Residential Real Estate Purchase Agreement Templates by State (PDF & Word)
State-specific residential real estate purchase agreement templates: California, Texas, Florida, New York, and 8 more states. Free PDF + Word downloads.
What this hub covers
A residential real estate purchase agreement is the legally binding contract between buyer and seller for the sale of residential property. State law governs the substantive rights, mandatory disclosures, and closing procedures — and they vary materially across jurisdictions.
Why state-specific matters
Using a generic purchase agreement in California will not include the mandatory Transfer Disclosure Statement; a Texas purchase agreement will not include New York’s mansion tax notice. State-specific templates incorporate the disclosures, statutes, and customs that apply where the property is located.
Choose Your State
California
What to verify for California: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in California →Texas
What to verify for Texas: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Texas →Florida
What to verify for Florida: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Florida →New York
What to verify for New York: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in New York →Illinois
What to verify for Illinois: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Illinois →Delaware
What to verify for Delaware: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Delaware →Pennsylvania
What to verify for Pennsylvania: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Pennsylvania →Ohio
What to verify for Ohio: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Ohio →Georgia
What to verify for Georgia: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Georgia →North Carolina
What to verify for North Carolina: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in North Carolina →Arizona
What to verify for Arizona: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Arizona →Michigan
What to verify for Michigan: who runs the closing, the required seller disclosure form, transfer taxes, and earnest-money escrow rules.
What to check in Michigan →Need the contract itself?
Our general residential purchase agreement template can be adapted to any state. Confirm your state’s disclosure form and closing rules before signing.
Open the Purchase Agreement TemplateWhat actually varies by state (and where to check it)
Last verified: July 2026 against state statutes and regulatory trackers. Laws change — before relying on any row below, confirm it with the official state source. How we source and update this data is described in our Editorial Policy.
The core of a residential purchase agreement — price, earnest money, contingencies, closing — is remarkably consistent nationwide. What differs is the machinery around it:
- Who runs the closing — in roughly a third of states, mostly on the East Coast, an attorney customarily or legally conducts the closing; elsewhere title or escrow companies handle it. Your title company will tell you what your state expects.
- Seller disclosure forms — most states mandate a specific statutory disclosure form that travels with the purchase agreement.
- Transfer taxes and who pays them — state and sometimes county/city transfer taxes vary widely, and local custom assigns them to buyer or seller.
- Earnest-money escrow rules — who may hold the deposit and deadlines for depositing it are regulated state by state.
- Standard forms — many state Realtor associations publish standard contracts agents are required or expected to use; a private-sale template like ours matters most in for-sale-by-owner deals.
How to verify: your state real estate commission’s website lists required disclosures and closing rules, and the county recorder lists transfer taxes. Our template and generator cover the FSBO core and flag where state-specific documents attach.
Residential Purchase Agreement FAQs
What is a residential purchase agreement?
The legally binding contract that sets the price, terms, and conditions when someone buys or sells a home.
What contingencies are typical?
Financing, home inspection, appraisal, and sale-of-current-home contingencies let a buyer exit without penalty if those conditions are not met.
What is earnest money?
A good-faith deposit the buyer puts down. It is credited toward the purchase at closing, or may be forfeited if the buyer backs out improperly.
Do purchase agreements vary by state?
Yes. Required disclosures, attorney-review periods, and standard forms differ by state.
Is a purchase agreement binding once signed?
Yes, once both parties sign, subject to any contingencies and the review or cancellation periods written into the contract.