Real estate is arguably the largest transaction that we enter during our lifetime. As such, it is important to do a little research and have a basic understanding of how the process works and the legal documents that guide the transfer. When it comes to buying residential property in Texas, four common provisions within the real estate contract to know include:
- Identification of the parties. A real estate contract should clearly identify the seller and buyer of the property.
- Identification of the property. In addition to the address, there should also be a thorough legal description of the property. This includes the land and any improvements or structures.
- Purchase price. The contract should include a provision that states the sale price of the property.
- Signatures. It is important that both the seller and buyer properly sign the document.
Additional provisions are likely, but the above are some of the most important.
Real estate contracts also often include certain contingency provisions. Contingencies are essentially conditions to the agreement. A common example is the inspection contingency. The buyer may condition the purchase of the property on a professional inspection. If the inspection does not go well, the buyer and seller can come back to negotiations and either revise the agreement or terminate the offer.
Other common contingencies can include a title contingency, so the buyer makes sure there are no hindrances on the property’s title, financing to ensure funds to complete the transaction, appraisal to better ensure the property is worth the proposed price and a requirement that the buyer first sells their prior house often within a defined period of time.
These documents do not need to be boilerplate, fill-in-the-blank contracts. You can have these contracts tailored to your specific transaction. This can better ensure your interests are protected.