PURCHASING A PROPERTY....

HOW TO GUIDE:

Purchasing residential real estate can be a very exciting process, however it can also be a confusing time for the prospective buyer.

Property owners receive all types of interest – some genuine, some not. Some people submit offers to test the possibility of sale, but do not actually stay true with their offer. This can lead to frustration and concern for the owners as they try to assess who is actually a genuine buyer. The best way to present a strong offer on any property is to follow the steps below that allow you to put forward your strongest purchasing proposition to the agent.

As you may already be aware from your experiences, different agencies and individual agents usually have different sets of rules and standards. Below is the general process that should be followed, and one that we at Smith Partners adhere to.

MAKING AN OFFER

Once you’ve found the right property, you need to express your interest through making an offer. You can do this verbally, but we will ask you to put it in writing on a Letter of Offer form, to present to our vendor. Your offer should include the following details:

· The amount you would like to pay for the property

· Your deposit amount (the greater the deposit the more serious and committed you will appear to the vendor, and it is usually 10% of the sale price)

· The settlement period that you require

· Any conditions you would like to put into the contract such as subject to building inspection, subject to sale, subject to finance, etc. (the less conditions you have, the more favourable your offer will appear to the vendor)

BEST & FINAL OFFER

If there are multiple offers on the property, we will come back to you and give you the opportunity to put in your “best and final” offer. This means you can either increase your offer, change some conditions (eg. Remove subject sale) or leave your offer the same if that is your best offer. The Agent cannot disclose any of the other offers that are on

the table. Real Estate Agents are legally obliged to present all offers to their vendor. Although the vendor can act on advice from their Agent, it is ultimately their decision as to whether they would like to accept an offer, or not.

NEGOTIATIONS

If there is no competition and yours is the only offer presented to the vendor, the vendor can choose to do one of the following:

· accept the offer - meaning you will move on to the next step of signing contracts and Form 1’s

· decline the offer

· counter-offer - the vendor may come back with another figure that they would be happy to move forward with. If this is the case, then you are also entitled to counter-offer again and so on until both parties either come to an agreement or not.

SIGNING CONTRACT & “COOLING OFF”

If your offer is accepted, the next step is to exchange contracts. This is the legal part of buying a home. You and the vendor will sign the contract and the Form 1’s which begins the “cooling off” process. The “cooling off” period is 2 full clear business days, meaning if you sign a contract on Wednesday, cooling off would start at midnight and continue for

48 hours, ending midnight Friday. If you have made your contract subject to a satisfactory pest and/or building inspection, this generally should be done during the cooling off period. If you decide to exercise your cooling-off rights for any reason, you need to write a letter and deliver it to the Agent before the period ends to cancel the contract. Once the cooling off period ends you are due to pay your agreed deposit amount.

EMPLOY A CONVEYANCER

You will need to appoint a Conveyancer/ Solicitor to handle the transfer of this property on your behalf. Once you notify the agent of your chosen Conveyancer, they will arrange for all the required paperwork to be supplied to them in readiness for Settlement.

MEET CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT

If you have any conditions on the contract (eg. Subject to finance or subject to sale of another property) these conditions need to be met by the agreed date which will be detailed in your Sales Contract. Once all the conditions have been met, the property is officially SOLD, and you can begin packing and organising your moving day!

SETTLEMENT DAY!

All going to plan, your conveyancer will attend the Land Titles Office of your behalf to exchange documents, which will officially happen between 11am and 2pm on settlement day. The Vendor will relinquish the keys and legal rights to the property in exchange for the balance of payment from you or your bank. As soon as your Agent has been notified by your conveyancer that settlement has occurred, they will hand the keys over to you - You will have then officially purchased your property!

If you would like any further advice on buying a property, like organising finance with a Mortgage Broker, using a Buyer’s Agent, getting a building inspection, please do not hesitate to contact one of our helpful staff for a chat.

Ph: (08) 8251 3249
Email: info@spartners.com.au
Or come and see us at:
Shop 34, Golden Grove Village Shopping Centre Cnr The Golden Way & The Grove Way GOLDEN GROVE