Signing contracts is a part of any real estate transaction. In South Carolina, you always have the right to have an attorney review your contract with you before you sign, but more often than not, it’s you and your agent reading through and signing those documents. To be perfectly honest, real estate attorneys in SC don’t always know those contracts as well as your agent because it isn’t common for a consumer to go straight to an attorney for those services here. Your agent has been trained to use the current contract used by the REALTOR association they’re a part of.
Your agent can’t practice law without a license, so they’re restricted to using the preprinted contract as-is, with permission to fill in the blanks and write addenda with approved verbiage. These contracts that an agent uses are boilerplate contracts. Legal counsel is required to alter the contracts’ preprinted text. Your agent should have legal counsel available to them, and you have the right to hire your own attorney to review your documents and write any verbiage you choose to use.
Because these contracts are “standard”, buyers and sellers often sign without reading them. The terms of your contract matter, and there are details you need to know to protect yourself and to know how to react when the other party makes a request or exercises a baked in right. Both buyer and seller should understand contingencies, rights, and responsibilities they are binding themselves to.
New construction contracts are a little different. Most tract builders require that you use their contract. Their contracts were written with the builder in mind to protect their interests. Again, it is critical that you read what you’re signing. These may be boilerplate contracts, but you are choosing to bind yourself to terms that have consequences. You want to know what those terms are.
Don’t sign until you have asked questions and negotiate the terms you are comfortable with. There are things we must agree to because the law says so, but items like inspection rights, who gets to hold earnest money, and other terms are negotiable. If the other party won’t negotiate, sometimes it’s best to walk away. Don’t sign a document because you feel you have to. No one can force you to sign a sales contract. Don’t let desperation or anxiety pressure you to do something you should. Buy and sell smart. Read before you sign.
Niki Maclay Homes 