Conditional Sale of unit falls over on a building inspection: What rights does one have to see report

Lsimmos on 09/08/2017 - 16:32

A friend has managed finally to sell a waterfront apartment which has been on the market for over 12 months. The strata fees are outrageous but nothing can be done to change the status quo. Recently he sold the unit with one condition: Subject to a building inspection (no nominated inspector). The sale quickly fell over after the building inspection came through. My friend wonders what the fault could be as the unit is very well built and without defects he can see (he is ironically a retired builder). He smells a possible rat that the buyer's solicitor has advised against the sale due to the excessively high strata charges. My friend is demanding a copy of the building report.
1) Given the report is paid for by the buyer, she is relying on it to get out of the contract. Will this be able to be demanded to ensure the report is factual.
2) If there is a remedy will this be a reason to refuse the termination of contract?
3) There is a deposit and I have suggested to my friend he insist on it being withheld

Any comments or suggestions?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • djkelly69 on 09/08/2017 - 16:38
    +2

    Will depend almost entirely on the wording of the clause in the contract. Your friend should discuss his/her legal options with his/her solicitor.

  • dcep on 09/08/2017 - 16:56
    +2

    Just get on with life.

    If this is in QLD on standard REIQ contract with subject to own finance and B&P conditions, then you can't hold deposit / seek financial reimbursement when the contract falls through upon those conditions.

    Even if buyer waive B&P, he can still get out with the deposit back by the finance clause easily.

  • chumlee on 09/08/2017 - 18:34
    +2

    Subject to building inspection legally is not enough to get out of contract so depends on the exact wording.

    If it did just say subject to building inspection and it was carried out then the term has been fulfilled and contract is now binding

    It would need to be more precise and at a minimum be "subject to building inspection showing no major issues" etc.

    Your friend should seek legal advice

  • cuteduck on 09/08/2017 - 19:22
    +2

    The ACT, NSW and QUEENSLAND all have five day cooling off periods for residential property purchases at private sales, but not for auction sales. Generally the cooling off period begins from the day that the buyer or their agent receives a copy of the sales contract that has been signed by both the buyer and the seller.

    So if it is within 5 day colling off periods, then the buyer can walk out for free.

    • djkelly69 on 09/08/2017 - 21:59

      Not sure about QLD, but in the ACT and NSW the cooling-off period is almost always waived.

      • cuteduck on 10/08/2017 - 00:30

        why do want to waive? it is the buyer right's protected by the legislation!

        • djkelly69 on 10/08/2017 - 07:32

          Basically all sellers will require it to be waived, and won't sell you the property if you don't.

        • Euphemistic on 10/08/2017 - 07:44

          @djkelly69: they waive it becuase if you change your mind you've lost 5 days of possibly selling to someone else.

        • hhbb555 on 10/08/2017 - 08:26

          @djkelly69: not true at least in Sydney, I've never had to waive the cooling off period a when trying to buy properties in the last 6-12 months period. Or when I bought an apartment 6 years ago.

          Unless if it's an auction, which doesn't have any cooling off period

  • ihbh on 09/08/2017 - 19:34
    +1

    Discuss with the buyer. Ask them what the building issue is and if your friend rectifies it, would they still be interested?

    Your friend could also mention afterwards, what if we discounted the price for the issue?

  • TheBilly on 09/08/2017 - 21:18

    Waterfront apartment, tired of paying insane strata fees, retired builder … tell the tightass to consult his conveyancer !!

    • simmos on 10/08/2017 - 10:48
      -1

      How could you come up with this ridiculous conclusion? The strata fees were set based on the value of the property at the time. The building has a lift and the biggest burden of strata costs are held by a small number of waterfront units. Its disproportionate and he is not theight-arse you imply, rather a victim of circumstance in that the property is nowhere near the original value it was when built. What has the conveyancer got to do with getting advice on here. He's in a bind and doesn't need idiotic replies from twits like you thanks.

      • TheBilly on 10/08/2017 - 11:05
        +1
        1. A coneyancer is effectively a registered lawyer you pay to represent you in a property transaction.
        2. Hes a tight ass for not paying a lawyer to advise him and instead resorting to a free public forum.
        3. Hes a retired builder who probably made a motza in his lifetime.
        4. Where in Australia do average people buy a waterfront investment - so he is obviously not money poor.
        5. The very nature of your question is: my mate is currently unfortunate due to his situation, how can we place that misfortune on somebody else by screwing them out of their deposit.
        6. You are only asking this question because you have been stuffed around for 12 months due to your own poor financial decision and now you want to screw somebody else.
        7. The only twit here is you.
        • Euphemistic on 10/08/2017 - 13:54
          1. Waterfront investments aren't that expensive in small towns, or most places other than capital cities.
          2. It would be normal if a buyer rejected your property based on a building report to want to know why so a) can fix the problem or b) expect a lower price because of it.
        • TheBilly on 10/08/2017 - 14:29

          @Euphemistic:

          I agree with your comments.

          However I don't think the full story is being presented here. I believe his friend has manipulated the sale in a way that favours him and is now upset that it didn't work out. There is no mention of whether the strata fees were declared up front to the seller, likewise only 1 condition was negotiated, he didn't include the "subject to strata report" condition.

          This could be argued by two camps:

          1. It's buyer beware - tough luck for the buyer
          2. Owner should show some integrity - and be honest in his/her approach

          "A friend has managed finally to sell a waterfront apartment which has been on the market for over 12 months. The strata fees are outrageous"

          "The sale quickly fell over after the building inspection came through"

          "There is a deposit and I have suggested to my friend he insist on it being withheld"

        • Euphemistic on 10/08/2017 - 16:30

          @Euphemistic: Interesting. I replied to point 4 and 5, using 4 and 5 but it's been changed to 1 and 2.

  • Euphemistic on 09/08/2017 - 21:30

    We sold a property last year. There were two building inspections carried out by buyers. Both notified us there were issues with the building including one significant issue. The tile roof was not steep enough, and would need to be replaced with colourbond. While the issue was significant, the house had also survived with that tiled roof for over 20years so it as liveable and we ended up negotiating down the price by half the cost of re-roof. Fortunately the price was good enough that negotiating down wasn't a problem.

    As a matter of courtesy I would think that if a buyer is pulling out they should provide a reason, not just 'failed building inspection'. The sellers agent should be able to ask why the sale failed in the interests of assisting the seller sell the property. If the buyer does not provide a reason, perhaps the owner could find out who did the inspection and request a re-issue of the report.

  • Randxyz123 on 09/08/2017 - 21:52

    Does your "friend" have a solicitor or conveyancer ?

    Get them to speak to a real lawyer. I wouldn't be giving them any advise unless you are a lawyer.

    As Euphemistic said, if there is a problem maybe it can be easily fixed.

    If your friend is a retired builder he would more than likely have a few contacts to call in a favour or 2.

  • Lexus101 on 09/08/2017 - 23:42
    +1

    There is an old adage: "willing seller, willing buyer."

    If the buyer is not willing for whatever reasons, they will find all manner of reasons to back out of a contract.

    However, at times this can be negotiated and the price can be adjusted to suit both parties.

    I for one, will not waste more time, energy and heartache trying to push through an unwilling buyer….it rarely ends well.

    Wishing you the best of luck, whatever you choose to do.

  • oscargamer on 11/08/2017 - 09:09

    Why doesn't the seller get their own inspection done?
    Oh, that's right, they are too poor.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join