(Ontario)
Question:
If an offer goes back and forth a copy of times and in the final sign back there are changes in price and chattels, what happens to the COA and initials?
For example, the Seller agrees to all and signs the Confirmation of Acceptance (COA) which states they accept all changes both typed and written, do they also have to initial the changes or is the Confirmation of Acceptance stating that all changes are accepted sufficient?
Answer:
Simple enough question. The COA has nothing at all to do with the actual agreement. It just serves as “evidence” of the time in order to get the clock running. So “yes”, the Seller should initial all the changes. That’s the purpose of the initials in the first place.
You would still have a valid contract without the COA being signed, but if the initials were missing, that could prove to be serious, namely, no final agreement was reached. In the case of the “price” it would vitiate the contract since we are missing one of the essential contract terms.
One of the problems with initials and changes is “counting them up” and knowing the timing as to when they were place in the document. So, the document must speak for itself.
When we look at the COA, it might not even be signed at all
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker