That was Then.  This is Now.  |  Part 3 of 4

Then:  The purchase and sale contract for real estate was a concise, one page 8 ½ X 14, double sided document.  There were only two contract addendums at that time,  one being an Attorney Approval Contingency addendum, the other a “Structural Inspection” addendum. 

Then:  A structural inspection was a relatively new idea when I entered the real estate business in 1985.  Caveat emptor or, “Let the buyer beware”, was the prevailing practice of that period of time.    Having a structural inspection performed on a house caught on rather quickly, thankfully.

Then:  The real estate agent or broker working with the buyer wrote the purchase offer in the real estate office for the prospective purchaser to sign in person.  There were seven original copies of the purchase and sale contract required, one each for the seller, purchaser, mortgage lender, purchaser’s and seller’s attorney and one original copy for the listing and selling broker.   The agent working with the prospective purchaser then had to call their office manager and, the office manager of the listing broker's office to "clear" the purchase offer.  This was done to insure there were no mistakes made when writing the purchase offer.  This practice was eliminated in the early 1990's; deemed as an "unnecessary step".  

Now, the real estate agent or broker is more likely to “write” the purchaser offer using a digital contract and forms app and VIA Email send the purchase offer to the prospective purchaser for their digital signature. 

The “standard” purchase and sale contract at the time of this writing is six 8 ½ X 11 pages with any number of required contract addendums and disclosures ranging from what is known as a NYS Agency Disclosure, a Fair Housing Disclosure and a NYS Property Condition Disclosure, just to name a few.  Often, the purchase and sale contract with related disclosures and addendums average 22 pages in length – and, at times, necessarily more than that.

Then:  When an agent working with the buyer wrote a purchaser offer, the agent would present the offer in person to the sellers and the listing agent, usually at the home of the seller.  After the offer was presented, the agent working with the buyer would typically be asked to “leave the room”.  The listing agent and sellers would confer and explore the merits of the purchase offer.   The listing agent would then ask the real estate agent or broker working with the buyer to re-enter the room and convey whether the sellers would accept, reject or make a counter-offer to the prospective purchasers. 

Now, more often than not, the purchase and sale contract is sent VIA Email to the listing broker or agent.  If, in the event a counter-offer made from the sellers to the prospective purchasers, the ensuing negotiation occurs directly between the real estate agents or brokers involved. 

If the purchase offer is accepted by the seller, the purchase and sale contract is circulated among the principal parties to the contract VIA a digital signature software system enabling real estate contracts to be reviewed and signed digitally on a computer or smartphone. 

Copies of the digitally signed purchase and sale contract can be automatically sent to the respective attorney’s and mortgage lender. 

Then:  It took between 60-90 days to close a real estate transaction. 

Now:  Modern technology and efficiencies can trim a couple weeks off the time it takes to close on a real estate transaction.  Still, a house closing can take anywhere from 45 days to 90 days to close on a home (180 days or more for a newly constructed home).  The reason the time frame has not substantially changed is dependent upon the purchaser’s and seller’s circumstances, the type of financing the purchaser utilizes, title searches and the potential of clouds revealed on the title or title defects which need to be affirmatively dealt with prior to the transfer of title, and so on. 

There are approximately four to five dozen people involved in closing a real estate transaction, some acting in tandem.  While others work separately.  That is a fair amount of people to depend upon to complete their work efficiently as possible.

Then:  Comparatively speaking, it was comparatively simpler, in some ways, to sell and purchase a home. 

Now, while the innovation of technology offers real estate brokers and agents, purchasers and sellers of real estate some degree of efficiency, it also presents a dense and a seemingly never ending volume of information and options.  The information can be revealing or contradictory and, at times - overwhelming.  This reality provides me with a fitting concluding segue in part 4 of "That was Then.  This is Now".