Committee backs adding receipts to backup addendum for extra earnest and option fees

The broker-lawyer committee moved to standardize how additional earnest and option payments are documented when a backup contract becomes primary. Staff and counsel presented a draft seller notice form designed to clarify the 'amended effective date' (the moment the backup contract becomes primary) and to carry attached receipt lines so title/escrow agents and parties can reliably see when new payments were delivered.

Committee counsel argued for a simpler trigger: "the date seller delivers notice to buyer of termination of the first contract," so that the seller's written notice starts the backup contract clock. Members supported attaching receipt lines for both the additional earnest money and the additional option fee so the title company has direct, signed evidence of new funds. The working group asked staff to integrate the receipts onto the backup addendum and return with a redlined sample that includes the seller-notice form and the receipt fields.

If adopted, the change is intended to reduce disputes over timing and payment (who paid what and when) by keeping the trigger and receipts contained in one promulgated location rather than relying on ad hoc emails or separate exchange of receipts.