I’m steaming ahead with mu PI activities & it won’t be long until I start making offers.
Which clauses are important to put in my offers & contracts?
Thanks,
David Paxton
New Homes Consultant
Sterling Homes
0412 853 395G’day David…
Subject to :
Finance
Building Report
Pest Report
Check with Agents as to other conditions that may be applicable to certain areas.
The top 3 give you an “out” if necessary.
Cheers
Billfromoz
Make sure of the pest report wording. Many times there is evidence of termites (but no live ones at the time of the report) and the wording (usually written by a rep who is only interested in closing the deal) quite often states that live termites have to be found and in the house. This does not stack up with AS4349.3, which all PPI’s are suppose to conform to. Any competent pesty will work to this standard. Just because they are not active on the day of the inspection, doesn’t mean that they have left the property. And if termites are found, it is a problem that can be fixed, once again if you have a competent pesty. In summary, if you ask for the clause to comply with as4349.3 AND you engage a competent pesty, you should be right. (Only referring to pest report) Other things mentioned should still be followed through.
Steveod,
Pardon my ignorance (I’m new to this forum), what is a PPI?
And how do you know you got a competent pest controller?
I saw ACA last night where a shonky pest controller (Steve Fuller – his name was publised on TV) said a house that was literally falling apart from termites had NO termites.
Do I just use a big name pestie?
And thanks Bill for your recommendations.
Thanks,
David Paxton
New Homes Consultant
Sterling Homes
0412 853 395Hi again David…
Big name Pesty…not from my experience. Had a bad experience with ******* Talk about a “beat up”
They said that there were no termites…but evidence of termites in the adjoining public park.The report went on to say that $3000 would safeguard the buyer. I contacted the Head office in Sydney and got onto the chief…eventually the report was rewritten without the BS.
Obviously the buyer was nervous until he realised that the pesty just had to be given the “Flick”.
Talk to several agents David, in the area your interested…they will only use a straight shooter…big or small.
Cheers
Billfromoz
David,
A PPI is a Pre Purchase Inspection. Must be done to AS4349.3
A competent pesty should;
1. Be insured
2. Have at least Certificate 2
3. Be a member of AEPMA (Australian Environmental
Pest Managers Assosciation)
4. Be conversant with Australian Standards. If
he doesn’t know the standard, don’t get him!!Also, I would never get a recommendation from a real estate rep, unles I knew and trusted him. As I said before, a lot of reps just want the deal to go through and will sometimes pressure the pesty to write a favourable report. And most of them have no idea about timber pests.
Don’t forget the requirement for plant and equipment, electrical wiring, gas, water and sewerage plumbing (yadda yadda) to be in good working order.
And also make it clear in the contract what fixtures and fittings are to be included (eg light fittings, curtains, curtain rods, blinds, etc).
Unfortunately, while you can accurately identify most of the important things that need to be included in the contract, the trick is to get the wording right. Most real estate agents have absolutely no legal drafting skills (not surprising, since they’re not lawyers!!), and the quality of the conditions they write in the contract is extremely variable. I’ve seen some decent ones, but I’ve also seen many dodgy ones which are not worth the ink that was used to write them (ie they do absolutely nothing in the event something goes wrong, or even worse, puts the buyer in a difficult position).
As a tip, you should think about what are the real deal breakers for YOU. Is it termite infestation? Is it an unsatisfactory building report? If so, you should add in another clause – if any of these problems exist, you have the right to terminate the contract and get your deposit back.
Of course, nothing beats getting a lawyer to draft the conditions for you. But it does cost money and I guess it’s only natural for people to be reluctant to pay incur those costs before they know they’ve secured the property.
Cheers
MJust a quick note re building inspectors as well. I’m more experienced now but just last year bought a Queenslander, sat on the deck with the buiding inspector and he stated that the deck was safe and in good repair, also wrote this on the contract. The very first day in there my ten year old leaned over the verandah, it collapsed and she fell one story breaking her arm! On inspection it was apparent that all timbers were rotten at the base. Off to my lawyer BUT the bulding contract specifies that visual inspections only will be done and no ‘touching’ of areas is permissable. If I had known that Iwould have gone around rocking every board! Now I know the fine print, but I now also shadow every building inspection, ask many many questions and could probably do the inspection myself now! Experience is a great teacher (though I probably annoy the inspector like mad). Good luck!
If putting in anything about finance, you’ll probably want to put something along the lines that the contract is subject to the purchaser obtaining finance suitable to himself. If not then the vendor could offer you finance at 20% p.a. and you’d have to take it.
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Jeremy Lunn
Melbourne
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