Offer Letter

Most brokers have a one-pager offer letter. If you've seen ours, it consists of four pages. Here's why.

Our offer letter consists of the following sections:

1. Brokers representing the buyer/seller

2. Address of the property indicating the title number(s)

3. Offer price

4. Title status/condition (e.g., mortgaged, annotated, clean)

5. Turnover condition (as is, where is; with XXX furniture)

6. Payment schedule

7. A clause that states the property is reserved

8. Terms of refund of the earnest money

9. Terms for forfeiture of the earnest money

10. Deliverables (e.g., documents, keys) on specific milestones

11. Who pays for what taxes and fees

12. Validity of the offer letter

If you've noticed, we structured our offer letter like a mini-contract to sell. These provisions are important in any sale contract and are usually deal breakers. I can tell you a horror story for each section to prove their importance.

For example, what if you discovered the property was smack in the middle of a fault line after the earnest money payment? Will the one-pager offer letter protect the buyer and require the seller to return the earnest money?

We format the document in tabulated form to make our offer letter less intimidating. Moreover, we significantly minimize the legal jargon so both parties understand how the deal is structured. In the financial world, this document is called a "term sheet."