Pre-settlement inspection denied

Hi all, I've been lurking on this site for a while now rushing to get as much info as possible in a short period of time for my first home purchase, and this is my first post. I would really appreciate any clarification on my issue. Basically I have purchased a house in Adelaide, my settlement is mid next month so I asked the realtor when I could arrange a pre-settlement inspection. He said that I can't have one as I needed to state it as a condition in my contract. I had no idea! :confused: I had my contract as subject to building inspection but not pre-settlement inspection :( From reading the forums here it sounded to me like pre-settlement inspections were standard, but the realtor told me it was standard in other states but not south australia. Is that true? This realtor has been a real slimeball and has ruined my first home buying experience so I don't know what to believe from him. Thanks so much!
 
Regardless of the contract issues I would have thought you have a right to check what you bought is what you will settle on.

Having said that, some contract things defy logic, so the REA might be right, but if they are being that difficult you have to wonder why.........doesnt make for good referals does it

ta

rolf
 
If its not a condition of the contract, then there is nothing you can do.

Even if you did the inspection - you cant pull out of the contract if you find something you dont like (because its not a condition of the contract).
 
Yeah, but if the place has been trashed and the walls have been sprayed with graffiti you would be able to pull out as the property is not in the condition when you originally inspected it.
 
Yeah I wouldn't want to cancel the contract or anything (unless something went horribly wrong since the initial inspection), but I heard about people on these forums postponing settlement until any problems are rectified, cos if you find out things are broken/missing after settlement then tough, they won't help you. Which is kinda what I'm worried about cos I know the owners are semi-horders, their garage was filled to the brim with crap so I'm scared of inheriting it. I had the REA telling me to take his word for it that it'd be perfect and cleared up! hah! I really just think the REA thinks I'm a rube.

Just wondering tho, as the garage was filled to the brim with junk and my building inspector couldn't actually assess that room fully, I'm guessing I don't have any standing if once they clear out the room I find something wrong cos I signed the contract for the property in that condition. Maybe I shoulda written in my contract 'subject to garage inspection once cleared out'. Thanks for all your help, I'm definitely gonna look into it further, maybe even ask for legal aid as this REA is too slimy. Yeah he's definitely not getting any referrals from me!
 
Hi Liyo,

Please see this link http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/consumeradvice/realestate/settle/index.html

it clearly stated as below:
Pre-settlement inspection
The vendor has an obligation to hand over the property in the same condition as it was in when you signed the contract of sale. You are entitled to make an inspection to check the house at any reasonable time, one week before settlement, if you stipulated in the contract that the sale was subject to a pre-settlement inspection.

So you do have the right to inspect the property in SA before settlement.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 
Hi all, I've been lurking on this site for a while now rushing to get as much info as possible in a short period of time for my first home purchase, and this is my first post. I would really appreciate any clarification on my issue. Basically I have purchased a house in Adelaide, my settlement is mid next month so I asked the realtor when I could arrange a pre-settlement inspection. He said that I can't have one as I needed to state it as a condition in my contract. I had no idea! :confused: I had my contract as subject to building inspection but not pre-settlement inspection :( From reading the forums here it sounded to me like pre-settlement inspections were standard, but the realtor told me it was standard in other states but not south australia. Is that true? This realtor has been a real slimeball and has ruined my first home buying experience so I don't know what to believe from him. Thanks so much!
Seriously, what's the point?

Mrs Fish would have just asked if she get in to measure for curtains etc.
 
Hi Liyo,

Please see this link http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/consumeradvice/realestate/settle/index.html

it clearly stated as below:
Pre-settlement inspection
The vendor has an obligation to hand over the property in the same condition as it was in when you signed the contract of sale. You are entitled to make an inspection to check the house at any reasonable time, one week before settlement, if you stipulated in the contract that the sale was subject to a pre-settlement inspection.

So you do have the right to inspect the property in SA before settlement.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

Just looking at the bolded comment within that statement veebeeseewee
 
Please see this link http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/consumeradvice/realestate/settle/index.html

it clearly stated as below:
Pre-settlement inspection
The vendor has an obligation to hand over the property in the same condition as it was in when you signed the contract of sale. You are entitled to make an inspection to check the house at any reasonable time, one week before settlement, if you stipulated in the contract that the sale was subject to a pre-settlement inspection.

So you do have the right to inspect the property in SA before settlement.
Did you miss the bit which I've bolded and italicised? This quote actually supports the real estate agent's contention. :eek:

LiyoLabs, a reference to "Legal Aid" has me concerned... you need to have your own lawyer for this transaction, and preferably you need to consult with that lawyer prior to entering into a contract, so that they can give you useful advice such as "don't forget to insert a pre-settlement inspection clause; it's not standard in SA".

I'm not unsympathetic, because I don't think that we sought legal advice prior to purchasing our first PPOR, either, but that's because we relied on the advice of "nearly everybody else" that it wasn't necessary. :rolleyes: We really have to change this culture and make a pre-contract solicitors' consultation the new "standard". Why skimp on a few hundred for a purchase which is usually significant enough to make or break your financial future? Their advice on that one clause alone would have paid their fee, probably, and - given that the vendors are hoarders - they'd also have advised you to insert a clause imposing a penalty if they leave their crud behind, and no doubt have offered other good advice.
 
An experienced property lawyer is worth gold; another safeguard we put in place when purchasing a new home/apartment is to commission handovers.com to undertake final pre-settlement inspections - they have been brilliant;)
 
Thanks for everyone's help. Yes I am a naive first home buyer but at least now I know what to do the second time round. I thought I'd give an update on what happened. So I talked to a solicitor and he said that if my contract was subject to building inspection then I could ask to "complete" my building inspection once the room was vacated. But it turned out that my contract WASN'T subject to a building inspection, I had specified on the offer etc that I wanted it to be subject to building inspection and I even talked to the REA who confirmed the contract was subject to building inspection and finance, however, I remember him asking if I would be able to arrange a building inspection during the cooling off period and I said yes, he must have seen this as an out so that he didn't have to include it in my contract. Yet another reason why you shouldn't believe what the REA says. It's totally my fault for not questioning it and making sure it was written somewhere in the contract. But for next time I'll know. The solicitor assured me that as long as the extension (the room I wanted to inspect was an addition onto the original house) had council approval then there shouldn't be anything too wrong. Also I tell myself that if there wasn't any structural damage showing on the outside and also that it's obviously waterproof as the previous owners were keeping all their stuff in there, then there can't be too much wrong with the room. And my building inspector was very very good and he didn't seem to have too many worries about the room even though he couldn't inspect it properly. Fingers crossed this won't be a costly mistake! I'll find out by the end of the week. And I hope my experiences serve as a lesson to other first home buyers. What I've learnt: 1. Hire a solicitor, 2. Make sure in the contract somewhere is written "subject to building inspection" even if you plan to carry it out during cooling off, 3. Also include in the contract that it's subject to pre-settlement inspection. Thanks again everyone!
 
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