Buying or selling a property is one of the biggest financial transactions you will undertake in your lifetime, and it is important to ensure that the contract is drafted correctly, takes into consideration your individual circumstances and accurately reflects the agreement reached between the parties.
Affinity Lawyers recommends that you should always have your contract reviewed by one of our experienced property lawyers prior to signing to ensure that you are aware of all of your obligations under the contract. Further, this will provide you the chance to receive advice on the inclusion of special conditions (if any are required) that may assist with protecting your interests.
While there are many standard terms in a contract of sale that protect the parties in certain circumstances, it is important to be aware that you can also insert special conditions into the contract that provide additional protection and rights in relation to the conveyancing transaction.
By way of example, special conditions which are commonly inserted into contracts include:
– Where a purchaser is selling an existing property to fund the purchase of the new property, a condition can be inserted that the purchase is subject to the successful completion of the prior sale, or alternatively that the settlement of both properties must occur at the same time (so if you don’t sell your existing property you are not obligated to purchase the new one); and
– Where a purchaser is buying into a body corporate and requires their pet to live with them – which often requires body corporate approval, a condition can be inserted that the purchase is subject to the buyer successfully obtaining approval from a body corporate to have their pet residing in the property with them after settlement.
Of course the nature of the special condition will vary depending on the individual circumstances of the parties and what agreement can be reached in relation to the terms of the special condition.
Accordingly, it is vitally important that the special conditions are drafted by a professional and experienced lawyer to ensure that they are clear, concise and void of any ambiguity. If a special condition is deemed to be vague or confusing (or just doesn’t make sense) then it may be found void and can be struck from inclusion in the purportedly agreed contract between the parties.
Unfortunately, if special conditions have not been included in the contract prior to signing, it is very difficult to have them included during the term of the agreement. Once a contract has been signed by all parties it becomes legally binding and neither party has an obligation to agree to the inclusion of an ‘additional’ condition, if requested.
We strongly recommend that you have your contract reviewed by one of our experienced property lawyers prior to signing to ensure that you have the chance to include any special conditions you may need to protect your interests.
Contact our experienced property lawyers today on 5563 8970 to discuss your conveyancing needs.
