Understanding the Florida “As-is” Real Estate Purchase Agreement is paramount to a success closing.
I have plenty of customers who spend weeks, months or years searching for a property to buy, and aren’t willing to spend time and review the rest of the buying process. Of course, finding the right property is paramount. But in order to buy it without hiccups, understanding your relationship with your agent, the steps of the buying process, and the purchase and sales contract are just as important.
For sake of this eLetter, let me summarize a current existing customer story to help set the stage.
After showing my customer 11 condos, we got an offer accepted on the beach. Prior to this, I had a detailed “buyer consultation” with him reviewing how my agent compensation works, getting a lender pre-approval, the inspection process, getting an insurance quote, HOA issues and requesting the Structural Integrity Study and Milestone Report from the HOA and more.
When I sent his As-Is real estate purchase agreement I told him to read it thoroughly focusing on all the spaces that I completed. He signed it within 5 minutes via Docusign. I called him to ask if he any questions and he responded, “Everything looks fine.”
My coordinator sent out an email with due dates for the important elements in the contract.
From there things went downhill.
Once under contract, he felt stressed and pressured to get his paperwork completed, he said his lender was asking for too much of him. He said he needed more time. Then he began requesting extensions for almost everything. The seller was gracious and gave two extensions, but then put a line in the sand and said no more.
As it turned out, my customer never read his real estate purchase agreement. He only signed the boxes for his initial and signature.
My buyer feared losing his deposit and making sure he is “protected.”
This is where the As-Is real estate purchase agreement is there to protect both the seller and buyer. Everything came down to three things:
1. Financing Contingency – On Page two of the real estate purchase agreement it states, “This Contract is contingent upon, within _ (if left blank, then 30) days after Effective Date (“Loan
Approval Period”): Buyer obtaining approval.”
2. On page 5 is Property Inspection; Right To Cancel. It states, “Buyer shall have _ (if left blank, then 15) days after Effective Date (“Inspection Period”) within which to have such inspections of the Property.
3. On the fist page of the Condominium Rider, under Condominium Association Approval it reads, “The Association’s approval of Buyer (CHECK ONE): is/is not required. If approval is required, this Contract is contingent upon Buyer being approved by the Association no later than 5 (if left blank, then 5) days prior to Closing.”
Real Estate Purchase Agreement Takeaways
* I failed to spend enough time reviewing the real estate purchase agreement, thoroughly, with my customer. As he is a seasoned investor, he assured me he knew the sales process. My bad.
* Know what you’re signing. In Florida, we use the 13-page As-Is real estate purchase agreement. Period. As your agent, I cannot modify anything on the agreement. I can only fill in the empty spaces. The same goes with any addendums needed for condos, HOA’s etc.
Buying real estate is one of, if not the, largest purchases in your life. Take the process serious. Ask questions. Be open to your agent when he/she wants to discuss the selling/buying process with you – things change all the time and being current is important.
There are protections in the real estate purchase agreement for all parties named on them.
(Main Photo: Beautiful Historic Marina District Townhomes that overlook the marina)
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*** If you haven’t bought real estate in over 12 months, you need to know about The Buyer-Broker Agreement and how your agent cannot show you property until it’s reviewed and signed. Snoop around my “Buyer” tab on my home page for more useful buyer info
***If you like history, I recently wrote about The 5 Downtown Delray Historic District – hope you enjoy
*** Delray’s BEACH for the 2nd year in a row voted Best Beach In Florida by USA Today
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*** South Florida Real Estate Inventory is ABOVE 2019***
Last week’s supply was 62,388
Today’s supply is 62,268
Supply was DOWN 120 Units last week
*** Supply is UP 8,719 unit or 16% in 2025 ***
