My offer to purchase an established residential property has been accepted yesterday and I understand that the cooling off period here in WA is 5 business days from day of acceptance? which in my case starts tomorrow,; and the property and pest inspection report has to be done within this 5 day period.
What is a cooling off period? Is this when I can withdraw from purchasing without losing my deposit?How can a property inspection and pest inspection report be done within the 5 day period or in less than 5 days?
Can anybody who had some experience hiring some, or know some good ones, recommend me a
1.good building inspector and termite/pest inspector? I understand that the building inspector must be a registered builder or structural engineer.
2. termite pest inspectorHow much is the reasonable cost of a building inspection with report and also of a termit/pest inspection report?
thanks in advance.
Hi Propertybee
'Cooling off' is a legal right all purchasers have in Australia to retract a contractual offer to purchase real estate without the penalty of losing our deposit. The 'cooling off' period allowed does vary from state to state (QLD 5 clear business days, Vic 3 business days, SA 2 business days, and so on). What you have to understand in relation to your building/pest inspection is that, usually it is not a requirement to have it done during 'cooling off' but, rather, the inspection is made a 'subject to' condition of the sale. In other words, the purchaser agrees to purchase said property 'subject to a satisfactory building/pest inspection, finance, sale and/or settlement of an existing property', and so on. Putting into perspective your present situation of having signed a contract to purchase without making it 'subject to a satisfactory building/pest inspection' means, that if you have the inspection done on say the last day of 'cooling off' and you are rushed to accept the report, once 'cooling off' has expired you (and there are no other conditions to the sale/purchase) are then stuck with the property.
If any real estate agent or vendor tells you that you must obtain a building/pest inspection during 'cooling off' tell them to go and jump. ALWAYS make the sale of a property subject to a satisfactory inspection or it truly becomes caveat emptor (buyer beware).
I can't recommend a good building/pest inspector but I am sure someone else in the forum will help you there.
I hope this has been of benefit to you.
Kind regards,.Thanks, Alfi. is the signed offer and acceptance document the sale contract itself or is there another actual sale contract besides the signed offer and acceptance document?
Hi PropertyBee.
Looks like I misunderstood!
You have placed a 'Letter of Offer' to the Vendor via the Real Estate Agent. If that is the case then THERE IS NO CONTRACT.
What you have done is simply put a letter of offer to the Vendor without it being contractually binding on you or the vendor. Once the vendor accepts your "Letter of Offer' THEN a formal 'Contract for Sale of Residential Property' is drawn up by the real estate agent along with the necessary Lands and Title, EPA, etc declarations in a Form 7 (SA) , Form 3 (VIC), and so on – usually supplied by a Lawyer or Conveyancer.
Let me be clear: If you have simply submitted a 'Letter of Offer' to the Vendor you are NOT contractually bound to that offer. If you have indeed signed a 'Contract for Sale of Residential Property' then you are still NOT contractually bound as you have not paid a deposit and therefore have not met consideration under Australian Contract Law. Either way, there is NO CONTRACT and you are obliged to nothing. If you are still unsure then you MUST contact a lawyer or feel free to drop me a line. I am happy to help and it won't cost you anything but your time.
I hope this has been of help to you.
Kind regards,propertybee wrote:I understand that the cooling off period here in WA is 5 business days from day of acceptance?the property and pest inspection report has to be done within this 5 day period.
If the form you have signed is the 810 then you are now 'live' – there is no cooling off period in WA.
I am not sure who was advising you on your conditions and what you were signing but good luck getting a pest and building inspection done and reported within 5 days. You will need to be on your bike first thing tomorrow.
You haven't indicated what finance conditions are in place – but it seems when ringing around looking for an inspector you should be making sure you have an efficient solicitor working with you.
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