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
A forced sale or forced liquidation typically means an involuntary sale of valuables or property for financial reasons. If an unpredictable or uncontrollable event emerges, a seller must ...
Written statements about a person or business that are malicious, unfounded, and damaging. It is the basis for legal action. ...
Depressed or raised framed in portion of a wall, ceiling, or door. A panel board pattern is decorative and gives the effect of a series of highlighted squares or rectangular pieces. ...
America remains a top tourist attraction worldwide, with over 79 million foreign visitors a year. Many are seduced by the American Dream and sooner or later they wonder how they could ...
Property tax rate whereby each mill is $1 of tax assessment per $1,000 of assessed property value. For example, a house in Los Alamitos is assessed at $200,000 and the millage rate is 10 ...
Interest rate that exceeds the rate on the old loan but in less than the rate on new loans. It is usually offered by the lender to encourage home buyers to refinance existing, low interest ...
Time interval between buying a real estate investment and selling it. A sound way to determine the return from a real estate investment is over its life. For example, if land was bought on ...
Inventory that is marketed and sold by an entity. ...
The allocation method estimates the value of the property’s land by gathering information from comparable properties. The allocation method of estimating site value is ideal, however, ...
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.