Contract of Sale questions

[gprp]

Nowadays St George belongs to Westpac - all the policies are written and dictated by Westpac .

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Because these conditions make your offer less attractive, you're paying for them in the price at which you secure the property. You could almost certainly get the property at a lower price with an unconditional offer. If you could get the property for $5K less with an unconditional offer - which you certainly should be able to - then that $5K will pay for quite a lot of unanticipated repairs.

My mb doesnt think its a good idea for me to offer unconditionally because I could get sued. He said its safer for richer people. I'm better off putting subject to finance.

 

[Fudge]

Guys ,

Thank you for your advice.

My solicitor suggested to use the following statement :

Building and pest inspection reports to buyers complete satisfaction at the buyer's absolute discretion .

In addition , he's suggested to specify that " All plumbing , fixed floor covering, electrical wiring, fittings and appliances are not damaged and in good working conditions as inspected during building inspection on XXX and private inspection prior to settlement on XXX . "

I do understand that the above-mentioned statement is efficient in a case of contingency , however somehow I feel that it might scary the vendor .

What would you suggest ? May be to soften the statement a bit ?

It appears to me that there are two possible scenarios :

1) I will not add this clause if the vendor accepts my own-made offer , than I will add the above-mentioned clause to the final contract of sale .

2) On the other hand , RA's very often push to sign REIV contract of sale as an offer ; as you know, this is a legally binding contract if accepted and signed by the vendor . In this case I wil use it upon submittal of the REIV offer .

Please your advice if my understanding of the process is correct

Kind Regards
gprp

I guess it depends where you are buying the property.....

In Qld, the contract for houses and residential land has a space for you to to input the conditional time frame on your building and pest inspection, and also some space to insert 'buyers choice' for building inspector and pest inspector. I assume that is similar to other states. This is all that is required.

Under Clause 4 Terms of Contract, it states

'This contract is conditional upon the buyer obtaining a written building report from the building inspector and a written pest report from the pest inspector on the property by the inspection date on terms satisfactory to the buyer.' It gos on to say

'The buyer may terminate this contract by notice to the seller at any time before 5pm on the inspection date if an insp[ectors report is unsatisfactory to the buyer. The buyer must act reasonably.'

With respect to the above, and if buying in queensland, I think what is written in the terms of the contract is sufficient, and don't need any other 'scary' words in the contract to off put the vendor.

Cheers,

F

 

[Rickardo]

gprp,

I am in a similar situation to you in terms of making offers in the current hot Melbourne market.

It is definitely a different market from 2007, where it was much easier to insert clauses and still purchase - now it seems some buyers are throwing caution to the wind in terms of protecting themselves, and this of course becomes a much more attractive offer to a vendor than a calculating investor who tends to insert clauses.

For example, a property I missed out on today - my offer was subject to P&B inspection showing no significant structural defects or major infestations (i agree with Dazz's post earlier about not being too pedantic about the smaller issues), not subject to finance and 60 day settlement.

My offer was one of 11 and the successful purchaser was a 30 day unconditional offer 2k above mine. Unless you have cash sitting in the bank or LOC's for the full purchase price, what strategies can be used to trump an offer like this while still trying to protect your interests without paying a large premium on the purchase price? There are so many potential buyers out there at the moment it seems clauses will almost be completely detrimental to your offer in some cases. Are there any lenders who are likely to even settle within 30 days?

 

[gprp]

Hi Guys ,

Sorry for the late response , just came back from Cairns .

Ricardo ,

Yes indeed , we are in the same boat .
I don't believe that you can bargain if someone is willing to offer 50-60K above average market price or unconditional .

May be respectful members of this phorum can correct me , however I don't believe that someone can bargain effectively in this case .
You are correct , there is no bank in Australia who can settle in 30 days , period .


IMHO At the moment , all we can do is to be reactive , but not proactive .

Modus operandi :

1) Define the area . Prioritize different zone like Metlink ( zone 1,2,3)
2) Do your homework in terms of pricing. Know your enemy - agencies that tend to underquote and to lie constantly .
3) Estimate your pricing boundaries . Be assertive - don't be affraid to say " no" under pressure and walk away .
4) Be flexible , see the complete picture and read the first comments in this topic .

Any other suggestions ?


Again , I still don't understand how you can bargain under present circumstances .

Kind Regards
gprp