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Q: On VAR Form 600, Residential Contract of Purchase, there is a section for the Listing Firm and Selling Firm’s information and signatures on the last page of the form.  

When we submitted an offer, my buyer signed, and I, the Selling Agent, signed on the last page before delivering the offer to the Listing Agent. The seller accepted and signed on the same date. However, the Listing Agent did not sign on the last page until two days later.  

Does this impact the date the contract was ratified? Does this affect how we are supposed to count days for contingencies?  

A: In this scenario, contract ratification occurred when the seller accepted the buyer’s offer by signing and delivering the signed acceptance to the buyer’s agent. If a contingency period begins at ratification, then you would start counting from the day you received the seller’s signed acceptance.  

The final page of the form is for informational purposes only and does not affect contract ratification. Best practice would be for the Listing Firm to sign and indicate the “Date of Ratification” as provided on the form when delivering the accepted offer to the Selling Firm. The “Date of Ratification” is the date the accepted offer is delivered to the buyer or buyer’s agent.  

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