Skip to main content

How to Protect Yourself in a Transaction

How Buyers and Sellers Can Protect Themselves During a Transaction

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Idaho, there are a few things you should know.

First, remember that everything is negotiable. Regardless of whatever verbiage might be in the contract you’re using, remember that you can negotiate anything you like. If you’re a seller and you have a hot enough property, you can ask the buyer for whatever you want. As long as they agree to it, you’re good to go.

The standard contracts in Idaho heavily favor buyers. Here are a couple examples of how this works.

First, if the buyer chooses to have a home inspection done on the property—or what we call an inspection contingency—typically they have five to 10 business days to perform that inspection. If for whatever reason they decide not to buy the house during that inspection period, they can terminate the contract and get their earnest money back in full. If you’re the seller, you risk taking your home off the market for one or two weeks only to have the buyer pull out.

If you’re a buyer, this should set your mind at ease. If something about the home makes you uncomfortable, you’re protected as long as you get the seller to agree to a home inspection contingency. You can walk away with no harm and get all of your earnest money back.

Second, if the buyer does any sort of financing, they select the financing contingency, and that contingency says that if at any time between now and when they close on the property they no longer qualify to purchase your property, they can terminate the contract and get their earnest money back in full.

If you’re a seller and you want to protect yourself, talk to a real estate professional about what they can do to protect you in the negotiation process and get the best deal possible.

As long as you have a great real estate agent representing you, you’ll be taken care of.

If you’re a buyer and you’re worried about your financing situation or the inspection process, fear not—if you have a great agent representing you, they’ll take care of you and make sure your earnest money is protected.

If you have any questions or want to know more about buying or selling a home in Idaho, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Jump to top