Exact Answer: 3 Business days
Offer and acceptance form essential components of a valid contract. An agreement can be of various types, but for a simple agreement to metamorphose into a contract, legal enforceability is required. An agreement, only when it is duly enforceable by law becomes a contract, and for this to happen it is of utmost importance that an offer is given and it is accepted for further procedures to take place.
Offer and its acceptance can happen only when both the parties entering into the contract have a common objective. It is popularly called ‘consensus ad idem’ i. e meeting of minds. Only when both parties agree to all the terms and conditions of the contract, the offer given will be accepted and the deal will come into force.
How Long After Offer Accepted To Pay Deposit?
| Places | Duration To Pay The Deposit Money |
| California | 3 business days |
| Utah | 4 business days |
From the context of a property contract, once the offer is accepted, the buyer of the property has to pay the deposit to the seller within the stipulated time to own the property. This step is crucial and hence should be completed if one wants to seal the deal.
Getting the offer accepted is just the first step. After this, if the deposit money is not paid, it would lead to revocation of the order that has been previously accepted. Deposit which is paid after the acceptance of the order signifies good faith and works as an assurance for the seller that the party in the contract wants to go ahead with the purchase.
Deposit money is not the whole price of a property but just a fraction of the entire amount. Such deposits are called earnest money deposits. These deposits are between 1 to 3% of the contract price of the property in consideration. These deposits can be refundable or non-refundable as per the terms of the case.
Transferring the initial deposit within 3 working days and paying the deposit amount would enable the prospective buyer to inspect the property and make his final call whether to finalize the property or not.
Why Does It Take This Long After Offer Accepted To Pay Deposit?
It should be kept in mind that even after the offer has been accepted, the seller is in no way legally obliged to sell the property unless there has been an exchange of deposit among the parties. Thus, it is vital to pay the deposit as early as possible after the offer is accepted.
Although the offer has been accepted, the seller of the property can still change his mind and decide to take other offers from parties offering a higher price. Therefore, for the buyer to reserve the property for inspection and finalization, a deposit is required by the seller from the party with whom the offer has been accepted.
Just as the deposit money can vary, so can the date of paying the deposit. The terms of each contract are different and thus the conditions might vary accordingly. The duration within which the deposit amount has to be paid could be fixed on mutual understanding between both parties.
Generally, the earlier one pays the deposit, the better it is. If the buyer is sure to purchase the property then such a person would not hesitate to pay the deposit amount. Generally, as a common notion, within 3 business days after the acceptance of the offer, the earnest deposit should be paid. However, this condition is not concrete and thus can vary.
Conclusion
Offer acceptance is just the initial phase in a contract concerned with buying property. The acceptance of the offer implies that both buyer and seller agree upon the terms and conditions of the contract. However, after offer acceptance, the buyer has to pay the deposit as a security to the seller.
The deposit money helps the seller estimate the willingness and ability of the prospective buyer to buy the property. Property contracts specify the amount to be paid and the duration within which it has to be paid. Generally, people should pay the earnest money deposit within three working days from the date the offer was accepted via bank cheque or any other payment method. Failing to adhere to the payment deadlines for the deposit money can lead to the cancellation of the contract.
References
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4302-4645-9_12
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10835547.2014.12091730
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