Definition of "Novation"

What is Novation? 

What is the definition of novation? Jointly agreeing to provide an equivalent legal obligation or debt for a previous one. Persons to the contract can also be substituted. A novation requires a valid previous contract, mutual agreement of all the parties to the contract, and the termination of the original contract or discharge of the original parties before the substitution of a new contract and/or parties to it, respectively. A novation may arise when one party is experiencing financial or operating difficulty in a real estate transaction.

What does novation mean in real estate?

Novation in real estate is usually used in regards to the transfer of complex property leases and similar cases. Novation is most often used in one of two cases. It can be used in replacing one party with another in a contract or agreement, or it can be used to substitute new terms or contracts in place of old ones. In either case, this is done with mutual consent of all involved. 

Novation real estate examples 

Novation in real estate is most common when transferring a leased property from one party to another. In these cases, the landlord, previous leasing party and hopeful leasing party must negotiate and agree on all changes to existing agreements and contracts, and rewrite the contracts and agreements to the satisfaction of all parties involved. 

Another common example of novation in real estate is the sale of property with unpaid mortgages. When selling a property that is mortgaged to a bank, the seller, the buyer and the bank must agree on the terms of the sale of the property.The assumption of responsibility by the buyer for mortgage payments must be previously accepted by the bank, usually after an extensive background and financial check on the buyer. 

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

The Exclusive Agency Listing is regularly confused with the Exclusive Right to Sell Listing, but they are not the same. True: on both Listings, only 1 Broker or Agent has the right to sell ...

Generally, a legal notice implies a method of official notification to an individual, organization, company, or the public that a particular event is about to occur. We can call a ...

Trying to resolve a problem between two individuals up with some compromise or common ground. It occurs more often during times of poor economic conditions. An example is a creditor ...

(1) Paved roadway constructed above lowlands such as a swamp. (2) Roadway in ancient Egypt connecting the valley temple with a pyramid. ...

The appraisal approach is used to estimate the value of an asset, based on various factors to reach the closest educated guess of the asset. While an appraisal approach does consider the ...

A municipal or county local government board that resolves zoning disputes. ...

Government owned lands, for conservation purposes or for specific uses such as dams and hydropower. Public lands are owned by federal, state, and local governments. Many public lands are ...

Type of ownership by husband and wife, recognized in 27 states, in which the rights of the deceased spouse pass to the survivor. It is the same as joint tenancy, except that one spouse ...

The definition of trade-in in real estate refers to a swap of houses. The trade-in program gives a seller of a property the chance to find an ideal replacement home for their family while ...

Popular Real Estate Questions