The Devil is in the Details
Have you ever heard the saying “the Devil is in the Details”? If not, loosely translated it means the difficult part is in all the small details. I don’t know who originated the phrase but it could have been by a Spring Texas Realtor right after she figured out there are 12 time specific tasks in our real estate contract and its addendums that need to be managed.
If the tasks are not managed and they do not get completed within the time specified there are repercussions that have to be paid. These repercussions can include financial penalties or they could cost you losing the house to another buyer or could get you sued by the other party due to contract default. Saying “I’m sorry. I was late” may work with your spouse but not with the other party in the real estate contract.
The most important date in our Spring Texas real estate contract is the effective date. Located on page 7, the effective date is the executed date of the contract. Although some of the tasks to be completed are date specific, the majority of the tasks are to completed within X days after the effective date.
To correctly determine the specific date a task in the contract is to be completed by is not difficult once you know two things. One … all days are calendar days not business days.  Two … the first day begins the day after the effective date.  For instance, if the effective date of your real estate contract is December 19th, 2009 and you the sellers have agreed to a 10 days termination option, your option period would end at midnight on December 29th, 2009.
If you forget the date your termination option ends or you miscalculate the date, you are plain out of luck because unlike your spouse, the sellers will not graciously forgive your mistake. The Devil  …. is in the Details.
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