Standard Contract Clauses

PT_Bear in the previous thread mentioned one of the standard clauses they (he/she) uses on their contracts is to make the sale subject to independent valuation to at least sale price.

I thought this would be a good question to ask about what kind of other special conditions are useful including in a contract of sale.

When I used to buy land, one of my special conditions was a satisfactory soil test. One block we signed contracts on (residential block in Bayswater) turned out to have contained an old farm dam that had been back-filled with concrete, rubber tyres, car bodies, timber, basically all sorts of crap. Right in the middle of the block (ie. where you'd put a house).

It is also worth discussing these special conditions in the context of how the seller might take them. Some sellers might get "scared away" but excessive conditions on a contract of sale.

Does anyone use a pre-prepared set of conditions that is simply annexed to the contract (which is what I did when we bought the land for our PPOR - the RE nearly had a fit)?
 
Hi there.

Basically, your solicitor can help you put anything you want in as a special clause - ours did.

After an experience where the vendor took over a week to sign a contract, I think that I would now put in something about the "subject to finance, building/pest/electrical inspections being at least 14 days from date of vendor's signature. You live and learn.

Hope this helps.
 
Hi,

I had a clause in contact to purchase a house, directly from the vendor himself. This vendor had written in the contract saying something like that fact that there were no real estate agents involved in this purchase and therefore no commission payable etc. The vendor had it listed with a couple of agents and I (luckily I guess) was driving around and we happen to speak to the vendor himself, so we purchased without an r/e agent involvement.

Danny D.
 
Dear Kev,

Couple more additional clauses that you could use:

1) Buyer and buyers representative/s to have access prior to settlement to complete _________.

(Allows you to get into the property to fix up some of the 101 things you do before you relet the property if it is a vacant possession.) (Remember time is money and getting in there early means less downtime for the property. The buyers representative means less hassle for a subcontractor to get in.)

2) Property to be cleaned prior to settlement in accordance with _______ Real Estate Agent checklist.

(If you can get this done then again it will reduce the downtime on the property.)

3) Property to have electrical safety switch installed by vendor prior to settlement.

(Again it all comes down to negotiation. However in QLD this is now a legal requirement for all properties to either be sold with one or to have one installed within 3 months of the property being purchased. However if you can get the seller to agree to this then you can put an extra $125/property in your pocket if it doesn't already have one.)

Cheers,

Sunstone.
 
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