A FARBAR contract is a standard contract used in the state of Florida for the buying and selling of residential homes. It is most commonly used by realtors in residential real estate transactions.
The acronym “FARBAR” came about because it was created by the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) in collaboration with the Florida BAR association. The actual name of the contract is “Residential Contract For Sale and Purchase”. This is quite a mouthful and as such nearly everyone refers to it as the FARBAR.
The contract is quite lengthy at over 10 pages long and comes in more than one version. The reason for the level of detail is that it is derived from an accumulation of knowledge that has been acquired through millions of residential real estate transactions over several decades.
Given that the value of real property that is exchanged in the sale of a home is typically in the hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars, the authors have gone at great lengths to protect buyers, sellers and brokers; the contract also contains the most common contingencies in a residential sale.
Since it has already been legally vetted, the contract is highly recommended for the purchase and sale of residential real estate in Florida and used in the vast majority of transactions.
Can anyone use the FARBAR contract?
Absolutely. While it is was designed in part by the Florida Realtor Association, anyone can use this contract for the purchase and sale of residential real estate. You can sell a house without a realtor and use this form for your transaction. That being said, it is a legal document and as such you may want to consider getting some direction from a real estate attorney if you have concerns about filling it when selling your house yourself.
Alternatively, reach out to us and we would be happy to guide you the process of selling your house using the FARBAR.
Does the FARBAR contract come in more than one version?
Yes, this contract comes in 2 versions: the regular version and the AS-IS version. The AS-IS version basically covers the purchase or sale of a property in its as-is condition; the seller is not required to make any repairs prior to the sale of their home given the default language in the contract.
The “AS-IS” Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase is the most widely used version of the FARBAR.
Should I use the FARBAR contract to sell my house?
It is entirely up to you which contract you want to use. The advantage of using the FARBAR is that it has already been reviewed by the Florida BAR so it is a sound legal template; it is also relatively simple to use, requiring you to just fill in the blanks.
If you thinking about selling your house quickly but are worried about using this contract, don’t be concerned; just contact us and we will fill it out for you. We buy houses full-time and can guide you the process of using the FARBAR to sell your property.