Amendment
A written change to a contract already in force. A repair amendment after inspection is the most common example.
Your Room opens on this part of the sale, with the offer and everything before it already ticked.
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See how it worksWhere this comes up in a sale, and what follows
- Go under contract (comes before)
Part 1 of 4
Why a seller cares
An amendment changes a term already agreed, where an addendum adds one. Both need every signature, and the title company works from the final set, so a missing signature can hold up closing over a change everyone agreed to.
Part 2 of 4
A simple example
The contract says closing on June 14. The buyer's lender needs a week more. An amendment moves closing to June 21 and both sides sign it.
| The change | What it usually takes |
|---|---|
| A new closing date | One amendment, signed by both sides, before the old date passes |
| A lower price after the appraisal | A price amendment; the lender gets a copy so the loan matches |
| A verbal agreement nobody wrote | No amendment, so the contract reads as it did before |
An amendment is the contract catching up with what the two sides now agree.
Part 3 of 4
What people get wrong
That an amendment and an addendum are the same thing. An amendment changes something already in the contract; an addendum adds something that was not there.
Part 4 of 4 · where to read next
Where it appears in the sale
What a definition is, and what it isn't
Keighbor is a software company, not a law firm, brokerage, or tax adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or real estate advice about your sale. Your situation may differ. Before acting on a contract, disclosure, title, tax, or pricing question, ask an appropriately licensed professional in your state.
Written and researched by Keighbor Research · drawn from the reference glossary · how we research and check what we publish
In your Room, this word explains itself where it appears.
Your Room defines amendment in the step you meet it in, beside the document or the date it belongs to. Free to set up, with an agent or on your own.
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