Before You Sign Your Offer To Purchase, READ THIS.

For most people, buying a home is the largest (and most stressful) legal transaction of their lives. So, you want to do it right and not make buying your home one of the biggest regrets of your life. That starts before you sign your first offer. Here are three common mistakes that people make in their offers.

First, the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (the "Offer") lists a series of items that the seller must complete prior to closing; for example, they may have to get the carpets professionally cleaned or repair certain appliances. The reality is that if there is no purchase price holdback associated with these items, they may as well be unenforceable at closing if the seller chooses to ignore their contractual obligations. A holdback is where the buyer's lawyer holds back a predetermined amount from the purchase price to ensure that a specific item is completed. For example, if the Offer included a term that required the seller to have the carpet professionally