Nolo was born in 1971 as a publisher of self-help legal books. Guided by the motto “law for all,” our attorney authors and editors have been explaining the law to everyday people ever since. Learn more about our history and our editorial standards.
Each article that we publish has been written or reviewed by one of our editors, who together have over 100 years of experience practicing law. We strive to keep our information current as laws change. Learn more about our editorial standards.
Riders are extremely common for purchase and sale agreements. The reason why attorneys add in a rider (or "addendum") to the P&S agreement is because they are accustomed to certain language, which has covered their clients' interests in the past better than a stock P&S form would normally account for.
When you look through the P&S rider, it might appear that some sections are redundant; in other words, that the topics covered match sections in the main P&S form. This is okay. These provisions might include buyer's obligations, seller's warranties, or instructions on when notice has officially been given to the buyer or seller. Upon a closer look, however, you'll likely realize that these provisions are not restatements but rather expansions on what's in the original P&S agreement, ensuring that you are covered in the manner your attorney sees fit.
Your attorney should account for any dual topic coverage by adding a section in the rider noting that where there appears to be a conflict or a divergence in language between the rider and the original purchase and sale agreement, the rider wins out.
Example: "In the event of a conflict between the terms and provisions of the attached Purchase and Sale Agreement and Rider, the terms and conditions in the Rider shall prevail."
If you are purchasing a commercial property you should fully expect to see a rider to the P&S, as it will cover nuances in the transaction that are likely not covered in the standard P&S forms. These might include, for instance:
While at first glance it might look like an attorney is padding the bill by adding more pages to the P&S, they are likely saving themselves time, and thus you money, by including the rider. Rather than having to revise every section of the standard form, attorneys can utilize rider provisions that have been appropriate in other transactions they've handled and reference them when creating the rider for your P&S.
In fact, a well-written rider is an indication that your attorney has experience. You might have more to worry about if a rider were absent rather than present, particularly when buying an investment property.