Bilateral Contract
A bilateral contract is a pretty straightforward term. No horseplay there. It’s a legal agreement between two individuals who both agree to do (or not to do) a specific act.
The truth is that, when you think of the standard contract, you think of a bilateral contract. It’s one of those instances where one part of the term is so usual, it gets dropped out of the term, so people omit the “bilateral” and just say contract. In it, each party has its set of obligations; even if it’s party A does a service, party B pays for it. Or, more simple than that: if party A is responsible for giving money and party B for transferring the title to party A.
However, there are rare unilateral contracts where one party is under the obligation of giving a compensation should the other party perform a specific task, but the other party is not obligated to perform that task. In other words, when one party failing to perform a task is not considered a breach of contract, it’s not a bilateral contract but a unilateral.
An example of a bilateral contract in real estate is a regular property sale. The home seller is obligated to give the house and put it under the buyer’s name if the home buyer pays for the amount specified on the bilateral contract. Now, in an exclusive agency listing, what the real estate agent does with a home seller is not a bilateral contract but an unilateral contract because it specifies that the homeowner must pay a commission to that agent if the real estate agent brings the best deal for him; however, he is not in breach of contract if he doesn’t bring the winning bid. Got it?
Sign a bilateral contract with “smart”: don’t go the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route; find a real estate agent to go with you on this journey!
Popular Real Estate Terms
Loan with a significant down payment with the balance being paid in equal periodic payments over a short time period. There is no interest charge. An example is when a seller of real ...
The closing process is the final step of a property sale. It starts when the home seller agrees to the home buyer’s offer and it ends after all Closing costs are paid ...
Amount a manger of real estate receives for his efforts. For example, a manger is to receive 2% of rentals collected as compensation from the landlord to manage the property. If the ...
To define access rights, we must understand the need for access rights. There are several reasons for using access rights for any property; some are necessary and granted with little to no ...
Ratification is typically required when an individual makes a decision. Still, they don’t have the legal authority to make it legally enforceable. In everyday discourse, ratification ...
Welcome to the world of magical yet perplexing real estate! Undeniably, there's a lot to learn, but we're here to explain miscellaneous terminology so that you can make educated decisions. ...
(1) Sudden and dramatic increase in activity or prices. (2) Rapid economic prosperity. ...
Fluctuation in sales, profits, rat of return, etc. Likelihood of declining value. ...
The definition for the gross living area published by the Appraisal Institute’s Dictionary of Real Estate 4th Edition is: “The total area of finished, above-grade residential ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.