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Question:
Recently we decided to sell our home of 35 years. We phoned the Real Estate office we bought the home from, and not surprisingly the agent we dealt with had retired. We were put in contact with a truly delightful young lady named Linda who helped us in selling our home. Linda was a very professional and knowledgeable and she shoed us many ways to get our home ready for sale. The one concern we had was the number of times we had to sign papers. I am sure we signed different papers six or seven times. Is this a normal thing now in selling your house? Linda & Dean
Answer: It is true that there are a lot of different papers to sign when selling your house. I would bet when you bought your home the only document you may have signed was the transfer of title so naturally the number of times you sign now may be alarming. Linda knows that the forms you sign now though protect you in the selling of your property. I think it would be wise to go over the form you signed to give you an idea why you have to do this. In any transaction in real estate the first form your REALTOR® will get you to sign is the green Agency Disclosure Brochure. This brochure is designed to let you know the relationship you and your REALTOR® are in. In your case it would be a seller’s agency where Linda was representing you in the sale of your home. The brochure explains what you can expect from Linda as your “agent” in the selling of your home. The reason you are asked to sign this is so that Linda’s Broker knows she explained it to you. The next major document you sign is a listing agreement. On the listing agreement your signature is required in two places. Firstly on the contractual side of the listing which deals with your name(s), the price, the location, and the remuneration to the REALTOR® your signature must be witnessed on this document as it is a contract. The other side of the listing form is the data regarding your property, rooms, sizes, size of house, type of roof, etc. By signing this you agree with the information on the form. Well so far we have you signing three times, but the next form is the Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS). The PCDS is a form where you must initial the correct response in the space provided. You are asked questions regarding your property of a structural, legal, and past problems nature you know about the property. Answering in an honest straight forward manner here is the best advice your REALTOR® can give you with regards to this form. The form is not a guarantee of the property to a buyer, but instead a heads up to problems you have fixed or problems that occur from time to time. The PCDS not only requires your initials but also your signature is required on the front page after explaining what the form is used for and on the last page stating you have answered to the best of your knowledge. If you choose not to complete the PCDS there is also a place on the front page you have to sign stating the form was explained to you and you do not wish to fill it out. Other forms requiring your signature are Mortgage Verification Form to be given to the bank for mortgage information. This form is usually not used in times of low interest rates. Dual Agency Disclosure is a form required when you’re REALTOR® or someone from their Brokerage sells your property. It states that sine both sides of the transaction are being handled by the same Brokerage or person then neither side is given information of a personal nature to influence their decision to buy or sell. We are now at a possible eight signatures and the sale of the property has yet to occur. If the Offer to Purchase is acceptable to you your witnessed signature is required here. If you wish to counter offer the Offer to Purchase you will sign a Counter Offer Form which is presented to the buyer with your requests to finalize the deal. This can happen several times in the course of the transaction. Most real estate transactions come with conditions that must be fulfilled by the buyer before the deal is considered final. When the time comes for these conditions to be removed to finalize the deal a Removal of Conditions Form is signed by the buyer and brought to you for the final sale of your property. So now Linda & Dean we are at a possible twelve times you have been required to sign documents to sell your home, and I am sure you are thinking that’s enough. I have to agree with you but you must realize that every time you signed a form it was done so to protect you in the transaction. Your REALTOR® knows that the agreement between you and her Brokerage is a legal binding contract and like all contracts signatures are needed for all involved. I realize that things are different from thirty – five years ago when you bought your home, but in today’s real estate industry your protection is the main goal of your REALTOR so signing forms accomplishes this.
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