Dates and deadlines are a very, very important part of the contract to buy and sell in Colorado. Acceptance deadline is the only “loose” deadline on the contract. Buyers should always try to meet this deadline but sometimes they do not. The listing comes off the market during the contract (well it turns to “Under Contract” status). Although some agents and sellers will continue to take back offers, most sellers don’t. Once under contract they stop showings and people walking through their home.
Dates on the Colorado Real Estate Contracts are Of the Essence and Not Just Suggestions.
Working with as many out of state buyers as we do, we see a lot of buyers (and sellers) that seem to think dates and deadlines are just suggestions and do not mean much. There couldn’t be anything farther for the truth. Dates and deadlines are a very, very important part of the contract to buy and sell in Colorado.
There is one exception to the date and deadline rule. Sometimes agents understand and know that the only “loose” deadline on the contract is the acceptance deadline. This reason is when you write the contract to purchase your agent will fill in the acceptance deadline. That is when the sellers have to sign, accept or counter your offer. The reason this date is a kind of “loose” date is that only one party (the buyer) to the contract signed and agreed to that deadline. So sometimes the sellers may blow through the deadline. Sellers should always try to meet this deadline but sometimes they do not.
Starting at the End First - Closing Date
Arguably the most important date on the contract. This date is sometimes more important than the price. Yes to extent this date may may make or break the deal. The reason is something buyers should keep in mind. The listing comes off the market during the contract (well it turns to “Under Contract” status). Although some agents and sellers will continue to take back offers, most sellers don’t. Once under contract they stop showings and people walking through their home.
Dates and deadlines are like any other part of the contract, negotiable. Very often a listing agent will send a counter offer over and only change dates. That is how important dates and deadlines are in the Colorado contracts. For example, The normal contract from MEC (Mutual Execution of Contrcact
Inspection Objections/Termination/Resolution Dates
The other incredibly important deadline date is in regards to inspections. Keep in mind that the contracts are written in the buyer’s favor. The buyer has a lot of ways to get out of the contract and get their earnest money back. As long as the buyer follows and objects or terminates prior to the deadline on the contract, the buyer is most likely entitled to their earnest money back.
We have been seeing a lot more contracts written these days with removing this contingency. Some buyer agents are even removing the termination ability for inspection items. That get’s a little dangerous. The earnest is pretty much hard at MEC with some of these contracts being written. That is really putting the buyer’s earnest money in jeopardy if there are major issues with the home and the buyer does not want to proceed. If a buyer removes a date they are removing their ability to terminate under that condition and receive their earnest money back.
All the Other Dates and Deadlines on The Colorado Contracts
All the other dates are important in the contract as well but most contracts terminate during inspections and due diligence time frame. The other dates still give the buyer an out if they examine that item and decide to terminate within the allowed time frame. Also a good note to know is that any date can be amended. Moved up or back. The catch is both parties need to agree to the date change and the agent writes up and amend/extend.
Some of these dates include a buyer’s time to review HOA docs and CCR’s. These are important dates to some people. HOA’s are not everyone’s cup of tea. Some are more restrictive than others. For example some have a limit on the number of dogs you can have. If you own 5 dogs that may be something that you would want to terminate on. You could do that under the proper time frame and still receive your earnest money.
Only the best real estate agents know how to use dates in a negotiation. It takes the ability to know what dates are important to both parties and what can be moved around to make both parties comfortable moving forward.
Legal Declaimer: This is obviously not legal advise about dates and deadlines in a Colorado contract to buy real estate. This is just informational. You sould always seek advice from an agent, CPA or lawyer if you have questions. Or call us at 303-503-8793
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