You’ve found the house of your dreams – what next? At this stage, you can let the Real Estate Agent know that you want to make an offer on the house. You will need to let the Agent know things like the purchase price, settlement date, how much deposit you can pay (usually anywhere from $5,000 to 10% of the purchase price) and what conditions you want to include in the Agreement. Conditions can include obtaining finance, a satisfactory builders report, electrical report and checking the Council file or getting a LIM report. For a comprehensive list of conditions which you might want to include in the Agreement give us a ring or download our free app “Easylaw”.
The conditions are in the Agreement for your benefit! You are basically saying to the Vendor “I’ll buy your house, but only if I’m happy with these inspections and can get finance.” Each condition will have a deadline, usually 5 to 10 working days. During that time other people can make an offer on the same house, but they must wait to see what the outcome is with your offer, whether you decide to buy the house or not or whether your offer is cancelled for some reason, either by you or the Vendor. If you don’t meet a deadline, the Vendor can cancel the Agreement.
A “cash-out clause” maybe included in the Agreement. This means if anyone makes a cash unconditional offer on the same house, you have a certain amount of time to confirm all conditions, or the Agreement is cancelled.
Conditions also give you the ability to negotiate if you find something out about the house that you weren’t aware of. It might be that some work needs done on the house or something more complex. We will guide you through this should the need arise.
Going “unconditional” means that all your conditions are satisfied. Your LIM report was fine, your builder report was A-OK and you’ve got finance and insurance sorted. When you’re unconditional, you’re legally bound to settle! We will make sure every little detail is sorted by this point so you can just sit back and relax and start planning what kind of wallpaper you want to put in the kitchen.
