What does my Realtor mean when they tell me we are “ratified”?
When your Realtor says, “Congratulations, you’re ratified!”, do you scratch your head and wonder “What does that even mean?” while politely saying “Great, thanks so much!”? We are here to help you understand the word ratification and what it actually means. The short and simple of it: Ratification or Ratified = to confirm or agree.
In our Northern Virginia market, our Residential Sales Contract defines the date of ratification in the definitions section of the contract, and it states, “Date of Ratification” means the date of delivery of the final acceptance in writing by the Purchaser and Seller of all the terms of this Contract to Purchaser and Seller (not the date of the expiration or removal of any contingencies).
So what does that mean in plain English? If you are purchasing a home, ratification of the contract begins the moment the contract has been delivered to all parties with ALL of the terms agreed to in writing. This is the moment when you all are committed to each other and the terms of which you have agreed to work under. This is the moment when the timelines that you set in the contract begin (unless otherwise stated that they begin based on other terms). So your Realtor is congratulating you on the fact that all parties have reached an agreement and will be moving forward.
“Why should I care?”
Basically, if you are the Purchaser, anyone else can negotiate and reach terms with the Seller up to the 
point of being ratified, so getting your contract ratified means they are committing to your terms and no one else’s. Also, as the Purchaser, you will want to know when the home inspection deadlines, appraisal deadlines, financing contingencies and other contingencies actually start. You will want to ensure that you meet the terms of your agreement and stay within the timelines to protect certain rights of yours within the contract.
So, the next time your Realtor congratulates you on officially being “ratified”, you will know that this is in fact a great moment and worth a little celebration!
If you are looking to buy or sell a home and would love to hear us congratulate you on being ratified, contact us today – we would love to celebrate being ratified with you!
The JS Realty Team – not only serving Brambleton, serving all of Northern Virginia.