Can a Text or Email Create a Binding Real Estate Contract?

Описание: In California real estate, texts, emails, and even emojis can unintentionally form binding contracts. Learn the risks for sellers and landlords and how to protect yourself with disclaimers.

SHORT SUMMARY
Attorney Bryan Mashian warns that in today’s digital age, casual communications—texts, emails, even emojis—can unintentionally create legally binding real estate contracts. Under California law, only a few elements are needed to form a contract: identification of the parties, property address, purchase price, and closing date.

This risk is particularly high for sellers and landlords. While buyers often have due diligence periods allowing them to cancel without penalty, sellers generally lack a negotiated right to back out. If a seller’s message contains the essential terms, a court could find it binding—or at least significant enough to cause costly disputes.

Buyers can enforce such agreements through specific performance lawsuits, often recording a lis pendens, which clouds the property title and makes it unmarketable during litigation—giving buyers significant leverage.

To protect against this, Mashian advises sellers and landlords to use explicit disclaimers in all preliminary communications, stating that no binding agreement exists until a formal, signed contract is executed. Phrases such as “This email does not create a binding contract” should be standard in negotiations.

Careful wording and the use of formal agreements help avoid inadvertently granting the other party legal grounds to enforce or contest a deal.real estate contracts, binding contract by email, text message contract, California real estate law, specific performance, lis pendens, seller protections, landlord protections, electronic communications contract, disclaimers in real estate, Bryan Mashian, unintentional contracts, email legal risks, real estate negotiations