READY, WILLING, AND ABLE
ready, willing, and able.(Of a prospective buyer) legally and financially capable of
consummating a purchase. [Cases: Brokers 54; Specific Performance 87. C.J.S. Brokers §§
152–154; Specific Performance §§ 104, 106–107, 109.]
“ ‘READY, WILLING, AND ABLE’ — A phrase referring to a prospective buyer of property
who is legally capable and financially able to consummate the deal. Traditionally, the broker earns
a commission upon procuring a ‘ready, willing, and able’ buyer on the listing terms, regardless of
whether the seller actually goes through with the sale. The ‘ready and willing’ means, generally,
that the broker must in fact produce a buyer who indicates that he or she is prepared to accept the
terms of the seller and is willing to enter into a contract for sale. The buyer is not ‘ready and
willing’ when he or she enters into an option with the seller, but the buyer is ‘ready and willing’
when the option is exercised. The buyer is not ‘ready and willing’ when the offer is subject to any
new conditions, such as making the closing date an unreasonably long period, for example, one
year from the offer…. The ‘able’ requires that the buyer be financially able to comply with the
terms of the sale in both initial cash payment and any necessary financing. The broker is not
required to show that the purchaser has actual cash or assets to pay off the mortgage. But the
broker is required to reveal the identity of the buyer if requested by the seller.” John W. Reilly, The
Language of Real Estate 326 (4th ed. 1993). [Blacks Law 8th]