An agreement of sale constitutes the terms and conditions of sale of a property by the seller to the buyer. These terms and conditions include the amount at which it is to be sold and the future date of full payment.
Description: Being an important document in the sale transaction, it enables the process of sale to go through without any hurdles. All the terms and conditions included in the agreement of sale must be understood thoroughly by both the parties and obeyed throughout the sale process till the time the sale deed is made. Agreement of sale is the base document on which the sale deed is drafted.
Sale deed is the document prepared at the time of full payment made by the buyer and when the actual transfer of the property takes place.
The Transfer of Property Act, 1882, which regulates the matters dealing with the sale and transfer of house property, defines the contract for sale or an agreement for sale as under:
“A contract for the sale of immovable property, is a contract that a sale of such property shall take place on the terms settled between the parties” – Section 54. Section 54 further provides that “It does not, of itself, create any interest in or charge on such property.”
From the above definition, it becomes amply clear that an agreement for sale contains a promise to transfer a property in question in future, on satisfaction of certain terms and conditions. So, this agreement itself does not create any rights or interest in the property, for the proposed buyer.
What the sales agreement creates, is a right for the purchaser to purchase the property in question on satisfaction of certain conditions. Likewise, the seller also gets the right to receive the consideration from the buyer on complying with his part of the terms and conditions.
In case of failure of the seller to sell or hand over possession of the property to the buyer, the buyer gets a right of specific performance, under the provisions of the Specific Relief Act, 1963. A similar right is available to the seller under the agreement, for seeking specific performance from the buyer.
Even though the signing of the agreement for sale does not mean the sale has been concluded, it is a crucial step in that direction. This is why buyers must be acutely aware of the terms and condition as mentioned in the agreement.