by Andrew Lind on February 2, 2010
One key, when buying property, is to make sure that you have a written unconditional finance approvalfrom your financier before your purchase contract become unconditional as to finance.
Conditions such as:
- Subject to a satisfactory valuation;
- Subject to lenders mortgagee insurer approval,
are often in the fine print.
If these conditions apply, you would be wise to have these conditions satisfied before having an unconditional commitment to proceed to settlement of your purchase.
If you are purchasing a property off the plan you need to be aware the the financier will usually want to formally value the property once construction is complete. If this applies to you you may want to consider adding a condition to your purchase contract that the purchase is subject to it valuing up at a certain level once construction is completed. This is likely to be resisted by vendors but in a buyer’s market there is little harm in asking.
Finally you need to be aware that almost every finance approval that I have read techinally allows the bank to “pull the plug” and not advance the money at any moment right up until the time the money is actually advanced. This risk is perhaps small as after all banks are in the business of lending money however in a context where banking shocks are not unknown this little talked about risk perhaps needs to be aired.
All good reasons to get our Property and Conveyancing legal team in your corner. So whether you need Conveyancing in Brisbane, the Gold Coast or anywhere in Queensland let our Conveyancing Solicitors look after you. You will notice the difference.
For more details of how the team at Corney & Lind can help you see our web site.
by Andrew Lind on February 1, 2010
One of a number of very significant differences about buying and selling real estate in Queensland is that “time is of the essence” of land contracts.
This means that time limits must be strictly complied with.
If the Settlement Date is 5 February 2010 and one of the parties is not ready willing and able to settle, that party is in default of contract and the other party who is not in default may terminate the contract without any other reason or being completed to provide notice to settle within a reasonable time.
So if you are buying and your funds are not ready on the settlement date the seller can terminate, take your deposit and reserve their rights to other damages against you including for example a loss of a resale of the property.
Good reasons, if you’re are buying or selling real estate in Queensland, to have our expert Property and Conveyancing Solicitors look over a contract before you sign it so that they can bring their experience to bear on whether in the usual course the time limits will be achievable.
To find out more about how our Brisbane Lawyers and Gold Coast Lawyers can help you visit the Corney & Lind web site and our Legal Resource Centre.
by Andrew Lind on January 29, 2010
Firstly I am only going to speak about Queensland contracts although some of the issues I raise may also be relevant in other States.
Generally the contract will be prepared by the Real Estate agent, who remember, is usually the agent for the seller (not the buyer) and who has a significant vested interest (their commission) in locking you into the purchase with no escape hatch.
Real Estate Agents are generally great at what they do, but they are not lawyers. How the blanks are completed on the standard contract can make a significant difference to whether your interests are protected or not.
Here are some examples.
Building & Pest Inspection
You must give yourself time not just to get the inspection and the report done but also get the building record information from the relevant local authority to ensure that the house and other alterations were approved and passed all their relevant inspections. In Brisbane you can get these in a matter of days (if you are prepared to pay handsomely for a Fast Track search) but on the Gold Coast forget getting them out of Council inside 3-4 weeks.
Finance
“Finance Amount” should not be completed “Sufficient to Complete” as what does this mean? Better is, “Amount chosen by Buyer.” “Financier” should not be completed “Any bank or financial institution”. How many finance applications are you then required to make? Better is, “As chosen by Buyer.”
Settlement Date
I see it all the time, “… days from the Contract Date or as agreed”. Remember the Seller is not obliged to agree and it usually doesn’t matter what the agent has said about what the Seller will agree to as what you about to sign is all that is being agreed to.
Anyway, I hope I have answered the question and given you a couple of good reasons to invest some money with your solicitor in getting the document right that is going to commit you to a lot of money.
Our expert property and conveyancing solicitors can help for Brisbane Conveyancing, Gold Coast Conveyancing and Conveyancing right accorss Queensland.
Find out more about what our Brisbane Solicitors and Gold Coast Solicitors can do for you by visiting the Corney and Lind web site and checking out our Legal Resource Centre. Its Free.
by Dave Cheng on November 25, 2009
Pazcuff Pty Ltd v Farmilo & Ors [2009] QSC 230 
This recent Supreme Court decision (August of 2009) determined that the purchaser was able to terminate the contracts of sale as a result of the sellers’ failure to provide disclosure statements signed by the sellers (or person specifically authorised by the sellers to do so), before the contracts were entered into, as required under s 206 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the Act).
s 206 of the Act provides:
- “(1) The seller of a lot included in a community titles scheme … must give a person (the buyer) who proposes to buy a lot, before the buyer enters into a contract to buy the lot, a disclosure statement.
- (2) …
- (3) The disclosure statement must be signed by the seller or a person authorised by the seller …”
The disclosure statements were simply not signed and provided to the purchaser with the executed contracts under cover of the seller’s solicitors letterhead. The Court said that was not good enough under s206 of the Act.
Conveyancing is not simple. Much attention to detail is required and mistakes are very costly. Engaging our expert, experienced and careful Property Lawyers and Conveyancing Solicitors makes good sense.
by Graham Corney on November 13, 2009
The time for comments on the draft report by the Productivity Commission on the contribution of the not for profit sector expires on 24 November 2009.
The draft report is a comprehensive document of 510 pages (without supporting material) and covers a wide range of factors that impact on the not-for-profit sector generally. It is one of a raft of such examinations of the sector either currently in place such as the Federal Government’s Taxation Review headed by Dr Ken Henry or recently completed such as the report released last December by the Senate Standing Committee on Economics into Disclosure regimes for charities and not-for-profit organisations.
The terms of reference for the this review require the Commission to have regard to Dr.Henry’s review and the report of the Inquiry into the Definition of Charities and other organisations commissioned in 2002 but not to examine in detail the matters covered by those reviews.
Non profit sector participants can expect to see far reaching implications emerge in the foreseeable future for the way they currently operate and are urged to seriously consider the draft report.
The Corney & Lind Lawyers Not for Profit and Charity Lawyers will continue to monitor the developments in the sector and will keep you informed. Our Non Profit and Charity Law specialist knowledge is widely recognised.
Go to the draft report.
