BEHIND THE WORDS OF THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® RESIDENTIAL PURCHASE AGREEMENT: LEGAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Written by Neil Kalin and Joseph Yoon

I. INTRODUCTION

The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) standard form purchase agreement (C.A.R. Form RPA, or RPA, for short) is generally accepted as the most widely used purchase agreement for residential property sales in California. There were more than 440,000 sales of single-family residences in California in 2021.⁰¹ That same year, California REALTORS®⁰² downloaded more than 2,000,000 RPAs into their electronic transaction folders.⁰³ These transaction files far outnumber actual sales because they include purchase offers that are made and not accepted, as well as those made for condominiums and smaller multi-unit properties such as duplexes. The RPA is more than a raw contact between a buyer and seller, it is a compilation of terms and conditions intended to satisfy legal requirements, practical considerations, and educational necessities. It is a roadmap to the purchasing and selling journey experienced every year by hundreds of thousands of Californians and their respective real estate representatives. This article will take the reader through the June 2022 version of the RPA, explaining legal requirements, practical considerations, and necessities behind the text on the pages.⁰⁴

[Page 33]