Ryan Dosen and his father, Brian Dosen, in Naples, FL, circa 1979.

 

The New Pennsylvania Real Estate Agreement of Sale

By Ryan Dosen

This April, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (“PAR”) unveiled a new standard Agreement of Sale for Pennsylvania residential real estate transactions. Calling the revisions more of a “refresher,” the PAR made several changes to the document you will use when purchasing or selling a home in Pennsylvania. Without going into too much detail, we will highlight some of the changes to the new Agreement of Sale.

 

PAR Agreement of Sale Revisions

Some changes to the Pennsylvania Agreement of Sale were subtle and did not really affect the Agreement. For instance, the PAR decided that it should add additional space on the Agreement for longer party names or additional buyers and sellers. Adding space doesn’t substantively change the Agreement. It just lets us write our agreements more legibly.

A few changes reflect specific standard policy changes that the PAR has decided to incorporate into the new Agreement. Earlier versions of the Agreement had a default time of 365 days before the broker holding escrow funds could return deposit monies to a buyer. The revised language now cuts that default time period about in half to 180 days, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties

Other changes were made to reflect a changing of the times. For instance, before digital documents were commonplace, deposit checks almost always accompanied a contract and offer to purchase a property. Nowadays, many people submit contracts digitally, not allowing for the simultaneous submission of physical deposit checks. The new contract is written to provide that the “Initial Deposit will be delivered ‘within ___ days’ of Execution Date, if not included with this Agreement.” Before this language was added to the Agreement, the old Agreement said that the buyer’s initial deposit will be offered “at signing of this Agreement.” The new Agreement solves the problem that, when submitting an offer digitally, this usually isn’t possible.

Still other changes, like revisions to the definition and applicability of loan-to-value ratios for your mortgage contingency, can have varying impacts that only a licensed professional should interpret for your specific case.

 

A Guide to the 2014 Pennsylvania Residential Real Estate Agreement of Sale

The PAR just released a 52-page document breaking down the new Agreement of Sale and its many nuances. Please feel free to contact us (see below) if you have any questions about the new Agreement of Sale or if you would like a free copy of this newly-released guide. It’s not exactly light reading, but it is necessary reading for anyone considering selling or making an offer to purchase a piece of property.

 

Father’s Day

Every Father’s Day, at about 3pm, my father and I would usually wind up lying down side-by-side on the floor of our family room. He would fade in and out of naps, lying next to his sons, watching our nation’s golf championship. I didn’t understand why he would want to spend his day sleeping and half-watching golf. I now also have two sons. I now understand.

I can’t watch the US Open with my father any longer. All I have left are memories and pictures, like the one featured in this article, taken with my father about 35 years ago. In an unfair twist of fate, we lost all four fathers in my immediate family in the span of about five years in the 2000s. Dads like to appear indestructible. Unfortunately, we’re not. Give Dad a hug this weekend. I wish I could….

 

– Ryan Dosen manages The Wayne Megill Real Estate Team of Keller Williams Brandywine Valley in West Chester, PA. For buyer or seller representation, or for more perspective on the local and national real estate market, please email rdosen@megillhomes.com and visit The Wayne Megill Team blog at http://www.PAHomesAndRealEstate.com.