The boilerplate in most real property leases and contracts of sale or purchase states that "time is of the essence." This phrase may seem redundant when the lease or other contract contains specific deadlines for when the parties have to perform certain obligations, and sets forth an outside date for performance.
However, this simple clause is "magic language" without which courts in certain states will not strictly enforce deadlines in a lease or a contract for the sale of real property, and will infer that obligations such as the obligation to close may be performed within a reasonable period of time, using the stated deadlines merely as guidelines rather than absolute commitments.
For example, in Wendell W. Wood v. Elva W. Wood, individually and as executrix, etc., 216 Va. 922; 224 S.E. 2d 159 Supreme Court of Virginia, the court held that "Equity has established the rule that in contracts for the sale of real estate, time is not of the essence unless expressly stipulated in the
