“Where’s the TRID Rider?” We’ve been asked that question many times this week and our answer is… the Berkshire County Board of REALTORS doesn’t have one. Why? We were one of the few organizations that elected to UPDATE our P&S agreement to cover the potential for TRID delays. If your client has been presented with a Rider to sign, please make sure you tell them to seek legal counsel to make sure that it is in their best interests. There is NO obligation for a buyer or seller to execute a rider. Here is a detailed explanation of why this decision was made locally – you should understand this in order to best serve your clients: (taken directly from our TRID FAQ )
Do we need an addendum like the Mass Form, to handle TRID delay issues?
No, not at this time. Board Legal Counsel, the CEO and the President met and debated and discussed four different addendums created at the very last minute for TRID changes. We don’t believe they are needed. Why?
Our Berkshire P&S was changed to address how to handle adjustments without having to delay the closing, a key component to the proposed addendums we’ve seen floating around out there. In our practice, the closing attorney can calculate the closing figures if not provided for by the seller’s attorney, and they are binding. If you’re using the MAR P&S you might want to consider using the MAR Rider… but Berkshire forms were not designed for use with this rider… and only legal counsel should advise if your client executes one.
There were concerns about creating automatic extensions that don’t require buyer and seller consent. Currently, there is no extension to the closing date without consent, and there is no compelling reason now to create one… we will continue to monitor this and may make a modification if it is discovered that the lenders or attorneys are unable to perform in the timelines we’ve established.
All addendums that were produced cited the need for an automatic extension due to compliance with TRID. That isn’t possible. The regulation creates no delay; an individual or institution’s failure to perform as expected creates delay. Further, an automatic extension of the closing is not a requirement in any TRID regulation. They buyer and seller can always agree to an extension if issues arise though, just as they could before TRID.
The addendums we reviewed did not address when notice of delay has to be given. It is conceivable that the buyer could have the moving truck packed and on their way to closing when they learn of a delay.
There was strong consensus that our standards for performance and mutual consent should be preserved, unless we learn otherwise after roll-out and actual implementation.
Some attorneys are requiring asking us to strike “time is of the essence”. Is that going to be removed from our Purchase and Sale agreement?
No, not at this time. There have been a handful of law firms that routinely requested that be stricken long before the TRID disclosure issue. Our current agreements and way of doing business hold the dates to be hard performance dates unless otherwise mutually agreed. If the buyer’s attorney recommends that be stricken, that is a negotiable item between the seller and the buyer.