How important are contract dates when buying real estate? What if I don’t have a time limit on how long the seller has to respond to my offer? How much time do they have?
In Western Washington, MLS purchase-and-sale agreements have expiration dates written into the boilerplate.
For a regular home purchase, (not a foreclosure or short sale) there’s an expiration clause at the in the contract. This simply means you can specify a date, or, if none is specified, the contract defers to the default language.
If the contract is a “distressed sale”, for example a short sale purchase, there is an additional addendum which specifies a date under which the contract becomes voidable if the lender (not the seller) has not approved the short sale.
Dates are very important in real estate purchase and sale transactions. They allow for certain protections such as the return of an earnest money deposit if buyer and seller cannot come to terms. Or it could allow the seller the right to cancel in the same manner, so be sure your agent discusses all contract dates with you. Your tactics and strategy matter!
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