Contract Revisions

[azzae89]

This may sound really naive but I have no idea when it comes to legal stuff. Today my conveyancer has reviewed a draft contract of sale and says there's some minor adjustments to be made. These are:

Arranging 5% deposit instead of 10%
Front page needs inclusions marked
A clause to be removed that disables the vendor's from using my deposit to buy elsewhere between exchange and settlement.
Arranging a 10 day cooling off instead of 5 days

To my knowledge, these are very minor changes but I have some questions:

How does the contract get revised to a point where I can sign it, and how long does this take?

Are some of the points above just verbal agreements? Like asking about 5% instead of 10% or a 10 day cooling-off instead of 5?

I find out tomorrow if the seller is accepting my offer and want to put 0.25% deposit ASAP and sign the contract but wonder how long these sorts of revisions will hold me up?

Thanks.

 

[Player]

In NSW it will take as long as each party's solicitor/conveyancer take thereby enhancing the chances of gazumping. The rea will play your offer in dollar terms (and your amended conditions) against any other offers they may have. Not sure if you are buying in a hot market or not. I am also making the assumption you are buying in NSW.

In Victoria and Qld one doesn't need to involve the professionals to do this. It can be done on the contract by the rea and buyer/seller and initialled. The NSW process is cumbersome in this way IMO.

By the way, if I were the seller 5 % deposit wouldn't bother me however a 10 day cooling off is not something I would accept. Unless you are buying in a cool or tepid market, you may find these are flatly refused. Of course it's worth a try. Will you be using the cooling off to undertake building and pest? I would be putting in clauses that specify the building and pest terms and conditions upon which you may terminate with full refund of any deposit monies and the traditional cooling off period to make your offer more appealing. Much cleaner that way to my mind.