How to Retract an Offer on Real Estate in Arkansas

Use the contingencies written in the contract to easily retract your real estate offer.

A real-estate contract is a binding agreement between the buyer and the seller of the specific property. Arkansas is one of the states that views real-estate contracts as legal documents. There are still a few ways that the buyer can retract the offer, though, without putting himself at risk for a lawsuit. A good suggestion for home buyers is to carefully choose the contingencies they include in the agreement. These contingencies are circumstances that may arise after the contract is drafted that allow the buyer to terminate the contract with ease. The other way to retract a contract is to mutually end the agreement on both the seller's and the buyer's behalf.

Things You'll Need

• Termination agreement

Instructions

Retracting a Real Estate Offer in Arkansas

1. Claim one of the contingencies that you listed when you signed the contract for the piece of real estate. These are typically put in place in case a problem arises between the date the contract is signed and the date that the property is officially transferred to the buyer. Some contingencies commonly chosen for real-estate contracts include inspection contingencies and finance contingencies.

2. Fill out the proper form to terminate your agreement with the broker who you worked with when you signed the contract. There are two types of buyer's agreements that can be made between a broker and a buyer: exclusive and non-exclusive buyer's agreements. Verify with your broker which type of agreement you signed, and then find the proper termination form online to end the agreement.

3. Schedule a meeting with the seller of the property. This gives you the chance to explain the reasons for the retraction and to discuss the different possible outcomes of the retraction. This type of contract termination can only be made if both the seller and the buyer come to a mutual agreement regarding the terms of the retraction.

4. Make good on your end of the agreement. The terms the buyer and seller agree upon will typically include a fee for retracting the contract. Once the fee has been paid, and all other conditions have been met, the contract will be officially retracted.

References

• Searchlight Crusade: Exclusive versus Non Exclusive Agreements
• Lectlaw: Definition of Contract Retraction

Resources

• House Partners: Termination of Buyer Agreement Form