying your interest as the seller to the buyer and signing to that effect.

For more information on Real Estate Law In Pennsylvania, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (717) 990-7178 today.

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