When you are buying a house, getting a review of the contract for the purchase is essential to identify if there is any part of the contract which indicates that the property which you are planning to purchase is not as valuable as you or your real estate agent may think that it is. Although some may believe that spending money on legal fees for this work is a waste, if you spend a few hundred dollars and you discover a flaw in a property which you were planning to buy into, this will be a remarkably good investment if you are advised not to proceed on the purchase on the basis of the legalities of the transaction not being in order. When reviewing a contract our lawyers look at the following essential issues and also apply their experience to identify if there are any other issues which might arise in relation to the sale:
1. Front Page of Standard Contract in order
- GST Issues
- Price Correctly Stated
- Correct details of parties, agent, solicitors and title of property
- Contract in standard form
2. Included documents
- Conformity with conveyancing regulations
- Any problematic or onerous special conditions in the contract
- Any unusual elements of the title such as caveats, easements or burdens on the land on title
- No planned environmental projects or issues with the local authority concerning planning and environmental law issues.
- Any issues evident in relation to strata and common property title associated plans
- Any sewer service issues evident from the sewer service diagram.
- Any strata issues such as strange or onerous by-laws, a history of conflict in the strata plan or issues with the common property.
Before you go ahead with the purchase of the property, we also try to make sure that you are aware of the following issues in relation to a purchase:
- the need to have finance already approved before making an offer on a property.
- The costs which some people are not aware of in relation to purchasing a property such as stamp duty, land tax, search fees, our legal fees, settlement fees, loan entry and exit fees and other mortgage costs.
- the risks inherent in the transaction like the possibility of late settlement penalties, the liability for the loss of the deposit if settlement fails and any other risks identified in the transaction.
- relations with agents
- the adjustments in the settlement for land tax, water, council rates, strata levies and any other necessary adjustments.
- the need for insurance over the property after the date of completion of the contract.
If you are thinking of buying a property and you would like to discuss a contract review with us, please do not hesitate to contact us using the inquiry from to the right. We would be more than happy to hear from you.