If you agree to sell a parcel of land in exchange for a sum of money, you have entered into a legally binding contract that can be upheld in court. However, there are several steps along the way.
First of all you as the owner will make an offer to sell your property to another party under certain stipulations, i.e. a particular amount of money to be paid to you over a specified time period. If the second party accepts your terms then the agreement can be finalized, but if he wants to pay less money than you have asked for, or change the payment arrangement in some way he will present a counter offer. Adjustments and compromises may be made until you both come to what is known as a ”meeting of the minds,” meaning that you have settled on terms that are agreeable to you both. Then the contract can go forward.
In order for a contract to be legal there must be “consideration.” That is, all parties to the agreement have to end up with some form of compensation. Using the same example as above your consideration would be the monetary value that the buyer of your property is paying you. His consideration of course, is the transfer of ownership of the property over to him.
A verbal agreement can be just as binding as a written one, but if it is contested in court facts will be harder to distinguish. Since the terms of the contract have not been written out it will be harder to prove what was actually agreed upon and could become a matter of trying to determine who said what, and if they can be legally held to it. So, if you do enter into a verbal contract be sure to keep a record of all negotiations leading up to the accordance. Having had a witness present during verbal negotiations could be extremely helpful in a legal battle.
If you need help in proving that another party has failed to live up to his end of a legal contract call the offices of the Parker Lawyers firm @ 303-536-3825 for consultation.
