Irrevocable Time – Real estate vocabulary you might need to know when buying or selling your Kitchener Waterloo home

irrevocableIrrevocable Time is the next real estate vocabulary word you might need to know when buying or selling your Kitchener Waterloo home. In Ontario’s real estate contracts, offers to purchase property normally have an irrevocable date and time.

Irrevocable is defined as incapable of being recalled or revoked. It means your offer is unchangeable and unalterable. Agreements for the purchase and sale of real estate, typically provide for an irrevocable date by either the buyer or the seller until a specific time on the specified date, after which time, if the offer is not accepted it becomes null and void and the deposit is returned to the buyer in full without deduction. Irrevocable dates also apply in the case of counter offers.

A question always arises as to whether a prospective buyer is actually bound by the word irrevocable as in contract law there is no contract until the seller accepts the offer and the buyers receive no consideration for the promised not  to withdrawal of the offer. However, a promise made under seal is generally binding on the person making the promise even in the absence of consideration.  This is one of the main reasons for having seals on agreements.

What does this mean to buyers and sellers?

Although the person making the offer has a right to specify the length of the irrevocable time, once the offer is made, he cannot change his mind. For the person receiving the offer, his choices are to accept the offer as is or counter offer. If he does nothing, at the irrevocable time the offer the offer expires and becomes automatically null and void.

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Keith Marshall is a realtor with Prudential Grand Valley Realty, serving Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. If you’re thinking of buying or selling your home, please give me a call. I aim to take the stress and mystery out of the home buying and selling process.

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