John Ryan Real Estate - FAQs
1. What is a 'Contract of Sale'?
2. What happens when we have agreed to purchase a new house?
3. Do we need to organise pre-purchase pest & building inspections?
4. If we need finance, When do we submit our loan application?
5. What is a bank valuation?
6. What do we need to sign to secure our property purchase?
7. What is the meaning of 'Special Conditions'?
8. What is an 'Exchange of Contract'?
9. What is the 'Cooling off period'?
10. What is forfeiture of the deposit?
11. What happens to our deposit once it is paid?
12. Can we have a final inspection before settlement?
13. What happens to the keys at settlement?
8. What is a 'Contract for Sale'?
A 'Contract of Sale' must be prepared before a property can be advertised for sale. The 'Contract of Sale' must contain a copy of all title documents and water / land rates etc. The 'Contract' sets out the terms and conditions by which the property is being offered for sale with the purchasers' details and sale price left blank.
2. What happens when we have agreed to purchase a new house?
Once a sale has been agreed to by the seller you will be required to provide your details so the 'Contract's can be completed. These details include full names of the purchasers, the purchasers solicitor, the purchase price, the deposit being paid, any inclusions in the sale and the proposed settlement date.
3. Do we need to organise pre-purchase pest & building inspections?
It is always a good idea to authorise suitably qualified tradespeople to inspect the property and prepare Pest and Building inspection reports on your behalf. You can then rest easy that your home is'nt full of white ants or home to any other major structual damage.
4. If we need finance, When do we submit our loan application?
You should have already sought pre-approval for a home loan, if not, you need to do this as soon as possible. Once you have decided on a particular house you need to advise your Bank or Financier and submit a loan application.
If you need finance to purchase your house, the bank may require a registered valuer to inspect the property. Your bank or financial institution does this to make sure the property is worth what they are lending you, to protect the banks interest. You should check with your bank whether they will be requiring a valuation for you loan as formal approval of finance can not be available until the inspection is done.
6. What do we need to sign to secure our property purchase?
The agent will present you with two documents to sign. The first will be the 'Contract of Sale', filled in with all of your details. The second will be a 'Sale Note' confirming you have signed the contract, been informed of your cooling off rights and have informed the us with exchange on your behalf. We will also request at this stage that you pay the agreed deposit.
7. Special conditions - What do they mean?
Special conditions can be inserted into the contract for sale which can protect you if you require formal fianance approval and pest & building inspections after exchange of contracts. This means you can secure the property but if anything goes wrong with finance or pest & building inspections you can walk away from the sale with no financial loss to you.
8. What is an 'Exchange of contract'?
The contract exchange is a critical point in the sale process. The Vendors signed contract and the Purchasers signed contract must be identical, they are then dated and the Vendors contract is sent to the Purchasers solicitor and vice versa.
9. What is the 'Cooling off Period'?
After exchanging contracts buyers of residential property have a cooling off period of ________ business days during which they may withdraw from the contract with written notice. The cooling off period STARTS when the contract is exchanged and ENDS at _______ on the ________ business day. Sundays are not business days.
10. What is forfeiture of the deposit?
Normally if a contract is rescinded by the purchaser during the cooling off period the purchaser would be liable to pay the vendor _______% of the purchase price.
11. What happens to our deposit once it is paid?
_____________________________________________________________
12. Can we have a final inspection before settlement?
Yes, most legal representatives will recommend that you carry out a final inspection one or two days prior to settlement so that you are satisfied that all is in order with the property and that it is basically in the same condition as it was when you signed the contract.
13. What happens to the keys at settlement?
Legally, you are entitled to vacant possesion of the property and the keys as soon as settlement has taken place. In almost every instance, our office holds the key or set of keys to the property during the marketing period and hand them over once the property has settled. Please note we can only hand over the keys once we have been advised by the vendors solicitor.