Posts tagged "uniform electronic transactions act"

Gone are the days when all real estate transactions are individually signed by each party and completed contracts are exchanged on paper. Rather, in today's digital age, many dealings are handled through electronic signatures, or what are deemed to be electronic signatures, with no exchange of actual signed paper documents. While this has sped up the pace of forming and finalizing real estate contracts, and created great convenience for buyers, sellers, real estate agents and attorneys, it also raises important questions about when and if a contract has been formed, the terms of that contract and, of course, has created fertile ground for disputes. There are two primary types of disputes that have emerged. One concerns whether negotiations conducted via email or even text message can form a valid and binding agreement. The second involves whether a written contract, the terms to which have been agreed to, can be made effective without an ink to paper signature. In either instance, it behooves participants in transactions involving the sale or lease of real property to understand what constitutes a legally binding agreement in the state of Massachusetts.