NEW 2014 RPA
RE: THE NEW RPA
The RPA has been revised again and will be released in November 2014. The form has been increased from 8 pages to 10 pages and many of the changes are not for the best.
The following is a summary of some of the more important changes that are likely to cause problems:
1. First, the loan contingency is now 21 days instead of 17 days. All other contingencies including appraisal remain at 17 days. This will necessitate that listing agents send NBP at 17 days and then again at 21 days to assure removal of all contingencies. See Paragraph 3J3 of the new RPA.
2. Second, you can no longer allocate the cost for termite inspections to Buyer or Seller using the RPA. You will need to allocate costs by separate agreement. This will be a trap for the unwary agent. See 7A of the new RPA.
3. Third, Sellers are now required to complete all city pre-sale inspections and provide reports to the Buyer within seven (7) days. To show how out of touch CAR is, city inspections can take 30 days or more to schedule and complete. I suggest advising your Sellers to contact the city immediately upon signing the Listing Agreement to confirm whether their city requires an inspection. See Paragraph 7B2(iii) of the new RPA
4. Fourth, Sellers are now required to provide a list of all leased items in the house within seven (7) days of signing the RPA. This applies to any system in the house that is leased and will not be paid-off through escrow such as solar systems. See Paragraph 8B4 of the new RPA.
5. Fifth, the Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ) is now a required form that every Seller must complete unless countered out of the RPA. See Paragraph 10A4 of the new RPA
6. Sixth, the RPA has been revised to require two (2) days notice for both the NBP and the NSP. Previous versions of the RPA did not specify the amount of time needed for a NSP. If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, then the responding party has until the next business day to respond. See Paragraph 14D of the new RPA.This is not a complete list.
There will be more to come as we get close to the official release date of the new RPA.
09/10/14
