GAR vs. FAR/BAR: what changes when you sell in both Georgia and Florida

Agents who work both sides of the Georgia–Florida line learn quickly that the two states do not just use different forms. They run on different mechanics: how the buyer can walk away, who closes the deal, and how deadlines are counted. This is the short map for an agent, or a transaction coordinator, handling both.

The forms

Georgia residential deals are almost always written on the Georgia Association of REALTORS® (GAR) Purchase and Sale Agreement with its exhibits (financing, appraisal, community association, and so on). Florida uses the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contracts, commonly called FAR/BAR, in two flavors: the standard contract with a general inspection period, and the "AS IS" version, which is the more common choice in many Florida markets.

How the buyer can walk away

• Georgia: the due diligence period. The buyer can terminate for any reason or no reason during the period and recover the earnest money.
• Florida (AS IS): the inspection period, with a similar effect: the buyer may cancel for any reason within the period. In the standard FAR/BAR the buyer negotiates repairs up to agreed caps instead of a free walk-away.

Same idea, different names, and the "any reason" right only exists where the form says it does.

Who runs the closing

• Georgia is an attorney-closing state: a Georgia-licensed attorney conducts the closing, examines title and disburses funds. In practice the buyer's side usually selects the closing attorney, subject to the contract.
• Florida closes through a title company or an attorney, and which party chooses, and pays for, the owner's title policy is often a county custom that the contract records.

An agent used to Georgia attorneys will find the Florida title-company timeline, and its "title commitment" deadlines written into the contract, unfamiliar in the first few files.

How days are counted

Both contracts count in calendar days, but they treat the ends differently. Read the "computation of time" clause in each form before promising a client a date. Florida's FAR/BAR has explicit rules for deadlines that land on weekends and legal holidays; Georgia's GAR has its own. Do not carry one state's assumption into the other.

Financing and appraisal

Both states handle financing through a contingency with a loan-application deadline and a period during which a loan denial lets the buyer out. Florida's form ties the financing period and the appraisal handling into the loan approval mechanics; Georgia uses separate exhibits. The coordinator's job is the same: know the exact day each protection expires.

Earnest money

Georgia's deposit typically sits with the closing attorney or the listing broker; Florida's usually sits with the title company or a broker's escrow account, and Florida brokers operate under detailed escrow rules from the state. Timing of the deposit is written into both contracts.

Property disclosures and associations

Georgia has no statutory seller disclosure form, though the GAR Seller's Property Disclosure Statement is standard practice and sellers must disclose known material defects. Florida requires sellers to disclose known material defects that are not readily observable, and has specific statutory disclosures for condominiums and homeowners' associations with their own delivery windows and cancellation rights for buyers.

What this means for an agent working both states

Keep two calendars with two sets of rules, and never let a Florida habit set a Georgia deadline. At THE LAB RE we coordinate transactions on both forms, GAR and FAR/BAR, and the first thing we do on every file is identify which form and which version we are working on, before a single date goes on the calendar.

Questions agents ask

Can I use my Georgia license in Florida? No. Each state licenses separately; Florida offers mutual recognition with some states, and the requirements change. Check with the Florida Real Estate Commission.

Is the AS IS contract worse for buyers? Not necessarily: it usually gives the buyer a clean right to cancel during the inspection period. It shifts repair negotiation from an obligation to a conversation.

Do closing costs differ? Yes, substantially, including who customarily pays for title insurance in each state and county. Ask the closing attorney or title company for a net sheet early.

This article is general information for real estate professionals, not legal advice. Georgia forms: garealtor.com. Florida forms: floridarealtors.org.