Contracts and Transaction Issues
The Significance of the Liquidated Damages Provision in the Residential Purchase Agreement
The vast majority of real estate agents and brokers are familiar with pre-printed purchase contracts for land such as the Residential Purchase Agreement and Deposit Receipt published by the California Association of Realtors Form RPA-CA Rev. 11/14 (C.A.R. ©). However, you may not be familiar with paragraph 21 B of this document entitled “Liquidated Damages”.Read More
The Pros and Cons of Binding Arbitration
Many times I have consulted with my real estate clients as to the advantages and disadvantages of binding arbitration to resolve a dispute concerning real property as opposed to resolving the dispute in a litigated case in a California court room. There are advantages and disadvantages of the binding arbitration process of the binding arbitrationRead More
Are Agent Commission Agreements Enforceable?
Agreements between agents to share commissions may be enforceable even where the agents are affiliated with different brokers. In a new case, Sanowicz v. Bacal, (2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 1027, two agents who were both affiliated with the same broker entered into several agreements to share commissions equally on any transactions that either of them closed. Read More
Contract Formation and Agency in the Digital Age
Most brokers and agents know that a contract for the sale of real estate generally must be in writing to be enforceable, and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. This is what lawyers call the “statute of frauds” requirement, and is designed to avoid, well fraud, in transactions involving real estate. ComplicatingRead More