people (inparticular sea change),
If we had an agreement for you to buy a house for $1m and when it came time you changed your story and paid me $500K at settlement, how do you think my case would go if I tried to litigate against you for the difference? If I had a written offer & acceptance form the amount, conditions and dates are indisputable and thus i have more of a legal leg to stand on if there is a need for litigation. In WA isn't it a requirement that a O&A form be written up - this is what gets stamped for stamp duty aswell as other legal requirements. Also how do you fax the offer to a settlement agent, bank or other entity if it is a verbal offer, something goes in writting at some point, doesn't???
Buying property with a verbal agreement in my opionion doesn't mean squat (as i said before) as the offer can be a misunderstood and people can misinterprete what the conditions were meant to be.... Unless of course you have a number of witnesses that in court could varify what the offer was, however this too is highly unlikely and invariably people at the time, don't fully listen (ie they switch off), they themselves misunderstand, or their memory fails them due to time and when they get badgered by an attorney.
I have found that if you make an offer as a verbal offer the agent and vendor like to see it on paper as it is not "real" (see my point above). I think people have been conditioned into getting something written up, as dtraeger2k said "they are not worth the paper they are written on". Go try and buy a car with a verbal offer and see what the salesman says.(I'm not trying to open a new thread here just making a point about verbal offers).
How is it that you bought a house without an o&a document anyway? Does a solicitor take care of the paper work for you? when you buy an ip do you go through a house and say to the agent I want this this and this for this amount fo $$$? how do you remember what you have asked for later on?
I take it that out of the 15 IP's you';ve purchased you've never had a problem at all with any of the details ie termite inspections, structural reports, curtains, furniture etc. has all the stuff be as it was when you purchased it - ho is the vendor supposed to know what he's allowed to take with him or what is requirement are - do you write them down?
Finally....Do you make the distinction between "verbally negotiating a price and writing up an offer after the price is agreed" and "agreeing on a price and proceeding to settlement", do you say that they are a "written offer" and a "verbal offer" respectively? I think you need to clarify the difference as you see it.
Hey if your happy to make a verbal offer thats fine, a lot of people prefer to have it in writing as its is a more legally binding contract.
Sorry if I've appeared to "go off" at you - it's not intentional (trying to type this quickly at work) but you seem to like one method and have said that the other is uneccessary (maybe I misinterpreted you post) - all investors and people are different and have different methods. If it good for you great.... I personally like a written offer (although I may negotiate a price prior to signing off the O&A).
Hot topic this one.... it would be good to debate this in person - but there's heaps of you- hehe. A few definitions of what people call a verbal offer and written offers are may be handy - but then again people interpretations come into it again....(wheres that oxford dictionary?)...
Big post again - lots of waffle but i've tried to write my thoughts down in spurts over the past 3 hours (damn work)....structure and spelling may be poo too....sorry.
cya keg75
