Oregon Real Estate Disputes – Earnest Money Deposits
[This article is one of a series of upcoming posts dealing with real estate disputes in Oregon, ranging from transactional matters to litigation matters. Enjoy!]
[This article is one of a series of upcoming posts dealing with real estate disputes in Oregon, ranging from transactional matters to litigation matters. Enjoy!]

Introduction. The term “Earnest Money Deposit” is familiar to most people – at least on the surface: It is the “deposit” that prospective buyers initially

Introduction. Most Oregon residential transactions are documented by one of two Sale Agreement forms, the OREF form, created circa 1997, or the Oregon Realtor (“OR”) form

Introduction. Contract law is pretty basic; once the agreement becomes “binding” on a party, withdrawal normally cannot occur without consequences. The OREF Sale Agreement is

Introduction. Regardless of how active (or inactive) the market is, sellers’ brokers should always be on the lookout for “red flags.” These are the often

Introduction. This is a continuation of Part One, which addressed the printed contingencies found in the 2022 OREF Residential Real Estate Sale Agreement. (References to

Introduction. Disputes involving earnest money deposits are a “zero sum game.” There is one winner and one loser; no in-between. Arbitrators do not – or

Introduction. Generally, a contingency is an event that must occur (or not occur)[1] for the transaction to become binding (e.g., loan approval, condition of title,

Introduction. For many years before Covid, when Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors® (“PMAR”) had live New Member Orientation (“NMO”) seminars, I spoke about real estate basics; the Sale

Discussion. The short answer is “Yes.” But the longer answer requires more explanation. First, a caveat: By “review” I do not mean by the listing agent for