Q: Does a vacant/undeveloped land contract ower financed have to notorized to be enforceable/Valid?
We bought vacant undeveloped land in teller county CO I signed a purchase agreement with the seller however did NOT sign the contract they sent that needed to be notorized. After reviewing the contract I do not agree with some of the terms now the seller wants to keep my $10000 down payment. I signed the purchase agreement in Oct 2017. Is there anyway I can get out of this contract & get my down payment back?
A: Dear Land Contract Inquiry: In order to be binding, a Land Contract does not have to be notarized in the strictest sense. While it is "best practices" to have signature notarized the lack of notarized signature only tests the issue "were the signatures authentic". In other words, the notarization is used to prove the signature is valid. In this case, you are not challenging the contract based on the argument that your signature was forged, and so the notary issue will not formulate a basis for you to cancel the Land Contract. I can add, however, that the Land Contract is a complex drafting exercise such that there indeed are format/content requirements in a Land Contract which, if absent, may allow a party to claim that the contract is void. Without studying the contract, I will not be capable of offering anything further than that. Additionally, you might have the benefit of claiming there is a failure of consideration, or other failed due diligence items, which may form the basis of a valid reason to cancel the contact. Seek counsel adept in handling the review and legal analysis, is my best advice to you. JIM GREER practices real estate law in CO and CA, and offers this response as a courtesy only; nothing herein constitutes legal advice as the questioner and the responder are not in an Attorney-Client relationship.
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