I live in the UK, but am trying to purchase a property in Indio California. My realtor says that I need to submit a contract for the property with my offer price ASAP as there is another buyer interested.
The contract he has given me is the standard California Association of Realtors contract.
The house comes fully furnished but the seller will only give me an inventory of items once I enter escrow. I would like the contract to give me the option to cancel if the inventory doesn't match what I saw when I viewed the property. There are also a number of other changes I would like to make to the contract. For example, my mortgage provider says it may take up to 60 days to finalise the mortgage, but at the moment, the contract says that I can cancel if I haven't got a mortgage in 21 days.
When I ask my realtor about updating the contract, he says that there's no time. I should just sign now to get the house in Escrow and then we can negotiate these things during the due diligence period, as that's how it works in the USA. He also states that I can cancel (until the first contingencies are removed) and get a full refund. Is all of this right? Coming from the UK, that doesn't seem proper.
I don’t want to miss out on this deal. But at the same time, I don’t want to sign something that I later regret. I have tried contact several lawyers but none seem able to help me within the timeframe. I would appreciate any advice.