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
Stairs or porch by the front door of the house. ...
initial plaster used on a lathe. ...
The meaning of topography defines the science of mapping a specific region’s physical features. In short, the topography describes an area’s characteristics, such as its ...
“What is Situs?”, you ask.Situs is a word in Latin that basically means the site or location where something exists or originates. Like most words in latin, situs is usually ...
What does Act of God mean? Acts of God or “force majeure” is typically how an insurance policy classifies peril situations that could not be prevented or defended by men. ...
An arm’s-length transaction is a business deal, or transaction where the seller and buyer act independently of each other without influence on the other party. What sets these types ...
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 ...
Figure or value which is the starting point in computing gain or loss, depreciation, depletion, and amortization. ...
Cash payment to a lender so as to lower the interest rate on a loan a borrower must incur. The lower rate may apply for all or a part of the loan term. ...
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.