I purchased a house in Brisbane in March and I am due to settle on it next Thursday. I signed a standard REIQ Contract for Houses and Residential Land (10th edition). The vendor currently lives in the house and sub-lets three rooms.
I notified the real estate agent two times over the past three months to tell the vendor to provide vendor possession at settlement, which she said she did. Additionally, in Clause 5.5 of the contract it states that the seller must give the buyer vacant possession of the land at settlement. Also in Clause 9.1 it states that the seller is in default if they do not comply with Clause 5.5.
The vendor called me on Wednesday saying that he was only just notified about vacant possession and as such cannot provide it until at least one month later. I said that one month is the maximum length of time that they can live there and that during this time the vendor will need to pay me market rent. The vendor said that he will provide a letter to my conveyancer confirming that they wish to stay on in the house.
I just heard from the agent that the vendor is disputing the market rental appraisal that she issued. The vendor has also not provided any letter to my conveyancer as yet.
1. What should I do? I am not sure whether we can come to an agreement over the rental appraisal figure and I am not sure whether the vendor will even provide a letter to my conveyancer as he has been difficult to deal with since the start.
2. I am considering delaying settlement until vacant possession is provided. If I delay settlement, can the vendor refuse to sell the house to me? Will there be any negative consequences, such as my finance approval being declined?
Please respond if you are confident you know the answers to this. I don't want to make any mistakes. Thanks.
I notified the real estate agent two times over the past three months to tell the vendor to provide vendor possession at settlement, which she said she did. Additionally, in Clause 5.5 of the contract it states that the seller must give the buyer vacant possession of the land at settlement. Also in Clause 9.1 it states that the seller is in default if they do not comply with Clause 5.5.
The vendor called me on Wednesday saying that he was only just notified about vacant possession and as such cannot provide it until at least one month later. I said that one month is the maximum length of time that they can live there and that during this time the vendor will need to pay me market rent. The vendor said that he will provide a letter to my conveyancer confirming that they wish to stay on in the house.
I just heard from the agent that the vendor is disputing the market rental appraisal that she issued. The vendor has also not provided any letter to my conveyancer as yet.
1. What should I do? I am not sure whether we can come to an agreement over the rental appraisal figure and I am not sure whether the vendor will even provide a letter to my conveyancer as he has been difficult to deal with since the start.
2. I am considering delaying settlement until vacant possession is provided. If I delay settlement, can the vendor refuse to sell the house to me? Will there be any negative consequences, such as my finance approval being declined?
Please respond if you are confident you know the answers to this. I don't want to make any mistakes. Thanks.