When you buy a house, the purchase contract is almost always written by the buyer’s real estate agent, who fills in a standardized purchase agreement form with the price, deposit, closing date, and any contingencies you want. The seller’s agent or attorney then reviews it, and both sides negotiate from there. The exception is a small group of states where an attorney is legally required to draft or review the contract, and FSBO deals where the seller handles the paperwork instead.
The Buyer’s Agent Usually Drafts the Offer
Once you’ve found a home you want, your agent prepares the written offer using a standard purchase agreement form. These forms are developed by state and local realtor associations, bar associations, or regulatory bodies, and they contain legally vetted language covering the standard terms of a residential sale. Your agent fills in the transaction-specific blanks: price, property address, earnest money amount, proposed closing date, financing details, and the contingencies you want attached.
The completed offer goes to the seller, who can accept it, reject it, or counter. Nothing is binding until both parties sign the same document. Earnest money, typically 1 to 3 percent of the purchase price, is deposited once both sides reach agreement.
What Your Agent Can’t Do
Agents handle most contract preparation in the United States, but their role has clear legal limits. They can check a box adding a financing contingency. They cannot draft custom legal language, interpret contract provisions, or advise you on your legal rights. Doing any of that crosses into the unauthorized practice of law, and the National Association of Realtors’ Code of Ethics requires agents to recommend legal counsel rather than attempt to answer legal questions themselves. Agents who ignore this risk fines, license revocation, and civil liability.1National Association of REALTORS®. What Constitutes the Unauthorized Practice of Law?
If your deal needs anything beyond what the standard form covers, say a custom clause allocating liability for a known foundation problem, that language has to come from an attorney.
When an Attorney Writes or Reviews the Contract
In roughly a half-dozen states, an attorney is legally required to be involved in every residential closing. Several others strongly encourage or effectively require attorney review through local custom or bar association rules. The rest of the country treats attorney involvement as optional.
Attorney-Review States
Some states let agents prepare the initial offer with a standard form but give both parties a short window, commonly three business days, to have an attorney review the signed contract. During that review, an attorney can propose changes, add protective language, or cancel the contract entirely without penalty. Skipping the review means accepting whatever the standard form says, with no one checking whether it actually protects you.
Attorney-Drafting States
A smaller group of states requires an attorney to draft the purchase agreement from the start. Typically the seller’s attorney prepares the initial contract and the buyer’s attorney reviews and negotiates changes before the buyer signs. This adds cost but produces contracts tailored to the specific property and transaction.
When Attorney Review Is Optional but Worth It
Even where no law requires it, certain situations call for an attorney. Complex deals involving commercial elements, unusual financing, estate sales, properties with title defects, or seller concessions all benefit from legal review. A residential purchase agreement review typically runs $500 to $1,500, which is small against the price of the house and the consequences of a poorly drafted contract.
What Belongs in the Contract
Whoever drafts the agreement, certain elements have to be there for it to hold up. Missing or vague terms are where deals fall apart.
Core Terms
- Property description, including the legal description from the deed and any structures or fixtures included in the sale. The street address alone isn’t enough.
- Purchase price, earnest money deposit amount, when payments are due, and how funds will be delivered at closing.
- Closing and possession dates: when ownership transfers, when you get the keys, and what documents must be ready.
- Financing details: the type of loan you’re seeking, the amount, and what happens if financing falls through.
Contingencies
Contingencies are your exit ramps if something goes wrong.
- Inspection contingency: a set number of days to hire an inspector and evaluate the property. If serious problems surface, you can renegotiate, request repairs, or walk away.
- Financing contingency: protects you if your mortgage application is denied. Without it, you could lose your deposit if your lender says no.
- Appraisal contingency: if the home appraises for less than the purchase price, you can renegotiate or cancel. Lenders won’t finance more than appraised value, so without this clause you’d cover the gap yourself.
- Title contingency: allows time for a title search to confirm the seller owns the property free of liens or other claims.
Required Disclosures
Federal law requires a specific lead-based paint disclosure in the contract for any home built before 1978. The seller must share all known information about lead paint hazards and provide a copy of the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.” You get at least 10 days to arrange a lead paint inspection, though you can waive that right in writing.2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards The statute also requires a specific lead warning statement to appear in the contract itself.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
Most states add their own disclosure requirements covering known defects, environmental hazards, past flooding, and HOA obligations. The contract drafter is responsible for making sure the right forms are included.
Who Writes the Contract in a For-Sale-by-Owner Sale
When no agents are involved, the seller takes on the responsibilities that would normally fall to the listing agent, including initiating the contract. The seller can use a generic purchase agreement template, hire a real estate attorney to draft a custom contract, or work with a transaction coordinator who handles paperwork without providing legal advice.
The risk with FSBO contracts is real. Templates often don’t account for state-specific requirements or the quirks of a particular property. Missing disclosures, unenforceable clauses, and vague terms about repair credits or appliance conveyances cause problems at closing or afterward. If you’re buying or selling without representation, hiring an attorney to review the contract before you sign is the single most cost-effective safeguard available.
Signing the Contract Electronically
Nearly all residential purchase contracts today are signed electronically, and federal law makes this fully enforceable. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act provides that a contract or signature cannot be denied legal effect solely because it’s in electronic form.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity Most states have parallel laws. Platforms like DocuSign and DotLoop are standard, and agents routinely send contracts for electronic signature.
You can receive, review, and sign an offer from your phone without affecting enforceability. Just read what you’re signing. The ease of clicking “sign here” is exactly how buyers end up bound to terms they didn’t understand.