Purchase and sale agreement offer
As a first time home buyer, most probably you have never seen the purchase and sale agreement forms before. There is nothing to be worry about in that regard. You don’t need to think what or how to write. Your Toronto Real Estate Agent will help you to fill out that offer. There are standard forms approved by OREA (Ontario Real Estate Association). Each Real Estate Agent in Toronto is trained to draft the offer correctly and legally to guarantee that the best interest of his clients is met.
In the standard forms of Purchase and sale, you will find spaces to fill out with information such as: the name of the buyer(s) and their representing Realtor, an offered price and the expiry date of the offer known as “irrevocable date”. You will see a set of general terms and conditions. There will be a space to add any further conditions that you or your Real estate agent believe necessary for protecting your rights. Such conditions may regard subjects with direct relation to the property or buyers themselves.
You also need to be clear about what the price you are offering includes. Houses and condominiums in Toronto are very unique with regard to what can be considered as chattels and fixtures of the property. By the law all fixtures are included in the selling price but chattels are not. If you wish to include any of the chattels in your offer, you have to state that in your offer to avoid later complications.
Fixtures are items fixed in the property and within the area of the property. These can be items inside unit, such as built-in stove or fire place, or those in the surrounding areas, such as tool room or covered shelter in the backyard of a house. Chattels however are portable or personal use items that do not belong to the property, such as furniture.
Changing some or all fixtures, i.e. build-in dishwasher, to different older ones after showing the property to potential buyer is a legal challenge to the seller. This practice used to be common issue with older condominiums downtown Toronto but, thanks to legal restrictions, it has been eliminated.
