Contracts and buyer representation

Void means no legal effect. Voidable means the agreement operates unless the protected party elects to avoid it.

Validity concerns formation. Enforceability asks whether the requested legal remedy is available.

Executed means performance is complete. Executory means duties remain, even if every signature is present.

Assignment transfers a right without automatic release. Novation substitutes and releases by agreement.

An option can compel sale through exercise. A first-refusal right arises only after the owner decides to sell.

Acceptance agrees to material terms. A counteroffer changes one, rejects the original, and proposes a new bargain.

A fixed protection clause covers qualifying post-expiration buyers. Automatic renewal continues employment without a new agreement.

The note evidences the debt. The deed of trust secures that obligation with real property.

A deposit is transaction money. Retention as liquidated damages requires contractual and legal support.

A buyer offers $820,000 with acceptance required to be delivered by 5 p.m. Friday. On Thursday the seller signs but changes the close from 30 to 45 days. The seller's agent emails the changed document Friday morning. The buyer rejects it at noon. At 2 p.m. the seller signs the untouched original terms and says the first signature already created a contract.

• The Thursday change: Changing the closing date altered a material term. The seller made a counteroffer and rejected the buyer's original offer.
• The Friday rejection: The buyer was free to reject the seller's counteroffer. Once rejected, that proposal no longer gave the buyer a power of acceptance.
• The attempted return to 30 days: The seller could not revive the buyer's original offer unilaterally after rejecting it. Signing the old terms at 2 p.m. did not create a contract.

A signature is not conclusive when the signer changes a material term. Trace each offer, counteroffer, rejection, and deadline in order.

• General: identify formation, consent, capacity, consideration, validity, enforceability, and statute-of-frauds issues
• Listing Agreements: distinguish listing types, compensation, termination, residential term limits, renewal, recording, and protection clauses
• Buyer Broker Agreements: apply the signing deadline, 90-day limit, pre-showing presumption, required terms, renewal, and agency disclosure
• Offers/Purchase Contracts: trace offer, acceptance, counteroffer, revocation, contingencies, deposits, and residential liquidated damages
• Agreements: distinguish execution, assignment, delegation, novation, amendment, discharge, breach, interpretation, and remedies
• Promissory Notes/Securities: separate the note from its security and identify transfer, endorsement, holder-in-due-course, and securities issues
• Purchase/Lease Options: explain consideration, strict exercise, lease credits, renewal options, and rights of first refusal
• Advanced Fee: state the submission and no-objection sequence, required terms, trust handling, accountings, and loan-modification ban