Purchase Contract Questions

[Bad Habit]

Due to some recent issues, I've decided that I would like to have all buyers sign a contract upon purchase.

Standard information of how long the health guarantee is for, that they agree to contact me with any issues or problems, that I get first right of refusal if they are selling/giving away the rabbit.

A spot to list any known issues with the rabbit, for the buyer to initial stating that they were made aware of the issues - obvious dq's, breeding issues, issues with handling, etc.

I'm also putting in a clause that would be something along these lines.

"Purchaser agrees that rabbit will be provided with proper care, including(but not limited to) a clean environment, adequate food and water, nail trimmings and general wellness checks once a month. Failure to provide proper care will result in ownership reverting to the breeder."

Would a line such as this on a signed contract allow me to retrieve a rabbit that has been seized for neglect? If I showed up with that paper in hand, at a shelter, as well as pedigree, tattoo info, etc, would I be able to get the rabbit back without issue? Mostly it is for my own peace of mind, so I feel I am able to do something should that situation ever come up.

Is there anything else I should include on a purchase contract? Is there anyone on the board who uses them, or has used them in the past? Would you use a purchase contract, why or why not?

 

[Dood]

Is there anyone on the board who uses them, or has used them in the past?

I've used them for recued then re-homed dogs and horses but not my rabbits.

Would a line such as this on a signed contract allow me to retrieve a rabbit that has been seized for neglect?

No.

If I showed up with that paper in hand, at a shelter, as well as pedigree, tattoo info, etc, would I be able to get the rabbit back without issue?

It depends in the shelters policy and is at the staffs discression. Legally the contract means very little but would show the shelter that you tried to screen a buyer properly and sold the rabbit in good faith and are willing to take in your rabbits that end up in rescue - most shelters do not want another mouth to feed Often they will just give you the animal but some ask for an adoption fee to offset costs.

Is there anything else I should include on a purchase contract?

in mine I add that the adoptee accepts full legal and medical responsibility but of course most of my rescued dogs and horses came with some behavioural or medical baggage :shrug:

 

[Comet007]

I can understand your reasons for wanting to add some of these things, but I'm not sure that even I would sign such a contract - even though we have no intention of selling any rabbits as pets because I am concerned about people not knowing what they're getting into or giving them as gifts to unknowing recipients.

That said, we have on three occasions (that I can remember) rehomed a dog with great success. Each time it was an animal that I felt my kids just didn't have time to give enough attention to because of all their sports & clubs, etc. We never actively looked for homes, they just popped up. One was an American Chihuahua (I think?), and a lady at church with cancer couldn't afford a chihuahua, and her husband was allergic to all else, so we gave her the dog and all his accessories. That was in 2007, and that dog is still happy and healthy with her. Another is a yorkie/chihuahua that my daughter got as a young adult (against my advice), but between her job and social life and our house being an hour away from both, the dog started to become mine - so I convinced her that she should consider it. That was in 2009, she gave the dog and all accessories to my uncle who is often housebound with health issues, and he has been a great companion. You just never know... Even when we adopted our beloved Comet, our intention was to get his healthy (he was almost dead at the shelter) and then rehome him IF the right situation came along - but of course, he has wormed his way into a permanent home now!

All that to say - I think that it should be given as an option, and not a requirement. And also - how would you ever know anyway? I think that for your own sake you need to make peace with all the possibilities once a rabbit has left your care, because by selling them you really are no longer in control of what happens to that rabbit. That is the main reason why I have no interest in the pet market, and even selling breeding stock gives me some pause at this time.

 

[Prisma]

I have it so I can go to magistrate/court in my area if need be in my area instead of their area and they are held responsible for all legal fees. This is for those cases that there is obvious neglect or other problems come up, might not get any thing out of it but its worth trying to safe guard and show good intentions to have only homes that can provide basic care. I have done this one time years ago over a bew show ND that was supposed to be on "loan" for stud service that was "stolen" that ended up being sold for a pretty penny and I ended up having to travel to their area to file. I didn't get the buck or even the value of the buck back, I did get a "replacement" BUD doe to recoop some of my $$ on and was lucky to do that. It was more for the fact that it went through, published, on record, and I got some thing out of it at all as this person started out OK and it went all down hill after a while and continued to steal/rip off people with no down side for her.

There's a problem with the listing of faults, etc...not every one can catch every single one on a given rabbit and even the same rabbit a person can have a difference of opinion on what constitutes a fault or the degree of that fault even. I have this worded to they look over the rabbit, physical wise what it is (dq and fault wise) is what it is at time of sale I will not guarantee against after as things can develop. I've had rabbits rip an ear or nail out on the way home for instance, not the breeder's fault but I've seen some that would try to go back on them as that nice show rabbit has now become an expensive brooder. Temper wise, there's no guarantee as never know how they are going to be handled or deal with change in environment even with those that seem to be a really good fit but I do my best handle every day and don't breed bad tempers. If there is truly an aggressive rabbit pop up (never had that happen or at least never been told otherwise) I will replace it once. Any replacement or in an extreme refund of the purchase price only of the rabbit only comes after they return the original and their papers, long distance I allow pictures with ear number showing.

TOS of any length and have any thing legal mentioned can turn off people, or at least it does in this area. Even though I've not had any thing recently to sell, even in the past its usually been at shows as is on site and I try to keep up and be as forgiving with in reason as possible if an issue would come up. I've had 2 buyers of the last 6-5 years tell me later and publically trash me on different FB group that they had problems and didn't contact me or couldn't contact me to try to fix the problem though even though they had 2 emails and my home number and never called or emailed after the sale of either rabbit that was in question, so even then there is no guarantee the other person is going to really try to contact you or abide by your TOS. My TOS is also part of the sale, if they pay they agree to so I don't require a signature. I do require name, address, email (if applicable), and phone number though. Because of the USDA changes, I keep that on record so if there is ever question I have my proof on hand of where my rabbits have gone to and for what purposes so I don't have to get/keep a license. That's noted at the top of my TOS.

 

[Dood]

I disagree - you dont like my contract then you can get an animal elsewhere.

I would worry that someone unwilling to sign such a contract (even thought legally it is useless, but most people don't know this :mrgreen: ) they hadn't been honest with me and had alternative motives. Of course it is not enforceable, but the person is reminded of the life long commitment to the animal they are getting into.

Ive never had someone balk at signing a contract but i think Ontario, and Canada in general, is less "sue happy" than the states

 

[Bad Habit]

I don't intend to make it long and wordy, and I haven't had issues switching from no deposit to 50% deposit.

I've just been reading about rabbit seizures and wondering how I would feel in such an instance, if I had sold rabbits to that person and found out those animals had entered the shelter system.

I know that for the majority of pet buyers, it would just be a waste of paper. I understand that there's nothing doing for a pet owner who doesn't clean the cage, or doesn't handle the rabbit, or doesn't feed/water the rabbit, because I won't know unless someone tells me.

As far as faults/dq's go, it would be a "known issues" list, stated that those issues are known by the breeder, and other faults/dq's/issues can come up at a later time and that I am not responsible for those.

It's the big seizures I'm worried about. I mostly want a contract as a line of defense, should a rabbit bought from me end up in the shelter because of a seizure that's publicized.

 

[Comet007]

I disagree - you dont like my contract then you can get an animal elsewhere.

I would worry that someone unwilling to sign such a contract (even thought legally it is useless, but most people don't know this :mrgreen: ) they hadn't been honest with me and had alternative motives. Of course it is not enforceable, but the person is reminded of the life long commitment to the animal they are getting into.

Ive never had someone balk at signing a contract but i think Ontario, and Canada in general, is less "sue happy" than the states

I can completely agree with the reasons for such a contract - just wanted to mention that there are many people who would balk, depending on the wording and conditions. I personally would walk away from the requirement that I had to contact the seller before selling/gifting the rabbit, and I'm not someone who would buy a rabbit with ulterior motives. I would sign something that says that you are WILLING to take the rabbit back, but that's a different ball game.

That's like the lady who sold us this house we bought - but every time we do something in our back yard (cut trees/build the bunny barn) she sends her husband up to talk to us about it. She was apparently deeply offended that we've been having the hazardous trees removed lol. At some point when you sell something, it's not yours anymore. A good reason not to buy a house from someone who has their vacation home just a few houses below you!

The rest of it - hey, take care of this rabbit, etc. I would have no problem with!

 

[Zass]

I disagree - you dont like my contract then you can get an animal elsewhere.

I would worry that someone unwilling to sign such a contract (even thought legally it is useless, but most people don't know this :mrgreen: ) they hadn't been honest with me and had alternative motives. Of course it is not enforceable, but the person is reminded of the life long commitment to the animal they are getting into.

Ive never had someone balk at signing a contract but i think Ontario, and Canada in general, is less "sue happy" than the states

I can completely agree with the reasons for such a contract - just wanted to mention that there are many people who would balk, depending on the wording and conditions. I personally would walk away from the requirement that I had to contact the seller before selling/gifting the rabbit, and I'm not someone who would buy a rabbit with ulterior motives. I would sign something that says that you are WILLING to take the rabbit back, but that's a different ball game.

That's like the lady who sold us this house we bought - but every time we do something in our back yard (cut trees/build the bunny barn) she sends her husband up to talk to us about it. She was apparently deeply offended that we've been having the hazardous trees removed lol. At some point when you sell something, it's not yours anymore. A good reason not to buy a house from someone who has their vacation home just a few houses below you!

The rest of it - hey, take care of this rabbit, etc. I would have no problem with!

I feel the same way. I don't like others trying to maintain control of my life, and that includes the animals I share it with.
It's not because I have any ulterior motives.

 

[Dood]

Legally, once you sell property you have no rights to dictate what is done to that property and this is why the contract is just a piece of paper, so why not sign it?

Morally people might feel guilty that they agreed to do something and then went back on their word, so to me the contact helps to keep people adoptiong my rescues honest.

I also do house/farm inspections and periodic phone calls and visits to keep track of how the animal is doing which is typical of the majority of registered rescue organizations - in this age of email, Facebook and camera phones it's easy to keep in touch and I still get updates on many of the animals I've re-homed and it always brings a smile to my face, and warms my heart to know I found a good home for them.

I personally would walk away from the requirement that I had to contact the seller before selling/gifting the rabbit

Why?

I have gotten back several rescues that would have been given to the first person who showed up because of emergency situations - (ie barn fire, emergency relocation due to abusive partner) and a few others because of lifestlye changes. In two cases the adoptee had found a home and I was totally Ok with their choices, asked for the new owners information so I could keep track of the critter and that was the end of it.

Perhaps my years in the rescue game and seeing animals shuffled from home to home to home and eventually ending up at deaths door in high kill shelters or the slaughter truck has made me less trustworthy of people :shrug:

 

[Comet007]

Legally, once you sell property you have no rights to dictate what is done to that property and this is why the contract is just a piece of paper, so why not sign it?

Morally people might feel guilty that they agreed to do something and then went back on their word, so to me the contact helps to keep people adoptiong my rescues honest.

I also do house/farm inspections and periodic phone calls and visits to keep track of how the animal is doing which is typical of the majority of registered rescue organizations - in this age of email, Facebook and camera phones it's easy to keep in touch and I still get updates on many of the animals I've re-homed and it always brings a smile to my face, and warms my heart to know I found a good home for them.

I personally would walk away from the requirement that I had to contact the seller before selling/gifting the rabbit

Why?

Perhaps my years in the rescue game and seeing animals shuffled from home to home to home and eventually ending up at deaths door in high kill shelters or the slaughter truck has made me less trustworthy of people :shrug:

I wouldn't sign it because to me, if I say I'm going to do something then I will - I don't need a piece of paper to make me feel guilty, and I'm not going to sign something that I even think I might not honor. And I wouldn't sign it because once purchased, it should be up to me, and I'm not about signing away the rights that are allowed to me in this country, regardless. I think that we are losing them rapidly enough in this world today.

If there was an offer on the table that the seller would take it back, and it was an emergency, then I would likely take them up on it, but it should be my decision. If I want to sell the rabbit, or trade it with another breeder, or gift it to someone, or eat it, that's my right. For instance, if we keep Shaggy as our breeding buck for 4 or 5 years, and then don't want to send him to freezer camp, I'm not going to call the original breeder to ask them to take him back, or for permission to rehome him.

Also - despite having my business in a confined area of my home, I'm a pretty private person and invite very few people into my home. I also wouldn't be very excited about someone with rabbits coming into my rabbitry. You would have lost me at "periodic inspections" even if you had that absolute 110% perfect rabbits that I desired. We have a rescue dog that no one wanted because he was so close to dead, they have no such inspection clauses in their paperwork, just required that all members of the household come to the shelter, including other pets. We paid the $140 rescue fee, plus making his food, etc. - with the intention of rehoming him once 100% healthy if we found a good candidate. We didn't even like Chihuahua's, we just felt bad for him. That's him, Comet, in my avatar btw - so obviously the rehoming is NOT happening, we've had him for 3 1/2 years now lol. See how well that worked out for me? He has the personality of a lab, that's all I can say.

I think this is a great topic, that everyone should consider thoroughly before deciding to sell pets/breeding stock.

If I were to do so, I would probably include the offer to take back the rabbit (based on available space), and on the topic of regular monthly health checkups and nail trimmings, or ownership would revert back - I personally would go about that differently. Mainly because 1) you don't really have repo rights on a rabbit and 2) how would you prove they haven't done a check up? Also, what constitutes a checkup? By that purchaser, or a vet...? Even if you leave that in there, you might clarify that. Personally I would just list the basic care and things to look for or do for the rabbits on whatever time frame, just so you have informed them. Really - don't you usually get some sense of the person you're selling to before the exchange? That personal trust barometer is probably way more effective than an unenforceable contract.

All that said, I have verbally and in email promised the breeder I purchased from that I will update her on the buns, and send pictures of the litters - mainly because she usually just sells rabbits for meat and was excited that we were getting into rabbits. I told her right up front that we may replace one of the does sooner than later because we want color variety. We told her how they were going to be housed and fed, and she told us that she is not the least worried about these rabbits and their care - just from a few emails and conversations.

 

[Dood]

For instance, if we keep Shaggy as our breeding buck for 4 or 5 years, and then don't want to send him to freezer camp, I'm not going to call the original breeder to ask them to take him back, or for permission to rehome him.

I see your point - I don't go through this process for rabbits I've bred and sold as kits but I do do it for dogs, cats, horses and actually adult rabbits that I've rescued - mostly because I know they have "issues" that make them less than a perfect pet and more likely to be dumped. Rather than euthanizing these animals I have rehabitated and re-home them, or kept them as my own

Perhaps I am focusing too much on the situation that brought about this post and BadHabits unfortunate experience of re-homing some bunnies and getting burned many months later.

Due to some recent issues, I've decided that I would like to have all buyers sign a contract upon purchase.

and not looking at the broader picture

 

[Comet007]

I can see where getting burned can cause someone to want to put extra clauses in a contract. Maybe for mental peace, even if it doesn't truly provide concrete assurance of other peoples' craziness (or lack thereof)!

 

[Prisma]

Selling or rehoming is one thing, doing as some people do here and just put them as freebies in papers for who ever or whatever purpose I don't go for. I wouldn't care if the rabbit was 8 years old, I'd rather a person call and tell me they didn't want the rabbit any more that it was going to have to go and they had plans to give it away, if I wanted him/her I better make arrangements to get as soon as possible.

 

[Bad Habit]

All that asking for first right of refusal means is that I'm saying "hey, if you ever decide to sell/give away this bunny, take the 2 minutes and email me and see if I want it back." That's it, that's all. I'm not going to track someone down because they couldn't keep their bunny and gave it to their cousin, or best friend, or whatever. It's an out for them to go "hmm, the breeder asked me to contact them if I decided I didn't want the bunny, maybe they will take it back and I don't have to go through the trouble of listing it for sale." I've always verbally told the buyers that as well, if they ever decide they don't want it, I will take it back for free, no questions asked. If they're selling it, I'd like to know, in case I wanted to buy it back.