After signing the contract to purchase real estate, it was time to deal with the purchase & sale agreement and probate. As mentioned in the article Selling the Estate Rental Property: Accepting an Offer, investors made a cash offer to buy the rental property on April 3, 2013. After agreeing to accept the offer, both parties signed the contract to purchase real estate.

The next step in the process was to sign the purchase & sale agreement. So, on April 5, 2013, my attorney sent me the purchase & sale agreement. In addition, the buyer’s attorney sent my attorney an addendum and rider to the purchase & sale agreement, which my attorney forwarded to me. After sending all the paperwork, my attorney told me to review the paperwork and return an email with my thoughts.

Additionally, to close on the property, my attorney needed to send assent forms to all beneficiaries to get their approval on the sale of the property and the agreed upon price. So, with the closing scheduled for April 30, 2013, dealing with the purchase & sale agreement and probate were two important tasks.

Dealing with the Purchase & Sale Agreement

The day my attorney sent me the paperwork, I began my review of the forms. The purchase & sale agreement was fine along with the rider. However, I found a few concerns with the addendum that nearly made me walk away from the sale. The following clause on the addendum concerned me the most: 

The seller represents and warrants that, to the best of his knowledge, there are no concealed or underground oil storage tanks on the premises, the premises are served by the public water system, and not by private well and, the premises are connected to the municipal sewer system, and there are no outstanding betterment and/or connection fees which remain unpaid.

The issue of concealment was the only problem with the clause. The construction of the house happened in 1951 using oil for heat. In addition, a septic system may have been installed. At some point, a conversion from a septic system to the municipal sewer system may have occurred. Basically, I wasn’t sure if contamination existed underground from construction back in 1951 or from an old septic system. Consequently, the email to my attorney stated these facts along with a request to remove the clause from the addendum. The attorney agreed to contact the buyer’s attorney to amend the addendum.

The Amended Addendum

On April 8, 2013 my attorney called to discuss the conversation with the buyer’s attorney.

My attorney said, “The buyer’s attorney wouldn’t change the addendum because the items in question were there to protect his clients.”

Firmly, I replied, “Well, I am not sure if any concealed materials exist on that property, but the house uses oil for heat and had a septic system. So, I am not leaving myself open to legal action if the contractors start digging up the property finding toxic material. Therefore, I am not signing anything while that clause exists.”

My attorney responded, “The investors want the property and want to start work as soon as possible. So, I am sure they will change the addendum if it means you will sign the agreement.”

Decisively, I replied, “If I see the clause removed, I will sign everything immediately.” With that reply, the call ended.

The next day, April 9, 2013, my attorney proved right. The buyer’s agreed to amend the addendum to the purchase & sale agreement. Once the updated addendum reached me and I verified the changes, I signed the purchase & sale agreement along with the rider and the updated addendum.

Dealing with Probate

On April 10, 2013, we had to deal with the probate portion of the sale. My attorney needed to send out assent forms to each beneficiary and the Attorney General of Massachusetts. Since, the closing can’t happen without all the signed assent forms, my attorney and I agreed on the following process:

• My attorney would draft the assent form and have me look it over.

• After some discussion, my attorney agreed we should send the assent forms by email. Hopefully, this would speed up the process.

• I sent my attorney the updated email list of all beneficiaries.

• After I reviewed the assent form, my attorney sent the assent form in a group email that included all beneficiaries.

• Wait for the signed assent forms to arrive.

After sending the assent forms, all we could do was wait for the assent forms to return signed.

Note: In Massachusetts, the Attorney General becomes part of the process if charities are beneficiaries of the estate. There were two charities as beneficiaries of the estate.

Purchase & Sale Agreement and Probate

After dealing with the purchase & sale agreement and probate, I thought nothing could hold up the closing of the sale. The signed assent forms started trickling in and looked hopeful that all would arrive in time. So, with only a couple of tasks needed before closing, everything looked encouraging in the sale of the rental property.

Was this article informing? Do you think amending the addendum was necessary? Share your thoughts and comments in the comment area below.