Writing a contract between two parties can be very simple. This will show you the elements that are important to include.

Simply put, a contract is an agreement between two parties that guarantee completion.  Whether the completion is the repayment of a loan, small construction, sell of personal property, etc. 

 

Although it is true that some contracts are very detailed and long, we are going to explore just a simple contract between two parties on an everyday occurrence. 

 

We are going to form a contract between two friends for the purchase of two vehicles.  Vehicle one is not running but has brand new $500 tires and rims on it.  The owner of this truck needs to have it removed from his property because his landlord is a little upset about the truck just sitting there.  Vehicle two is also a truck.  This truck is a special case.  The first party bought it in good faith only to find out later that the man he bought it from had made an insurance claim on it.  The insurance company totaled out the truck and requested the title to this truck, but the prior owner never sent it.  So the first party could not get a title on it due to a hold on the truck from the insurance company. The first party, Joe, now had 2 vehicles that he could not drive and ended up buying a new truck.  Joe decides that he had to get rid of the two trucks sitting in his yard before the landlord made more of a fuss.

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While at work, Joe overheard his friend and co-worker, Greg, telling someone that he was looking for some good tires but couldn’t afford to buy them yet.  Joe went to Greg and told him about the tires that he had and that he was willing to take payments on them if he removed the whole vehicle.  Greg thought that was a fair deal and told Joe that he would go look at it after work.

 

After looking at the tires and the truck, Greg decided that he was willing to buy them under Joe’s specifications.  While he was there Greg also noticed the other truck.  Joe explained to him what the issue was with the other vehicle but he needed to sell it also but wasn’t sure how to go about it.  Greg explained to Joe that he was only interested in the motor and transmission on the other truck, so he wasn’t concerned with the title red tape.  By the end of the visit, Joe had agreed to sell Greg the two trucks for a total of $1600.  So now we have a verbal agreement but we need to get it down on paper.

 

The contract would look like this:

 

Date:___________

 

I ______(seller)______  agree to sell to ___(buyer)___ the two vehicles described below.

 

Vehicle 1:  A ___(year)____   _ (make)   (model)    VIN#________________________

For $500. 

 

Vehicle 2:  A ___(year)____   _ (make)   (model)    VIN#________________________

For $1100

 

(buyer)________ understands that vehicle 2 cannot be titled due to the insurance hold. The __(buyer) _ releases the __(seller) _ of all responsibility and liability on this fact.

 

The __(buyer) _ agrees to pay the __(seller)_ no less than $150 on the 10th and 25th of each month until both vehicles are paid in full.  The __(seller)_ will retain both titles until the $1600 is paid in full.

 

 

___(buyer signature) ____                                              Date:_______________________

 

__(seller signature)__________________                     Date:_______________________

 

 

Notarized:__________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to make it even more legal, you can take your agreement and file it at your local courthouse.  It usually doesn’t cost very much to do that.