Buying : Rights and Responsibilities RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES For your convenience click on any of the links below. >
Cooling Off Be thorough. A buyer has the legal right to a final inspection prior to settlement for residential property. It must be within 7 days prior to settlement and usually will:
Briefly, the "cooling off" period was introduced in 1983 to enable purchasers of particular types of property to withdraw from a contract in certain circumstances. Sale of Land Act Section 31. The "cooling off" period only applies to residential and rural properties not exceeding 20 hectares. There is no limit on the cooling off price (effective 1st Feb 2004). It could be $200,000 or $2 million. There is no cooling off at auction (or 3 clear business days before or after a public auction). When can a purchaser Cool Off? "It is the signing of the Contract/Contract Note by the purchaser that is the trigger for time to commence to run, even if the vendor has not signed and the contract is not at that stage binding. Once the purchaser has signed the 3 day cooling off commences, beginning on the next business day after the purchaser has signed. It must be given in writing to the vendor, their agent or the vendors legal representative. The vendor is entitled to keep $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. The balance of deposit that has been paid is then refundable to the purchaser.
It is possible for the early release of the buyers deposit to the seller prior to settlement. This is subject to disclosure of key points (amount owed by the vendor and caveats as well as other issues). It is in the interest of the Estate Agent to push for early release of the deposit as the Agent is then entitled to their commission. A buyer should not sign a Section 27 form with out seeking legal advice first!
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