How do I place a property under contract?

Placing a property under contract is pretty simple really. It's the process of writing up an offer on a Purchase agreement and submitting it to the seller. If you are working through realtors on listed properties they will use a state approved contract. If you are working directly with a seller on a For Sale By Owner property you can use any Purchase and Sale Agreement. You can find one under Student Resources > Forms and Docs. Once you have submitted the offer on the contract and the seller has accepted and signed the contract the property is under contract.

Hi Dementrius, it sounds like you may be going through "paralyed analysis"( keep it simple), just do as the coach has said, its simple, relax and think of it as to talking to your best friend, take a deep breath and relax its much more simple than you think.When we are new to some thing we may feel over whelemed to the task at hand its really easy,Realtors can be a of help. If you have any questions PM me and Ill try to guide you.Jim

Chris hit the nail on the head. The only thing I would add, is that if you use a Purchase & Sale Agreement then there will be two things that you will need to pay special attention to... 1) Due Diligence Period (this is the length of time the contract says that you have where you can still back out of the deal without losing your Earnest Money deposit), and 2) The Closing Date (this is when you have to actually purchase the property).

If you get a property under contract with a bank, they usually will not budge on the agreed upon dates with a penalty being charged. If it's an individual, you usually have more flexibility (but not always).

Hope this helps,

I don't know how true it is in other states, but in Texas the "state promulgated (approved) forms ARE NOT just for use by licensees (licensed real estate agents), but one wants to make sure that they are filled out correctly to avoid legal and other problems.

A question often comes up in this forum: "What do I need a realtor or agent for?" Well, they have access to the forms and contracts, and they have been trained in real estate law and contracts.

I've looked over the contracts that Dean provides, and they are sufficient, but I wouldn't keep it quite so simple just to avoid problems.