Although it may be a bit of a non sequitur (that’s the last Latin I’ll use today…), this is an opinion piece about estate agent-provided Offer to Purchase pro forma agreements. If you are planning to purchase some real property, I think you would be well advised NOT TO USE the form that the cheerful Seller’s Agent provides for you to sign. Yes, it’s convenient. Yes, it’s quick. But no, don’t sign it. Not in the USA. Not in South Africa. Not anywhere. Here’s why.
The Seller had hired this agent to show the place and persuade interested prospects to become buyers. The Seller’s Agent does not work for you, and owes you very little in the way of duties. And the few he or she may owe you are more honored in the breach than in the observance, as Hamlet might say.
Seller’s agents put a lot of irrelevant stuff into those contracts that serve their clients and themselves that can perfectly legally be taken out of such agreements. For example, one I read recently provided that if the sale did not go through due to “Purchaser default”, the Purchaser would be liable to the Agent for 7.5% of the purchase price! That is a lot of moolah to forfeit for any reason. And why should the Purchaser ever pay the Seller’s Agent? His or her job is to get you married, not to get you a first date! If the Seller’s Agent can’t broker an agreeable deal, then there’s a problem somewhere, perhaps in the Seller’s price or the condition of the property. Take that clause out–it’s not your job to ensure that the Agent has a good year financially–leave that to the person who hired him or her.
Happy to swap real estate horror stories at the drop of a hat, so get in touch. I just wanted to put this out there in the hope that it might save someone from signing something that could be a source of regret later. End of rant.