Legal question - OTP and keeping deposits

An update on the situation - my solicitor has checked the contract and said it is fine for us to rescind and get our money back. However, they then said "the seller has not yet made a decision if they will accept your recission" and that we will need to wait until early next year to find out. I'm confused by this. If they make the offer then doesn't it imply that they have accepted it? I don't get why they get two opportunities to make a decision.

If you are within your rights to rescind then it won't matter whether the seller agrees or not.

If they make an offer and you accept it then you could have a contract in force.But this may depend on a few things.
 
This is doing my head in - I really don't get where all these loopholes are coming from. They sent a letter saying they need to extend the sunset clause because they don't have enough time - we can either rescind or sign the new agreement. We said we want to rescind. Shouldn't this be the end of it? I don't understand why/how they have to "accept the rescission" when they were the ones who presented it as an option in the first place. :confused:
 
This is doing my head in - I really don't get where all these loopholes are coming from. They sent a letter saying they need to extend the sunset clause because they don't have enough time - we can either rescind or sign the new agreement. We said we want to rescind. Shouldn't this be the end of it? I don't understand why/how they have to "accept the rescission" when they were the ones who presented it as an option in the first place. :confused:

Sounds to me like you're getting close to the point of "please explain exactly why I can't have my deposit back, or in future you can deal with my solicitor".
 
lol you need consent to rescind? Not in this country baby. Otherwise it's not a rescission, it is a mutual termination by agreement.
 
This is doing my head in - I really don't get where all these loopholes are coming from. They sent a letter saying they need to extend the sunset clause because they don't have enough time - we can either rescind or sign the new agreement. We said we want to rescind. Shouldn't this be the end of it? I don't understand why/how they have to "accept the rescission" when they were the ones who presented it as an option in the first place. :confused:

Possibly closing down for Christmas now and they will process it when reopen again. The deposit should be in a trust account so it should be safe (unless you agreed to release it).
 
I have read that article. The weird thing is that we are particular about what suburb we want to live in if we buy (close to work etc) but there is so much new development there that I don't know if it's even worth buying an apartment (an established one).

We are looking at getting 2-3 bedrooms and townhouses in good areas cost more than we want to spend. They are also less than ideally located compared to apartments.

At the same time, I don't want to keep paying 20k+ in rent every year when paying a mortgage on the same apartment is only ~$50/week more expensive.
 
I have two cottages in Lyneham which both became vacant just as the high rise on Northbourne and Mouat came on line. One was vacant for three weeks, the other was leased immediately. My cottages are 30 years old, but do have gardens.

I have had feedback that a lot of new apartments are very small, especially the bedrooms.

So it can be worth while getting something which offers a little more than the new high rises.

I'd also be casting your net a little further afield. I used to travel from Queanbeyan to Belconnen every day by car- it rarely took more than 30 minutes. Even paying for parking could give you a cheaper option. Or you could get something more affordable on an easy bus trip.

Also remember that you are likely to be living longer in your house than staying at your current workplace. Even if you stay with the same employer, a lot of them are moving out.
 
The one that we purchased OTP is 75sqm and has two bedrooms, one bathroom and two balconies (20sqm and 5sqm) so the size is good although I wasn't a huge fan of the kitchen.

There are more established apartments in the same area that are 2 bedroom/2 bathroom within our budget and ~80-90sqm which is great. I am just concerned about the value falling once all the new apartments are built since I presume people would like "new" more. None of the apartments are that old that they would be popular for the character or a particular time period etc.

My husband lived in inner-city Toronto before moving to Australia so he doesn't like anything that's more than a few minutes away and I have gotten used to the quick travel time too. I have a colleague who lives in Queanbeyan and he is always complaining about it. He says he wanted a big house and that was the most affordable place he could get it. On the other hand, I don't have any problems with (nice) apartments at all.

In terms of time, I don't know if we'll be in Canberra for more than ~5 years at present as it depends on where my husband will do his medical training. 5 years is still a good amount of time though and I don't think I want to be renting for that long.
 
I've no idea why people would complain about Queanbeyan now. It's closer to the centre of Canberra than a large chunk of Canberra itself, and has a really good range of housing types and prices.
 
It's not so much the area I don't think - I think he doesn't like the commute and living far from friends. Used to live in Braddon so would be a bit of a difference.
 
Email from REA:

"As soon as the vendors solicitor sends me the release order I'll arrange the cheque for you"

Due to the convenient excuse of Christmas, I think this will be another 1-2 months away
 
I don't have an issue with Queanbeyan but do agree that it's a world away from Braddon.

Cimbom, if you can go up to the $500k to $600 bracket there's plenty of free standing homes in the inner north.

That way, you get the location, some land and you'll likely end up with a property that will achieve better growth than an OTP apartment and you can probably add a bit of value to it.

Cheers

Jamie
 
Unfortunately that's a lot more than we can spend atm - our budget is ~430-450k at the very most. I have seen some townhouses in the north around the 470-500k range so a lowball offer could work but doubt it'd go very far :p

Do you think established apartments would be a bad choice?
 
Personally, I'm not too keen on apartments in Canberra at the moment.

Having said that, you might find some decent deals on the market for established ones that sellers are desperate to get rid of - especially if they're looking to upgrade and have committed to a purchase elsewhere.

Cheers

Jamie
 
I have found some townhouses in Braddon, Lyneham and one locally that I like and are within our budget (or close to it). Will make appointments for inspections within the coming weeks and see how we go.

Just out of curiousity, is there any way of funding renovations within a mortgage structure?
 
Only by tapping into equity in another property. You can't apply for a loan for the townhouse and also request they lend some extra to cover renos.

Cheers

Jamie
 
cimbom said:
Email from REA:

"As soon as the vendors solicitor sends me the release order I'll arrange the cheque for you"

Due to the convenient excuse of Christmas, I think this will be another 1-2 months away

Glad to hear that your deposit will be returned in a few months :)

The developer may either use a clause within the OTP contract stating that the project will not proceed and return the deposit (with interest? without?) via cheque. This was what happened for mine, the cheque + brief letter was mailed to my conveyancing lawyer's office.

OR they may ask you to sign something before the return of deposit. I'm not entirely sure what's the process for that.
 
Update in case anyone is interested. We came home yesterday after a few days in Melbourne and found the cheque for 22k finally in our letterbox. It took almost three months and many persistent emails to our solicitor (who I will not use again) and the REA but we're glad it's over. I only wish I had listened to the anti-OTP advice before buying. Hopefully, we'll be in our own place within a few months!
 
Back
Top