- This is used mostly where the parties have signed an agreement but the purchaser has added suspensive conditions (like a bond clause or the sale of another property.)
- The seller is happy to do the deal, but does not want to lose the opportunity to market the property to other potential buyers in case the purchaser’s suspensive conditions are not fulfilled quickly or at all.
- This also puts some pressure on the buyer to fulfil the suspensive conditions as soon as possbible.
- This can be done by including a “72 hour clause”. (Of course the time period doesn’t have to be 72 hours. It can be whatever the parties agree.)
- It provides something along these lines (but using the definitions and language of the rest of the agreement):
- Until all suspensive conditions to this agreement are fulfilled, the seller may continue to market the property. If the seller receives an offer on the property which he/she wishes to accept, the seller will give the buyer written notice of the offer along with a copy of the offer. The buyer has 72 hours of receipt of such notice to waive the suspensive conditions of this sale and proceed immediately to take transfer of the property, failing which the seller may give notice to the buyer that the agreement is cancelled. The desposit paid by the buyer will be returned to the buyer and the seller may sell the property to the third party and neither party will have any claim against each other as a result.
- Other forms of this clause can be:
- to alter the 72 hour period to make it longer or shorter
- to provide that should such better offer be received, the first buyer must meet or beat it in order to be allowed to continue with the purchase, and not simply waive the suspensive conditions.
