New Revisions to RIAR Purchase and Sale Agreement

Revisions to the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® Purchase & Sales Agreements are now available on Instanet and will be available as soon as the other vendors post the new form, expected no later than late November/early December. An explanation of all the changes, as well as a sample of the revised Purchase & Sales Agreement is available for review. The major changes include:

• how and when deposits are collected with electronic transactions;
• a change to when the Inspections Contingency starts;
• changes to the Mortgage Contingency.

The RIAR Forms Committee proposed these changes with input and approval from the RIAR Executive Committee and RIAR Board of Directors.

As a result of input from REALTORS® and Legal Hot Line questions, the Forms Committee wanted to make the Purchase and Sales Agreements more compatible with transactions that are being increasingly conducted electronically. Other priorities were to resolve confusion over whether a commitment or denial letter must be delivered to comply with the Mortgage Contingency. The changes are intended to protect buyers’ private financial details to comply with TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures). The committee wanted to address concerns about buyers who wait too long to submit a formal application for a mortgage.