Contracts and Transaction Documents
Formation and the statute of frauds
Ohio land contracts must be in writing and signed by the party charged (the statute of frauds). The exam tests the elements - offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, lawful purpose, and a sufficient description of the property - plus the mirror-image rule: an acceptance that changes terms is a counteroffer, and a counteroffer kills the original offer. Acceptance must be communicated; silence generally is not acceptance. Electronic signatures are enforceable under Ohio's version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, so an emailed or e-signed addendum counts.
The document set
Know what each paper does. The purchase agreement carries contingencies (financing, inspection, appraisal, sale of the buyer's home), deadlines, and default remedies; because land is unique, specific performance is available. A land installment contract (Ohio's version of a contract for deed) is a financing device with its own statutory protections. The deed is the conveyance: general warranty, limited warranty (covering only the grantor's period of ownership), quitclaim, and fiduciary/executor deeds. Around these sit the agency disclosure, the seller's Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form, the federal lead-based paint disclosure for pre-1978 housing, the closing statement, and the county conveyance fee form.
Traps
Frequently missed: a counteroffer does not leave the original offer alive if the offeree later "accepts"; an "as is" clause does not excuse a false property disclosure form, and the statutory remedy tied to that form is rescission within a narrow window, not damages; assignment transfers duties only with consent, while novation replaces the party; and an oral modification of a written land contract fails the statute of frauds.
Rule of thumb
When a question shows a signed offer with a changed closing date returned by the seller, treat it as a counteroffer and ask who must sign next - never assume a binding contract exists until the final version is signed and delivered.