When is the beginning of the month over? (contract question). (fee, attorney)

[toad pad green]

I am selling my apartment, the contract reads as follows:

2) The Buyer will deposit an additional $100,000 into the escrow account which will immediately be considered earned by the Seller and non-refundable to the Buyer; however the $100,000 will NOT be released from the escrow account until the closing date assuming that the Buyer is not in default.

4) The Buyer will contribute $7,000 per month, or $233 per day, to the Seller until the Close of Escrow. This fee will be paid at the beginning of each month and passed through to the Seller through the Title Company.

18) In the event of default by buyer, seller retains the deposit as liquidated damages…..


The buyer has not deposited the $7,000 as of May 9, 2008.

(Q1) When is the beginning of the month over?
(Q2) If seller dose not pay me the 7,000 is he in default?

[palmcoasting]

Ask your attorney.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Attorney question all the way.

[gbone]

Definitely an attorney question that may vary by state and contract. In my state, in a contract issue that needed clarification, an attorney defined "beginning of the month" as the first day of the month.

[bentlebee]

"beginning of the month" is not the 9th of a month, every middle school kids knows that.

[palmcoasting]

Well now, the beginning of the month could be interpreted as anything before the 15th of the month which would be the middle.
So, it's best to ask an attorney what the intent is according to the rest of the contract. And to use actual dates in contracts the next time vs time periods that could be open to interpretation.