Metrowest MA Buyers and Sellers...Don't put your SS# on the P&S agreement!

In the standard Greater Boston Real Estate Board purchase and sale agreement the signing page includes a spot where the buyer and seller can put their respective social security numbers. There is no requirement for the buyer or seller to include this information. This is something you absolutely should not do!

The purchase and sale agreement is floated around all over the place. It goes to the bank, the appraiser, the real estate companies, attorneys, and various others. It goes without saying that there should be no trust issues with any one of these particular groups. The problem lies in the fact that unless the documents are under lock and key, anyone else could see this information.

A perfect example would be someone from a cleaning company hired to clean one of the above mentioned businesses and seeing a purchase and sale lying around and copying the information.

It would be great if we lived in a perfect world where we never had to worry about any of this but unfortunately we don't. We are constantly bombarded weekly with stories about how people's credit card numbers are stolen directly from merchants and then used to run up massive bills. A social security number in the wrong persons hand could cause you a lot of heart ache. This is just a simple precaution to insure you don't become a victim.

In any real estate transaction I am involved in, I always make sure when my buyer or seller client is signing the P&S they do not include their social security number.

For additional useful real estate information check out Metrowest MA Real Estate.

Bill Gassett is the team leader for the #2 RE/MAX Team in Massachusetts in 2006. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-435-5356.

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I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Hopkinton, Milford, Upton, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Mendon, Hopedale, Medway, Grafton, Northbridge, Uxbridge, and Framingham MA.