Cooling off period when contract only half signed

This our first time buying anything, we signed our parts of the contract on Thursday lunch time. The owner of the property is in Sydney so we have been told that it should be signed by the owner by Monday.

How does this affect the cooling off period? Should we already have a conveyancer look at the contract? Or should we be waiting for it to be signed by the other party?

By them not returning us the signed contract for three days does that effectively make our cool out time run out, or does the 3 days start from when both parties sign?

But then that raises the question, what happens if it comes back on monday all signed and dated as of Thursday.

(We realise we should probably be asking a conveyancer these questions but we wont be able to do that until Monday now)
 
Yes, cooling off starts from when the purchasers sign the contract.

Do you expect to have a reason to get out of the deal, that's not covered by any other clause in your contract?
 
No reason to be suspicious

We have been given no reason to be suspicious at all, the real estate agent has seemed quite honest and up front.

We are just trying to be careful and cautious.
 
Yes, cooling off starts from when the purchasers sign the contract.

Do you expect to have a reason to get out of the deal, that's not covered by any other clause in your contract?


I was of the opinion that cooling off starts when the the contracts are exchanged (thats the way it is in NSW anyway) i.e. both parties signing.

Why would you spend money on searches etc. prior to knowing that the offer/contract has been accepted.
 
I was of the opinion that cooling off starts when the the contracts are exchanged (thats the way it is in NSW anyway) i.e. both parties signing.


Differs state by state, yes. Section 31 of the Sale of Land Act, for Victoria, tells us what can and can't be done around this end of the woods. From memory, does NSW also have five days, instead of three?

The REIV explain it annually on their website. The latest update can be found here.

The cooling off period is generally suited for escaping due to buyer's remorse or misinterpreted information, rather than legal advice or any searches or inspections. Those things can be covered by other clauses should the purchaser choose to include them.
 
The cooling off period is generally suited for escaping due to buyer's remorse or misinterpreted information, rather than legal advice or any searches or inspections. Those things can be covered by other clauses should the purchaser choose to include them.

Aah ok. I was under the impression that part of the reason for the three day period was to allow the conveyancer to check the paperwork is in proper order.
 
Back
Top