Definition of "Duress"
Act of forcing an individual or business to do something against their will. It is a legitimate defense in court to reserve the effect of the compelled act.
Popular Real Estate Terms
An individual appointed by a court to manage the affairs and property of a legally incompetent party. The conservator has full decision-making authority over the affairs of the property in ...
Sales commission charged to buy shares in a real estate mutual fund sold by a broker or salesperson. Typically, the fee ranges from about 1 percent to 8 percent of the initial investment. ...
Sponsor of a syndicate involving people or companies buying an interest in a real estate investment or unit. The group of investors are in effect engaged in a joint venture for profit." ...
British thermal unit-a unit of energy associated with the creation of heat. Prior to 1929, it was defined as the amount of heat required to raised the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 ...
Are you planning on buying a house? If you are, you’re going to love the Buyer's Market definition. But if you are a home seller, you will wish that term never comes up again in your ...
Listing of items in priority or sequential order. There may be a succession or series of steps to result in a desired outcome. An example is what logical order should occur in building a ...
When we use the term contingent, we typically imply that something is dependent on another factor. Real estate contingencies make home selling, buying, or even inheriting a property ...
To undertake or take on a responsibility or duty. ...
Danger, hazard, risk, or peril. For example, jeopardizing a piece of property by pledging it as collateral for a loan. ...
Comments for Duress
I would like to know why a law does not exist that forces real estate agents to say to vendors to take sale contract home or to their lawyers to verify. They always place contracts in front of people and point a finger to the signatory spor and say "sign here". I once said "I need to take contract home to think about it" and the agent immediately said "No, you can't, the purchaser will place an offer elsewhere". Is this action not considered duress. They are pushy and play on people's emotions.
Aug 20, 2019 23:25:44Hello! Thank you for bringing up this issue. There must be clients who have the same question. However, the answer is quite simple. Don't go alone! Whenever you have to sign a contract, ask a professional to join you - ideally, a lawyer. There is a lot of jargon and many real estate terms that you may not fully understand. If you want to study the contract, I'm sure that nobody would mind if you actually took the time to read it. If they didn't feel comfortable with this, then it would be a good idea to leave and do business with somebody else. Contracts are very powerful documents and both parties must know exactly what they are getting themselves into. As for the fact that agents play on people's emotions, this is true for all businesses. Emotions are the essence of marketing.
Aug 26, 2019 16:14:05Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.