Real estate agents handle complex contract language every day, but their licensing training never covered the legal nuances that can make or break a deal.
A single word in a real estate contract can be the difference between an enforceable obligation and a sentence fragment that falls apart in court. Agents and brokers work with standardized purchase agreements drafted by law firms, filling in the blanks for prices, dates, contingencies, and custom terms on every deal. It is skilled, high-stakes work, and the reality is that most licensing programs simply do not prepare agents for the legal precision those blanks demand.
The good news: the most common contract pitfalls are also the most preventable. Knowing where the language tends to go wrong, and when to bring in legal support, can protect agents, their clients, and their reputations from disputes that never needed to happen.
“To” is not a verb – and it matters more than you think
One of the most widespread drafting errors is also the easiest to dismiss. Agents routinely write clauses like “Seller to pay $5,000 in closing costs.” The language reads clearly in conversation. In court, it carries no legal force.
Jerry Larkowski, a dual-licensed attorney and Managing Broker at ESQ. Realty Group, LLC in Central Arkansas, has closed more than 180 transactions over six years. The distinction, he explains, is that “Seller shall pay” creates a binding obligation, while “Seller to pay” is a sentence fragment a judge can interpret in any number of ways.
Larkowski learned this lesson early. As a young trial attorney, he stood in a courtroom with a contract containing similarly imprecise language. When the judge asked what the clause actually required, Larkowski knew the case was lost before the argument began.
The fix is a single word: “shall.” Not “will”, which is predictive of future behavior, but “shall,” which creates a binding directive. Law students learn the distinction in their first year. Most practicing real estate agents never encounter it in their licensing coursework.
The deadline trap: business days versus calendar days
Real estate contracts frequently specify timelines in “business days” – for inspections, contingency periods, earnest money deadlines, and more. Under Arkansas law, business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. A 10-business-day inspection window that begins on a Friday before a Monday holiday can stretch to 16 calendar days.
Not every agent counts correctly.
Larkowski says he has had agents call claiming their client’s 10th day had already passed – only to realize they forgot to account for a holiday weekend.
For buyers, the risk is losing a contingency window they believed was still open. For sellers, it is prematurely declaring a buyer in default and jeopardizing the entire transaction. Either scenario can trigger disputes, delayed closings, or outright contract failures – all from a miscount that a basic legal review would catch.
Lease terms that don’t match reality
The problem extends beyond purchase agreements. A recently reviewed lease listed a 12-month term, but only 10 months actually remained. The landlord had not caught the discrepancy.
In a rental market where investors are already navigating rising refinancing costs and tightening margins, a lease that expires two months earlier than expected can mean unplanned vacancy or a rushed renewal negotiation where the tenant holds more leverage than the landlord anticipated. These errors are not malicious – they are the result of reusing templates, failing to update dates, or copying language from a previous deal without verifying that the terms still apply.
What licensing courses don’t cover—and why that’s not the agent’s fault
Real estate agents in most states are not required to hold a law degree. Licensing training covers transaction mechanics, fair housing requirements, and ethical obligations, all essential. But it does not typically include how to draft enforceable contract language or how to spot the kind of ambiguity that a court will scrutinize. That is not a failure of individual agents. It is a gap in how the industry prepares them.
The result is a structural mismatch: contracts are designed by attorneys, but the professionals filling them out are trained in sales, negotiation, and client service, not legal drafting. In most transactions, the mismatch never surfaces. The deal closes, both parties are satisfied, and the imprecise language in paragraph six is never tested. But when a dispute arises, the language is all that matters, and what both parties “meant” carries no weight against what the document actually says. Agents who recognize this gap early, and build a relationship with legal counsel who can review their contract language, are the ones who protect their clients and themselves.
One review before you sign
For agents and brokers, the practical step is straightforward: before a contract goes to signatures, have the free-form language, the blanks you filled in, reviewed by someone with legal training. Work with a legal counsel who can do a quick contract-language check, flag ambiguities, and help you develop the drafting instincts that licensing courses do not teach.
In a market where clients are already navigating balloon payment pressure, elevated interest rates, and shifting tariff costs, an agent who can say “my contracts hold up” is an agent who stands apart. The most avoidable risk in real estate is not a bad market, it is a bad sentence in an otherwise good deal.
About ESQ. Realty Group, LLC
ESQ. Realty Group, LLC is a full-service real estate brokerage based in Central Arkansas, serving the Little Rock market. Led by Managing Broker Jerry Larkowski – a dual-licensed attorney with a background in trial law and litigation – the firm brings a distinctive legal perspective to every real estate transaction. ESQ. Realty Group advises residential and commercial clients, with particular expertise in investor services, contract review, and navigating the legal complexities of buying and selling property in Arkansas. Learn more at esqbrokers.com.
This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to invest. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
