Chapter 11 - Real Estate Contracts Flashcards
What is a listing agreement?
A broker’s employment contract with a seller and, indirectly, it is the sales associate’s authorization to operate
What is a buyer brokerage agreement?
An employment contract with a buyer
What is a sale and purchase contract?
A contract between a buyer and seller; the licensee acts as agent or facilitator for one or both of the contracting parties
What is an option contract?
An agreement to keep open for a specified period of time an offer to sell or lease real property; in order to reduce liability, it is strongly advised that licensees recommend to the buyer or the seller to have a real estate attorney draw option contracts
What types of contracts does the statute of frauds apply to?
Purchase and sale contracts
Option contracts
Lease agreements for more than one year
Listing agreements for more than one year
What are the two exceptions that the statute of frauds provides to the requirement that real estate contracts be in written form?
- When an oral contract has been formed and the buyer has paid part of the purchase price and then has either taken possession of the property or made some improvements of the property
- If both parties have fully performed as promised
What is the period of time during which a written contract may be enforced according to the statute of limitations?
Five years
What is the period of time during which an oral contract may be enforced according to the statute of limitations?
Four years
What is the period of time during which a partly written and partly oral contract may be enforced according to the statute of limitations?
Five years for the written portion and four years for the oral portion
A valid contract is one that complies with the provisions of contract law and contains what four essential elements?
Contractual capacity of the parties (competent parties)
Offer and acceptance (mutual assent)
Legality of object
Consideration
A person may only have limited contractual capacity if:
He is insane, intoxicated, or legally a minor
What is mutual assent?
Refers to the making and acceptance of an offer
What is a meeting of the minds?
The parties must reach an agreement on all terms in the contract
What is consideration?
Whatever is given in exchange for something else
What are the two types of consideration?
Valuable consideration
Good consideration
What is valuable consideration?
The money or a promise of something that can be measured in terms of money
What is good consideration?
A promise that cannot be measured in terms of money, such as love and affection
What is a formal contract?
A written contract
What is a parol (informal) contract?
An oral agreement
What is a bilateral contract?
Obligates both parties to perform in accordance with the terms of the contract (ex. a sale contract - both the seller and the buyer are obligated to perform)
What is a unilateral contract?
Obligates only one party to an agreement (ex. listing agreement)
What is an executory contract?
A contract that has been formed between parties, but something remains to be done by one or both parties to fulfill the conditions of the contract
An offer is terminated when any of the following happens:
Counteroffer
Offer is accepted and signed by both parties
Rejection
Withdrawal by offeror
Time for an offer has passed and offer is dead
Death or insanity of either party
Destruction of the property
What is a counteroffer?
Indicates a willingness to contract, but on terms or conditions different from those contained in the original offer; the original offer is dead forever and cannot be later accepted
What is acceptance?
An offer essential to the creation of a contract; must comply strictly with the terms of the offer
What is withdrawal by offeror?
An offeror may withdraw (or revoke) the offer at any time until notice of the offeree’s acceptance is received by the offeror
A contract is terminated when any of the following happens?
Performance (contract is completed)
Mutual rescission (both parties agree to cancel the contract)
Impossibility of performance (an earthquake hits the property and both parties agree to rescind the contract)
Operation of law (bankruptcy of either party or eminent domain of the property)
Breach (one or the other or both of the parties have broker the promises made)
What is mutual rescission?
An agreement between the contracting parties to terminate their respective duties under the contract; both parties must mutually agree to discontinue the contract
What is a breach of contract?
When one of the parties fails to perform and the law does not recognize the reason for failure to perform as valid