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1. What is a Contract for sale?
A residential property cannot be advertised for sale until a Contract for Sale has been prepared. the contract must contain a copy of the title documents, a drainage diagram and a zoning certificate (s 149) issued by the local council. The contract sets out the terms and conditions by which the property is being offered for sale with the purchasers' details and sale price left blank.
2. What happens after we have successfully negotiated and agreed to purchase our new home?
Once a sale has been agreed to by the seller you will be required to provide your details so the contract can be completed. These details include full names of the purchasers, the purchasers solicitor, the purchase price, the deposit being paid, any inclusions in the sale and the proposed settlement date.
3. Do we need pre-purchase pest & building inspections?
It is always a good idea to authorise suitably qualified tradespeople to inspect the propertty and prepare Pest and Building inspection reports on your behalf. You can then rest easy that your home is'nt full of white ants or any major structual damage. Your agent can assist you with arranging these inspections
4. If we need finance, When do we submit our loan application
Although you proberbly have pre-approval for your property purchase, once you have decided on a particular home you need to advise your chosen financial institution and submit a formal loan application. Your agent can assist by faxing the completed front page of the contract to your finance representitive.
If you need finance to purchase your home, the bank may require a registered valuer to inspect the property. Your bank or financial institution does this to make sure the property is worth what they are lending you, to protect the banks interest. You should check with your bank whether they will be requiring a valuation for you loan as formal approval of finance can not be available until the inspection is done.
"Gazumping" occurs when a buyer, relying on a verbal agreement by a vendor to sell a property at an agreed price, spends money obtaining legal advice, pre-purchase inspections etc, only to find out that the vendor has accepted a higher offer from someone else. The buyer loses the money and the property and is said to be "gazumped".
7. What do we need to sign to secure our purchase?
The agent will present you with two documents to sign. The first will be the Contract of Sale, filled in with all of your details. The second will be a "Sale Note" confirming you have signed the contract, been informed as to your cooling off rights and have informed the agent with exchange on your behalf. The agent will also request at this stage that you pay the agreed deposit.
8. Special conditions - What do they mean?
Special conditions can be inserted into the contract for sale which can protect you if you require formal fianance approval and pest & building inspections after exchange of contracts. This means you can secure the property but if anything goes wrong with finance or pest & building inspections you can walk away from the sale with no financial loss to you.
9. What is an "Exchange of contract"
The contract exchange is a critical point in the sale process. The Vendors signed contract and the Purchasers signed contract must be identical they are then dated and the Vendors contract is sent to the purchasers solicitor and vice versa.
10. What is the cooling off period?
After exchanging contracts buyers of residential property have a cooling off period of five business days during which they may withdraw from the contract with written notice. The cooling off period STARTS when the contract is exchanged and ENDS at 5pm on the fifth business day. Sundays are not business days.
11. What is forfeiture deposit?
Normally if a contract is rescinded buy the purchaser during the cooling off period the purchaser would be liable to pay the vendor 0.25% of the purchase price. If you sign your contract with John Mooney Real Estate we will pay the forfiture deposit on your behalf.
12. What happens to deposit monies once they have been paid?
John Mooney Real Estate will always issue atrust account receipt for the monies paid to us. These monies must, by law, be banked into an offical trust account on the day they are received or by no later than the next business banking day.
13. Are we entitled to a final inspection prior to settlement?
Yes, most legal representatives will recommend that you carry out a final inspection one or two days prior to settlement so that you are satisfied that all is in order with the property and that it is basically in the same condition as it was when you signed the contract.
14. Is it possiable for us to rent the property we brought prior to settlement?
Whilst vacant possesion of a property is normally given only upon settlement, it is possiable in certain circumstances for the parties on the contract to agree to the buyer taking possesion of the property prior to settlement, on a rental basis. You should speak with your legal representative if this is something that you are considering.
15. What happens to the keys at settlement?
Legally, you are entitled to vacant possesion of the property and the keys as soon as settlement has taken place. In almost every instance, our office holds the key or set of keys to the property during the marketing period and hand them over once the property has settled. Please note we can only hand over the keys once we have been advised by the vendors solicitor.
