contracts
vendee
The vendee is the buyer in a real estate sales contract, while the vendor is the seller. The terms are especially common in installment or land contracts, where the vendee takes possession and receives equitable title while making payments, and the vendor keeps legal title until the contract is paid off. The vendee then receives a deed and legal title.
- Exam tip
- Remember that the "-ee" receives: the vendee receives the property. In an installment contract the vendee holds equitable title, not legal title, until payoff.
- Example
- Under a land contract, a vendee pays $1,200 monthly for ten years and lives in the house; the vendor delivers the deed after the final payment.
Related terms & state variants
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Last verified: 2026-10-23