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As a Real Estate Lawyer in West Palm Beach the rulings of a South Carolina Courtroom are found very interesting. The National Realtors Association recently released an article where the court found ‘no duty to disclose competing offer’. The case Woodson V DLI Properties, LLC, et. al. was heard before the Supreme Court of South Carolina. The judgment was in favor of the Broker & Seller. The interest Real Estate Lawyer’s in West Palm Beach hold in cases such as these is the opportunity to gain insight into the everyday Real Estate practices of Brokers along with their prospective Buyers and Sellers and the direction courts will rule in these altercations.
In this case, you see an ‘offeror’ believe they are already the buyer. A contract had not been executed, meaning it had been agreed upon by both the offeror and the seller. While those terms were still being negotiated, a better offer was presented. That offer was easily agreed upon as it was a cash and the offeror agreed to the seller terms with no negotiations needed. Acceptance of the offer made this offeror the buyer. A contract was immediately executed. Meanwhile the first offeror was still caught up in crossing out and initialing changes to the proposed contract and adding addendum’s. The first offeror lost the opportunity and decided that was not in correct or fair practices of an agent and sued for damages. Keeping in mind this is a South Carolina case.
In Florida, Brokers/ Agents mainly work as transaction brokers. This is a practice adopted by Florida and Colorado and not legal in all states. However, it’s a best case scenario for agents who have the opportunity to broker a deal on both the seller and the buyers side. However, when you’re not representing fully any one person as the fiduciary, someone may get a little confused when things don’t go according to plan. Agents are not Real Estate Attorneys but on some occasion you have offeror’s choose to act like Attorneys and amend standard contracts in hopes to gain specification in areas they may have a little confusion on.
It would be in the best interest of anyone negotiating contracts on a large or small scale to have it looked over by a Real Estate Attorney specifically when their are many addendum’s and written in terms. All parties want to make sure that the terms they are agreeing to are accurate, legal, and enforceable. It’s not uncommon for small changes to be made, but as in this case, the changes were ultimately a deal breaker with too much a back and forth negotiation. Real Estate attorney’s can certainly assist in any changes quickly and suggest any other needed changes based on the property and what is at stake.
What is certain is that the market in West Palm Beach is on a steady climb making Real Estate a great investment for investors or homeowners. If you aren’t comfortable negotiating these waters with a transaction broker agent at your side, know that a credible and fair Real Estate Attorney can help you review your contracts quickly so the deal of your dreams isn’t still a dream. But if you’re an agent and your client is posing as a contract attorney, offering them the opportunity to sit with a Real Estate Lawyer West Palm Beach will benefit them as well make you a more valuable asset in buying and selling.