Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Nevada

Is an email making an offer to sell property at a specific price binding, when no one has signed any papers?


Asked on 12/22/10, 12:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Rick Williams Law Offices of Frederick D. (Rick) Williams, Chtd.

In a word, no. Nevada has codified a concept from the common law roots of American law known as the Statute of Frauds. It states that specific transactions - including all sales of real property - must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged. That is, although an email is a printable "writing," if it does not bear the signature of the selling party, it is not an enforceable contract for sale of real estate.

The Nevada statute can be found at NRS 111.210(1): Every contract for the leasing for a longer period than 1 year, or for the sale of any lands, or any interest in lands, shall be void unless the contract, or some note or memorandum thereof, expressing the consideration, be in writing, and be subscribed by the party by whom the lease or sale is to be made.

There are additional "essential terms" of such a contract that can make it ineffectual, if they are not clearly included, so even to argue that the email is a legitimate contract for sale, it would have to be further analyzed to see if those terms are included.

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Answered on 12/27/10, 3:24 pm


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