The Contract Gap: Where Greenwich Deals Are Lost

In most of Connecticut, residential transactions use a standard form contract. Once terms are agreed, that contract is typically circulated and signed quickly, effectively committing the seller to the buyer early in the process as both sides work toward closing.

In Greenwich, Connecticut, that’s not how transactions typically work.

The standard form is rarely used. Instead, once an offer is accepted, the seller’s attorney prepares the contract, and the buyer’s attorney responds. Revisions follow, and the agreement takes shape during that exchange. Nothing is binding until both sides sign.

That creates a gap—between an accepted offer and an executed contract—where the deal is not yet secure.

During that gap, the buyer is already moving forward. Attorneys are engaged, inspections are being conducted, and property documentation is reviewed as it becomes available. All of the real diligence happens at this stage, after terms have already been agreed.

At the same time, the seller remains uncommitted, and that creates two very real dynamics.

The first is straightforward. The seller and their agent may continue to engage with other buyers. They can surface competing interest, use your deal as a reference point, and create pressure to bring forward a stronger offer or better terms.

The second is more subtle. Because nothing is binding, the seller controls the pace of the process. If there’s a reason to believe a better outcome might emerge, there’s little incentive to move quickly. Documents may come in slowly. Responses may lag. The process stretches just enough to allow additional interest to develop.

Those two dynamics often work together. Time gives the seller room to find a better outcome, and your deal becomes the baseline they use to get there.

The only real way to manage this is to move faster and with less exposure. That means aligning every material term upfront, pushing for immediate drafting and turnaround, and making sure all relevant documentation is delivered at once, not in pieces. The goal is simple: get from agreement to execution before the market has a chance to re-engage.