Hi all
I signed contract for sale to purchase my first home. The settlement date is due on 19th of this month. Now the vendor’s conveyancer (she happened to be my conveyancer too) called me and said that the settlement may not happen on the same day that is mentioned in the contract due to the vendor’s bank is too busy and settlement may postpone to 22nd of this month.
She further said that I may have to rent the place (property that I’m buying) from the vendor by paying the rent if I want to move to that place before settlement. She also told that it is up to vendor whether to charge rent or not. She also mentioned that the vendor is having more legal right than purchaser.
In my contract of sale there is a clause as follows
“25. Breach
A party who breaches the contract must pay to other party on demand:
(a) Compensation for any reasonably foreseeable to the other party resulting
the breach
(b) Any interest due under this contract as a result of the breach.”
My question is as purchasers don’t I have any rights if settlement does not happen on the settlement date due to the vendor’s fault??
Please advice
Thanks a lot for advice in advance
Regards
Sai
Firstly, why are you using the same conveyancer as the vendor – this person is not acting in your best interests as they are not able to offer independent advice to you as they know what advice they are giving to the vendor. Change conveyancer as they may have a conflict of interest (what are they doing to ensure that they do not have a conflict of interest?).
Delay of settlement is not a fundamental breach of the sale contract, your conveyancer must serve a notice to complete once the vendor fails to settle on the appointed day. Push your conveyancer to get the bank to arrange settlement asap.
If you intend to occupy the premises prior to settlement, then there should be a formal (lease) lease agreement in place to cover your occupation.
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