Deadlines Matter in Pennsylvaial Home Sale Transactions

The Standard Agreement of Sale for selling and purchasing a home in Pennsylvania is loaded with dates and timeframes to which either the buyer or seller must comply. Our contracts are written on a "time is of the essence" basis which means that deadlines are binding.

This factor comes as a surprise to many buyers who come from states in which attorneys are heavily involved in real estate transactions. Generally, contracts in those states have more flexibility with deadlines.

Some areas in which care must be taken in order to comply are:

-The deadlines for response and acceptance of offers.
-The deadline for buyers to receive a mortgage commitment and provide proof of the commitment to the seller.
-The deadline for completing inspections of the property and requesting repairs or credits.
-The deadlines for sellers to respond to requests from the buyers for repairs or credits requested by buyers.
-The deadline for providing association documents to the buyers.
-The deadline for buyers to withdraw from the sale if the association documents are not to their liking.
-The deadlines for complying with local use and occupancy requirements.

If one of the parties fails to meet the deadline in the agreement of sale, that party loses their rights under that provision of the contract. If the buyer or seller is unable to complete an action within the timeframe in the agreement of sale, he or she request an extension of time from the other party. If agreeable that extension must be in writing and signed by both parties if it is to be binding.

Average Ages of Bucks County Residents

Here's are some interesting facts about the demographics of Bucks County:

I don't know what the causes are, but I find many older homeowners sell their family homes and move into smaller homes, many of which are in newer over 55 communities. Many choose to age in place or age in the area rather than in warmer areas.

Another factor is that homes in Bucks County are relatively expensive compared to homes in most other counties surrounding Philadelphia; so, younger home buyers are less likely to afford many of the available homes.