incorrect section32/ Newbie

[Situation]

Just wanted some quick advise

Our section 32 stated we had gasconnected but it is not connected. We asked the vendor to compensate us by reducing her price. which she is not willing to do.

are we ableto back out of the contract. we dont want to pay for soemthing that is not there. or is this a matter we need to get a lawyer involved.

 

[turk]

Just wanted some quick advise

Our section 32 stated we had gasconnected but it is not connected. We asked the vendor to compensate us by reducing her price. which she is not willing to do.

are we ableto back out of the contract. we dont want to pay for soemthing that is not there. or is this a matter we need to get a lawyer involved.

Seriously, what is the cost of getting a gas line connected to the property?

Are there any gas appliances in the property?

Is it worth letting the deal fall over for the sake of a few hundred dollars?

The error in the sec.32 may not be enough to cancel the deal, even if it is
you could be tied up in a legal mess for years to come.

All thpoints to consider

Cheers

Pete

 

[Situation]

there are no gas appliances in the place.

it will cost between $5k to $10k to get it installed because gas has to be run to the place as there is no connection to the building

 

[Propertunity]

Just wanted some quick advise

Our section 32 stated we had gasconnected but it is not connected. We asked the vendor to compensate us by reducing her price. which she is not willing to do.

are we ableto back out of the contract. we dont want to pay for soemthing that is not there. or is this a matter we need to get a lawyer involved.

To quote these guys: http://www.lawyersconveyancing.com.au/section.asp

What if the Section 32 is defective?
Criminal offence
As discussed above, it is a criminal offence for a vendor to deliberately or recklessly provide false information or to fail to provide all of the required information, and a person found guilty is liable to a penalty of 50 penalty units.

Cancellation of the contract
Where a vendor has failed to comply with the provisions of Section 32, a purchaser may be entitled to end the contract at any time, right up to the day of final settlement. This can result in huge costs to a vendor, because the vendor may still have to pay a full commission to the estate agent, then a second commission if the property is to be sold again, plus legal costs, plus the cost of the purchaser’s loss.

Of course, there are exceptions. A mere technical breach may not result in cancellation of the contract, and legal advice should be sought before assuming anything with regard to breaches and remedies relating to Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act.

Misrepresentation and Trade Practices legislation
It is also possible that a dissatisfied purchaser of real estate may be able to take action for Misrepresentation or for breaches of the Trade Practices Act or the Fair Trading Act.

There may also be other specific remedies available where the estate agent has engaged in improper conduct in order to bring about the sale.

Legal advice required
Of course, the circumstances of each case must be considered to determine whether there has been a breach, who is responsible for the breach, and what remedies may be available. Legal advice should always be sought from a qualified lawyer before any assumptions are made as to a purchaser's ability to end a contract on the basis of a breach of Section 32.

 

[Situation]

Thanks for that.

We are gonna try meeting with the vendor and estate agent face to face to try and resolve the matter i hope it can be resolved.

I think if the vendor is not willing to discuss this we will postpone settlement and seek legal advise.

thanks

 

[Propertunity]

We are gonna try meeting with the vendor and estate agent face to face to try and resolve the matter i hope it can be resolved.

Just remember in that meeting, that the REA acts for the vendor totally and not you (the purchaser)....so don't expect them to be some kind of impartial mediator.

 

[turk]

Hi Situation

Can I ask what type of property this is as normally a gas line to a house is not all that expensive?

The 5-10 K you mention is this figure from a gas supply co?

Cheers

Pete

 

[Situation]

its an apartment. So we will need a meter installed and gas lines run up to our apartment and also need to go through body corp.

 

[turk]

its an apartment. So we will need a meter installed and gas lines run up to our apartment and also need to go through body corp.

Hi Situation

Can see where the costs could be incurred that you have quoted.

As you say sit down and talk to the vendor to try to resolve the matter.

This thread may be of interest to you in regards to canceling the sale.

http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48341&page=7

Hope that you arrive at a satisfactory resolution.

Cheers

Pete

 

[Situation]

THanks for your help guys.

I have had a call from the agent and the vendors conveyancers are going to compensate us but in terms of how much we have to negotiate with their conveyancer.

Great website thanks so much for the responces.

 

[Propertunity]

I have had a call from the agent and the vendors conveyancers are going to compensate us but in terms of how much we have to negotiate with their conveyancer.

It might not be a simple as that......but I hope it is
Q1. Why is the vendor's conveyancer going to compensate you?
Q2. If it is because the conveyancer stuffed up the Sec 32 then fine - BUT if your claim is 'significant' then the conveyancer might be wanting to make a claim on her/his Professional Indemnity Insurance - that could draw the process out.
Or if the conveyancer stuffed up it might just be cheaper for her/him to pay you off out of their own funds.
Q3. Or, has the vendor left the negotiations up to their conveyancer because they don't want the hassle?....and it is really the vendor's stuff-up, not the conveyancer.

In any event, I'd still be delaying settlement until the matter gets resolved to your satisfaction. That way you still get some pressure from the vendor on their conveyancer to settle your claim so the property transaction can settle too.

 

[RumpledElf]

Lack of gas seems pretty trivial in the scheme of things and really not worth the fuss - they probably use a standard form and just forgot to strike that one. Why not just buy the house and ... have an electric stove!

 

[Propertunity]

Lack of gas seems pretty trivial in the scheme of things and really not worth the fuss

Yep, to you maybe. But for instance I 'need' gas becasue I'm a mad keen wok-cooking kinda guy and I 'must' cook on gas. Additionally, some smaller kids ( we have a couple) with winter breathing issues cannot cope with the dry air that an air-con pumps out and need a gas or electric type heater....remember MEL winters get cold. And if these purchasers were led to believe that gas was on, even though the stove was electric, then they have some kind of claim if they relied on that information.

they probably use a standard form and just forgot to strike that one.

Probably.... yes.

Why not just buy the house and ... have an electric stove!

Because they can make someone else pay for what they rightly thought they were getting.

And yes I know we are all getting way too litigious these days but that's the way it works in 2009. We all pay a fortune in PI premiums BEFORE we get out of bed on New Years day just so we can go about or jobs ....to protect us from the odd mistake of ticking the wrong box on some form.

 

[Perp]

I should think a cost of up to $10K is a pretty material error in the S32. Do you want to cancel, or would you rather continue and have the vendor pay for the gas connection? I should think you have reasonable grounds for forcing the vendor to pay for the connection, or reduce the price.

 

[Perp]

Lack of gas seems pretty trivial in the scheme of things and really not worth the fuss - they probably use a standard form and just forgot to strike that one. Why not just buy the house and ... have an electric stove!

Gas is used a lot more extensively in Melbourne, particularly for heating. And as Propertunity says, cooking on gas cooktops is much, much better for most Asian cooking; electric doesn't get hot enough.

We only have electric where we live right now, and I am considering getting bottles installed. Once you've had gas hot water, gas cooktops, and gas heating, alternatives seem way inferior.

 

[chrispy]

To be honest here, if I was the vendor I would just go for cancelling the contract and then put it back for sale with the right box ticked.

Gas in a block of flats can be dangerous, I recall a highrise in London where the gas leaked from a stove and blew the entire side out of the block of apartments.

I did put a gas cooktop in a townhouse in Cairns, using Bottled gas, for the simple reason that when cyclones or high winds come through the electricity can go off for hours, at least having bottled gas means the tenants can cook and boil water.

In my experience breathing problems are exacerbated by gas. Gas heating dries the air out and I have found since having gas heating we need to have bowls of water in the rooms to put some humidity back. Thats Ok as long as you don't have dogs as they tend to run around during the night drinking out of the bowls.

Chris

 

[Propertunity]

at least having bottled gas means the tenants can cook and boil water.

I must admit that it is nice to have gas as well as electricity. If the power goes out - you can still cook a meal and keep warm.

In my experience breathing problems are exacerbated by gas.

That can also be true if the gas heater is not flued.

 

[chrispy]

The heater is flued.

Where our problems came in was the gas drying out the air a lot more than the electric heating. I had a mild asthmatic in the house whose breathing problems increased, particularly during the night. We got around this by turning off the gas heating at night, having the water around to humidify the air and using reverse cycle airconditioning first thing in the morning, provided the temperature did not drop below -5C, as it would then freeze up, so we had to use the gas!!!

Whenever possible I throw open all the doors and windows to clean the air right through the house.

Chris

 

[RumpledElf]

We're all electric out here with the $400 a quarter power bills to prove it, although we do intend to build a house next year or late this year with gas bottles (and solar heating). If the electricity goes out here - which it occasionally does for VERY long stretches - we have no way to cook and also have no running water except for an outdoor tank that is on a stand. Not so bad in winter when its -10C, can just crowd around the wood heater. And its amazing what you can cook with a trivet, a camping saucepan and a lot of teacandles

It is very very unusual to see a house with gas here. I'd imagine they charge extra for them here. Back when I lived in the city however ... always wanted the house with gas over the one without ...

... and using reverse cycle airconditioning first thing in the morning, provided the temperature did not drop below -5C, as it would then freeze up, so we had to use the gas!!!

I hate that, and the last aircon we bought wasn't reverse cycle as I'm sick of the damn things never working. Totally off-topic, but does anyone sell reverse cycle aircons that actually work when it is really cold or are you just stuck with wood or gas?

 

[Perp]

Totally off-topic, but does anyone sell reverse cycle aircons that actually work when it is really cold or are you just stuck with wood or gas?

Reverse cycle air-cons are heat pumps. They don't actually "heat" or cool anything; they simply transfer any heat in the air from inside the house to outside during cooling, or in the opposite direction during heating.

Thus when it's very cold outside, there's just not enough heat for them to suck out of the outside air, to pump inside. This technology simply isn't suitable for heating in much below about 10 deg C.

So the answer is "no"; you're stuck with something that actually generates heat when the temperatures are very low.