A real estate sales contract is a “bilateral” (two-way) agreement. The seller agrees to sell, and the buyer agrees to buy. Compare this with an option – which is a unilateral (one-way) agreement in that the seller is obligated to sell, but the buyer is not obligated to buy – it is in the buyer’s option to do so.

There are some basic requirements that must be present to make a real estate contract valid:

1.Offer & Acceptance – There must be an offer and acceptance. If the offer is not accepted in the time frame and manner set forth by the buyer (offeror), then there is no contract.

2. Mutual Consent – There must be mutual agreement or “meeting of the minds” between the buyer and the seller.

3. In Writing – With few exceptions, a contract for purchase and sale of real estate must be in writing to be enforceable. Thus, if a buyer makes an offer in writing and the seller accepts orally, and then backs out. The buyer may find difficulty to establish legal binding and not be able to claim compensation or specific performance.

4. Identify the parties – The contract must identify the parties. Although not legally required, a contract commonly sets forth full names and identities of the buyer and seller. If one of the parties is a company or corporation, it should so state with company name and company number.

5. Identify the property – The contract must identify the property. Although not required, the legal description should be set forth. A vague description such as “my dream home” may not be specific enough to create a binding contract.

6. Purchase price – The contract must state the purchase price of the property or a reasonably ascertainable figure (e.g., “appraised value as determined by ABC Appraisal Company”).

7. Consideration – A contract must have consideration to be enforceable. Consideration is the benefit, interest, or value that induces a promise. It is the glue that binds a contract. The amount of the consideration is not important, but rather whether there is consideration at all. It is common for a contract to state that “3 % of the purchase price or a specific amount of money and other good and valuable consideration has been paid and received.”

8. Signatures – A contract must be signed to be enforceable. The party signing must be of legal age and sound mind. A notary’s signature or witness is not required. A facsimile signature is usually acceptable, as long as the contract states that facsimile signatures are valid.

Buying property is essentially the biggest financial commitment of our lives. With inventory diminishing daily and multiple offers being extremely common, it is of great importance that we position ourself to have the “Best Chance” to get our offer accepted. We enhance our chance of buying property of our choice by getting pre-approval for the purchase. This takes very little time and is of great value. At this time, identify the price range for which we qualify that fits our lifestyle.

Be prepared to preview a new property quickly. When buying property, time is essence and be sure to always be prepared and ready to be on the go. Homes sell sometimes in hours. Be prepared to make decisions quickly and be accessible to change the terms instantly. It is a must that buyer and agent must have instant communication access. Maintain instant access to each other via office phone, email, fax, handphone or sms. Whether we are buying property for investment or to live in, extreme care should be exercised to ensure our purchasing experience is stress free and risk free. These few buying tips will make us aware of some of the pitfalls and ways to avoid them.

If we intend living in the property that we intend to buy, we must ensure that the said property really suit at our needs. If we have young children or elderly people living with us, we might wish to avoid stairs and prefer a level floor. Do we intend to install a pool in the future? Is the garden too big or too small? Will we need more bedrooms in the near future?

Can we deflate the joy of buying a new home more than worrying about being turned down for a mortgage loan? Avoid disappointment by sharpening our credentials before we go hunting for a loan. The following steps apply to both spouses if both our incomes are being used to qualify for a loan:
1. Job stability – Lenders look for stability of employment. Two years in the same job or at least the same occupation is considered the minimum. It is usually best not to change employment if we have a home purchase in mind unless it’s going to increase our income. Whatever we do, don’t start a new business within two years before applying for a mortgage. As much as everyone else loves an entrepreneur, lenders do not.
2. Credit – Lenders judge on how we have paid back our previous loans. Our credit report will show our lender all of our past and current debt. It will also show if WE paid on a timely basis. The best advice is to make all of our credit payments on time. We will be asked to explain any late payments on our credit cards, car payment, or mortgage. Don’t say we forgot. Lenders don’t accept this as a reason to be late. If we presently have a mortgage, be sure we don’t make payments after the thirty days’ grace period. Conventional lenders will not offer us a mortgage if we have been delinquent in the past twelve months.
3. Don’t buy anything new – If we know we are going to be buying a new home, it is not wise to go out and buy a car or make other major purchases on credit. Our total monthly bills will be added up to see if we can afford the home payment. The higher our monthly bills, the lower the amount of mortgage for which we will be qualified. Don’t buy anything even if we are going to pay cash. Lenders like to see money in the bank.
4. Savings – When we start thinking about purchasing a home, all of our efforts should be directed to saving money. The more we put down on the purchase price, the lower our monthly payments. A larger down payment also makes it easier to qualify for a loan. There are also many costs associated with home loans that generally add up to about 5% of the total loan amount. The lender is going to verify that we have enough money to pay these closing costs in addition to our down payment. In today’s market there are also loans available that have no closing costs if we are willing to pay a higher interest rate or included in the principal amount. A good idea when money is tight at closing, but it could be more expensive if we live in the home for a long period of time. Don’t get our down payment money from a sock under the mattress. We should be able to show that we saved the money ourself so it is best to keep all of our savings in one account. The lender is going to want to see at least two consecutive months of bank statements verifying our savings.
5. Income – Our income is one of the most important ingredients for qualifying for a home loan since it will be used to determine the amount of mortgage we can afford. Our employer will be asked to verify our employment by completing a written verification form. Alternatively, we can provide a current payroll check stub and two year’s tax returns to prove our income. If we are self-employed, we will be required to provide a copy of two years tax returns. For qualifying purposes, only the income we show on our tax return will be considered.
6. Shop around – Talk to several lenders. Work with someone who we are comfortable with, who has intelligent responses to our questions and does not use high pressure tactics. Look for a lender that has several different types of loans to offer and then ask lots of questions.
7. Educate ourself – Learn as much as we can about mortgage financing and we can save tens of thousands of dollars over our lifetime. Read articles, search the internet, check out books from the library, attend lender seminars for new home buyers or ask our local financial institution for information that may be available.
8. Alternatives – If all attempts to finance our new home fail, ask the Real Estate Agent to identify property where the seller is willing to stretch the financing with no problem on outsourcing for end financing.

Above all, make sure we understand and are comfortable with every aspect of the transaction. The real estate agent or realtor can be an invaluable asset in helping us to make educated decisions on buying property.

I am now the registered Estate Agent, registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia. To become such a professional in Malaysia, I have to sit for a two-part real estate examinations offered by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents, serve a two-year apprenticeship with a registered Real Estate Agent and pass the Test of Professional Competence(TPC) including an Oral Examination before I can be designated as an Estate Agent in Malaysia. As defined under Section 22C of the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981, only registered estate agents can practise, carry on business or take up employment as an Estate Agent.

At the age of 61, I am very excited about the move and wish to share with you a brief summary of my career change to enter into this Real Estate Agency Profession.

1)     I started my teaching career in Vocational School, lpoh; Technical Institute, Penang Polytechnic Ungku Omar, lpoh  from 1970 to 1975
2)     I worked with Hunter Dougles International Company in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong as Technical Executive in promoting and providing solutions in relation to metal strip ceiling and associated works from May 1975 to October 1977.
3)     I joined BHP Steel Building Products (M) Sdn Bhd (formally known as John Lysaght (M) Sdn Bhd) from Nov 1977 to April 1980 as Senior Technical Executive in promoting Lysaght full range of products to consultants, contractors and building professionals.
4)     I spent 21 years of my working career with Atapan Ace Sdn Bhd from May 1980 to April 2001 and significantly contributed to the business growth of the company with ISO accreditation in  the year 1999.
5)     I came on board Kemuning Group of Companies from 1st May 2001 to 30th April 2003. I was the Managing Director of Kemuning System Sdn Bhd and also as an alternate Director of Kemuning Structure Sdn Bhd which I had assisted to develop the New Proprietary K-Steel Newtruss System  to be endorsed by JKR as one of the System Providers for Prefabricated Cold-Formed Steel Roof-Truss System to upgrade and enhance the company business growth and development.
6)     I was offered employment contract with BHP Steel Lysaght (M) Sdn Bhd ( having its name now changed to BlueScope Lysaght (M) Sdn Bhd ) as Contracts Manager on a yearly fixed-term contract basis effective 16th September, 2003; with major focus on new set-up of Contracts Department to develop and teach an understudy for future candidates, business model for contracting, providing tutorship and guidelines for incumbents to take on positions/responsibilities in Contracts Management.
7)     I opted to be registered as Probationary Estate Agent on a full time basis effective 15th September 2004 to pursue my new career in the profession of estate agency practice.
8)     Upon completion of my real estate examinations, apprenticeship and pass the Test of Professional Competency (TPC) including an oral examination, I was successful to register as an Estate Agent with the Board of Valuers. Appraisers & Estate Agents and further incorporated my firm – Elvincom Realtor on January 2008.

Focus can be a scary word to most people; but it can help us make good and informed decisions. As the saying goes: what the mind can perceive and believe it can achieve. This applies to both the good and the negative in our lives.

“In order for someone to grow, he can’t just take value from the market, he has to provide it as well.” This is the main aim of this blog to share what we see, what we know and what we learn in a combination of information, inspiration and motivation of our real estate needs in this wonderful community….

My first experience was with this dumb-ass hacker from Indonesia, due to compromised passwords. I googled the net for solution, contacted the hosting company for advice and called the IM Gurus for help. The final solution was to do a complete scan of my PC for viruses, check and remove trojans or viruses, install the security plugin, change FTP password and not to store or save password in FTP client. After many attempts and sleepless nites to learn some coding kills, I was able to bring this to be ‘live’ again!

Unfortunately, this does not last long, and I had the second, third and other hackers from Turkey, Arab and other middle-East countries. They hacked my website like ‘Terrorist Attack’. What the hell was wrong with these people? After months, not weeks of utter frustration, I do a complete makeover with the theme, shift the hosting panel, add and delete code in the htaccess, and index files with help from the webmaster to stop the hackers to hack into the site again…

Will this solve the problem? I don’t know! There are so many attacks reported daily and these cyberbullies will likely never be solved.

On this last day of the year 2011, let’s say goodbye to all those wasted brain powers, ignore them and move-on to welcome a new life of 2012, even the same happening again. More blogging and sharing, less hacking and spamming to make this cyber world a better community for all…

Stay tune for the re-loading of all previous articles and also more new articles to post in the near future for sharing. Happy New Year 2012…..