Are you buying or selling a house? If you have never done that before, you are likely to find it very overwhelming. Unless you are a lawyer, handling contractual issues can be a tough nut to crack. In fact, overlooking contractual details can cost you in terms of money and time.
So if you are about to get involved in a conveyancing transaction, learn to recognize some of the common pitfalls involved. The following are the things that could go wrong when buying or selling a property:
1. Not Reading the Contract
It is highly unlikely that you are a lawyer. So don’t try going through the contract yourself. The best strategy is to hire a lawyer or conveyancer to go through the contract before you upend the signature. In fact, you should make it the habit of talking to a legal expert before you sign a contract of any kind. Bear in mind that buying a house is a huge investment and thus requires a lot of due diligence. When it comes to the contract, a lawyer will help you do it.
2. Missing the Special Conditions in the Contract
Most of the time, people miss the special conditions spelled out in the contract. The most commonly ignored special conditions include the terms of sale or purchase. If there are any extra inclusions, the contract will spell out the terms concerning them. Do a thorough check to establish whether the prices in the contract are tax inclusive or exclusive if it is a commercial property. Also be sure that you don’t miss the time-frames as spelled out in the contract.
3. Not Inspecting the Property Correctly
Don’t buy a house until you have thoroughly inspected it. Some of the other things of concern during an inspection include the actual structure and the fixtures and fittings. If you are not careful, you may end up underestimating the size of the kitchen, storage space, and the floor plan.
4. Negotiating On the Inclusions
Usually, the house purchase or sale contract will include the items which are included in the purchase. You don’t have to negotiate about this. Light fittings, curtains, blinds, floor coverings, and stoves etc. Essentially, these should be automatically included if they were part of the property. In the end, the inclusions should be part of the signed contract, so there is no need for you negotiating over them. The only thing you can do is a thorough inspection so that you are not being unnecessarily short-changed, and end up owning something that does not work or think something is included when it is actually not.
5. Aligning the Critical Dates
While it is important to know what the critical dates in the entire transaction are, you don’t have to do everything at once. If you are buying with a cooling off period, find out when the deposit has to be paid. If you are obtaining finance you should have loan approval before you exchange contracts. The other critical date you should know about include that of settlement. All these ought to be clearly spelled out in the final contract.
As you enter into a conveyancing contract, watch out for and avoid the pitfalls listed above.
Call Anne today on 0408 206 474 and make sure you are properly protected when securing your dream home.