Contracts to Purchase or Sell Real Estate

For most people, if they encounter a real estate contract, it will be a prefabricated agreement presented by a real estate agent.  It may seem as if it is a final document, created by experts, and protecting your interests.  To a degree it will, but it is also there to protect the brokers and the other party, and many of its terms can be negotiated.  Remember that brokers and agents are typically paid out of the proceeds of the deal.  This means that they they have a strong incentive to get you to go through with the deal, even if it may not be in your best interest.  If you grow concerned — get a knowledgeable lawyer — the fees will be much cheaper than making a mistake.   This article is broken up into three sections: 1) Basic requirements for a contract; 2) disclosure considerations; and 3) investigation that is worthwhile to do when entering into a real estate contract.

Maryland Real Estate Contracts — basic requirements: 

There are only a few required elements to a real estate contract — most of the rest is filler required by statute and terms that help the brokers to enforce their right to receive a fee (and to protect themselves in the event of future litigation).

1. A writing, signed by the parties, that identifies the property and the basic terms of the contract:

In Maryland, as in most states, there is no enforceable contract to transfer land unless there is at least a written document identifying the property and the nature of the contract and signed by the seller.  The relevant code states no “interest in land may be assigned, granted, or surrendered, unless it is in writing signed by the party assigning, granting, or surrendering it, or his agent lawfully authorized by writing, or by act and operation of law.  Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 5-103.

2. Statutory Disclosures

There are a long list of disclosures that are required to be placed in Maryland real estate contracts by statute.  These include everything from the application of the Critical Areas laws, to notices about where deposits are placed by the broker, to sections on the homeowners associations, to land that cannot be used for residential purposes.  (See Maryland Real Property Article Section 14-117).  It should be noted, however, that failure to include those provisions does not render the contract void — it just means that a seller can sued for the failure to disclose, if the failure causes damages.  “Unless specifically provided, a contract for sale is not rendered invalid by the omission of any statement referred to in this section.”

3. A Deed

After a contract is reached, a deed is required to be filed in order to complete the transfer of property.  A deed is a somewhat more technical instrument, but its basic requirements are a sufficiently specific description of the property, identifications of seller and buyer, and it has the seller’s signature, property witnessed.  To be effective against someone else trying to claim ownership, it must be filed and indexed in the land records.

Maryland Real Estate Contracts — Thinking About Your Contract:

Aside from the boilerplate in a contract, there some things you should pay close attention to:

1. Special Disclosures:  As a purchaser, you can request specific disclosures from the seller – here are some you may want to consider:

a. Mold, mildew, flooding.  If there is any one thing that can ruin a house, its water damage, mold and mildew.  You definitely want to carefully look for any sign of water damage, including the kind of painting and repairs that might indicate past damage.  You can — and if there is any doubt you should — specifically request that the sellers disclose in writing any past water damage, mold, mildew or repairs.

b. Past litigation.  If there has been a past case concerning the house, such as against a homeowners association or neighbor, you probably want to know what that case was about.

c. Any unpermitted additions or structures.  If there is anything on the property that was not permitted, you want to know about it before you purchase not after — it can be very difficult to remedy such a situation.

2. Deadlines and Conditions.  If the contract is conditional (say on disclosure of water damage), and that condition is not fulfilled, then be sure to know exactly how and when to rescind the offer.

3. How much is the broker being paid?  If you are a seller, this item is negotiable, and it is a zero sum game.  Any money that your broker gets, is money out of your pocket.

4. “Other”:  Many contracts contain a blank term for special agreements — this often turns out to be the most important term in the deal.  Is there a boat that is supposed to transfer?  Is there a plan to lease the house back to the seller for a period after closing?  These things need to be written down clearly if they are going to be enforceable.

5. Homeowners Associations, Condo Associations and Improvement Associations.  If you are buying property in a subdivision, you definitely want to know what the covenants are and how they are enforced in the community.  This information should be available as part of the mandatory disclosures — READ IT!  You don’t want any surprises.  If it is not given to you, it should be on file in the land records of the County — find it or have your attorney get it for you.

Maryland Real Estate Contracts — Investigation Before Contract

Any contract requires a certain amount of trust with the other party — here are some things that are relatively easy to find, and very important to know:

1. Is the other party going to run to Court?  Most people never end up in trial – they never sue their neighbors – they just go about their business and pay their bills.  Some people are not like that — they always end up suing (or being sued by) the people that they deal with.  If someone makes you an offer on your house (or you make an offer on their house) take a few minutes to find out whether the other party is a repeat litigator — if they are, there had better be a good explanation or the hassle may take away from the joy of the transaction.

2. Are there proper permits?  Go to the planning department in the County where the property is — ask whether there are any issues with the property.  They can help.  You do not want to buy a house based on an addition that will need to be torn down.

3. Is there a bad neighbor?  Few circumstances are worse than buying a house only to find that you live in fear of your neighbor.  Many bad neighbor situations are the result of a dispute about the true boundaries — a survey can help you determine if there any encroachments either way.

4. What is the neighborhood/house/street really like?  Go to the property without the agent.  Walk along the street at night.  Is it what you want?  If not, move on.

Good luck!

J. Dirk Schwenk is a Maryland Real Estate, Waterfront Property, Civil Litigation and Maritime attorney from Annapolis, Maryland.  He provides civil litigation services in contract disputes, environmental and zoning issues, adverse possession and boundary disputes.  He does real estate law, including preparing and filing deeds.  He graduated cum laude (with honors) from the University of Maryland School of Law and has been in private practice in Maryland ever since.