How much time do you give a buyer to sign a purchase agreement after you send it to them?
@elenakinny how are you delivering the contract to them? If you are mailing it to them, you need to factor some extra time for snail mail. If you are sending it to them with an electronic signature service, you could give them 24-72 hours, which should give them some urgency to get it signed and not put it off.
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I agree with charlotteirwin that putting a time deadline on the offer is a very good way to go about it. Of course, this has to be balanced with the type of relationship that you’ve built up with the seller and your feel for their desire to sell.
In the past, I would typically put a deadline on all of my offers (48 hours from receipt). You can always extend it, but, in my experience, if someone doesn’t sign within 48 hours after saying they will do so then the likelihood that they will sign has meaningfully decreased since they time they said they would. You can always try to keep the lead warm after the deadline, but a deadline is just the push that some people need to get them over the finish line.
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72 hours.
@elenakinny If you do it by a title company or escrow, It is possible to send it by e-mail or text message. It is more quicker.
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@elenakinny My default is three days not counting the day I send the contract, assuming this is happening electronically. I adjust up or down depending on the relationship with the Owner and their savvy with technology. if by mail, I put a three week expiration given how snaily snail mail is nowadays.
Thank you for the replies, everyone. It sounds like 72 hours is a good consensus. I should’ve probably clarified that I was wondering about the situation where I am the seller. I usually email a contract to the buyer for them to e-sign, but was wanting to put a deadline on it. I appreciate all the feedback!