Documents / Real Estate
Real Estate Purchase Agreement
A binding contract to buy and sell residential real property — price, earnest money, financing, contingencies, and closing.
Create a review draft
Prepare, edit and export a review draft. Complete the listed local review and execution steps outside Quill before relying on it.
State-specific. Terms, notices or signing steps change with your state.
Version 2026-09-09.8. No qualified legal review is recorded. Read the complete document and obtain advice for your circumstances.
Review and execution steps
- Have local counsel/title professionals check legal description, title, escrow, financing, inspection and closing deadlines.
- Complete required seller disclosures, lead disclosure and all contingency schedules before execution.
- This contract does not itself transfer title; arrange the required deed, closing and recording separately.
Guidance updated September 8, 2026. Source coverage is limited to the topics described; historical sources are identified. State, local and transaction-specific requirements still apply.
Time
~18 min
Questions
57–62
Steps
10
Export
PDF · Word
Answer guided questions, review your draft, and export or request signatures on supported documents.
What we will cover
- 01
Location
Choose the actual location so the preparation guidance and applicable safeguards follow your document.
- 02
Seller & Buyer
- 03
The Property
- 04
Price & Financing
- 05
Contingencies
Contingencies let the Buyer cancel and recover the earnest money if a condition isn't met.
- 06
Closing & Costs
- 07
State sale requirements
Some states require specific disclosures in the sales contract itself. Answer for the state where the property is located.
- 08
Building age
- 09
Lead disclosure attachment
For older housing, the export includes a paper disclosure attachment. Provide the approved EPA pamphlet and actual reports before anyone becomes bound. Each recipient completes their own receipt acknowledgment; the interview cannot do that for them.
- 10
Parties, escrow and closing package
- 11
Review and generate
Edit and export, then follow this document's review, delivery or execution steps.
About this document
A real estate purchase agreement is the binding contract between buyer and seller for a home. It sets the price, the earnest money and who holds it, how the purchase is financed, which fixtures and appliances stay, the closing date, when the buyer takes possession, and how closing costs are divided. Once both sides sign, this is the document the lender and title company work from, and everything afterward is performance against its deadlines.
Contingencies are the buyer's exits — inspection, appraisal, financing, title — and each one carries a date. Miss the date and the contingency is generally treated as waived, putting the earnest money at risk. Disclosure duties vary by state, with most requiring a seller's property disclosure statement, and the federal lead-paint rule applying to homes built before 1978. A few states require an attorney at closing, and several give a short attorney-review window after signing.
Common questions
Is a real estate purchase agreement binding as soon as both parties sign?+
Yes — a signed agreement is enforceable, subject to the contingencies written into it. A few states add a short attorney-review or rescission window during which either side can cancel, which is worth confirming before you treat the deal as locked. Contracts for real property must be in writing to be enforceable, so nothing agreed verbally survives on its own.
What happens to the earnest money if the sale falls through?+
It depends on why. If the buyer cancels within a live contingency and follows the notice steps, the deposit is normally refunded; if the buyer walks after those deadlines have passed, the seller can usually keep it as liquidated damages. The escrow agent generally will not release the funds without written instructions signed by both parties or a court order, so a dispute freezes the money.
Do I need a real estate attorney to buy or sell a house?+
Several states require an attorney to prepare the documents or attend the closing; elsewhere it is optional. Even where optional, an attorney earns their fee when there is seller financing, an inherited or jointly owned property, known defects, or an unrepresented party across the table. For a routine sale with agents and a title company, many buyers and sellers proceed without one.
General information, not legal advice — laws vary by state and change over time.
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