Should I Sell a Bushfire Management Statement to The Vendor?

Lzautor on 12/11/2019 - 17:24
Last edited 12/11/2019 - 17:24

We recently purchased a block of land subject to soil test and Bushfire Assessment Level (BAL) report.

The block was in a Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO) and required a Bushfire Management Statement (BMS) rather than a BAL report. The agent stated the vendor didn't have one or know what the BAL rating was.

$3,650 later, the soil test came back Problematic (P rating) and the BMS reduced the building envelope to a small triangle shape with a BAL of 40, 29 & 19 - based on the distances from existing trees on the property next door. After talking to various builders, we decided to withdraw from the sale.

After talking with the agent and withdrawing our offer, he emailed me requesting a copy of the BMS. Although I have no use for the report, I can't help but feel reluctant to just give it away after paying $2,500 for it.

Should I just send it or suggest they pay something for it?

Poll Options expired

  • 124
    Ask them to purchase the report
  • 2
    Send it and move on
Home & Garden

Comments

  • Hithere on 12/11/2019 - 17:32
    +1

    Ask the agent what it's worth to him and if he makes an acceptable offer consider selling it.

  • jjjaar on 12/11/2019 - 17:35

    $3650 or $2500?

    • zautor on 12/11/2019 - 17:38
      +1

      BMS - $2,500
      Soil test - $450
      Site Levels/Survey Plan - $700

      $3650 all up

      • AlienC on 12/11/2019 - 17:41
        +3

        So then it cost $3650 because without the other two expenses the BMS is not possible to exist.

  • orangetrain on 12/11/2019 - 17:43
    +6

    Tell him how shocking the report is, it's one of a kind and that report is in short supply so he should buy it now for $5,000 before it's gone!

    • myusername on 13/11/2019 - 07:05
      +1

      throw in some steak knives and we got a deal!

  • apsilon on 12/11/2019 - 17:50
    +13

    I definitely wouldn't supply it for free, they'd have a good idea of what the report cost which is why they're trying to get it from you.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 17:53

    Just send the receipt of costs.

    • zautor on 12/11/2019 - 18:09
      +2

      I thought about that and wondered if the agent would contact the companies directly and ask for the reports

  • RandomNinja on 12/11/2019 - 17:54
    +1

    Offer to sell the report to prospective buyers! You won't hear from the agent again ;)

  • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 18:09
    +6

    Make them pay for it. $2500 for the whole set which is still a saving of $1100 for them.

  • garetz on 12/11/2019 - 18:38

    Why would you even consider giving it to them for free ? Tell them how much it cost you, and offer a 20% discount.

  • elgrande on 12/11/2019 - 19:33
    +1

    Did they refund your deposit in full?

  • seanj on 12/11/2019 - 20:24

    I'm interested in what problematic soil means?

    • donkey12 on 12/11/2019 - 20:51

      me too… I'm looking at buying land in a rural area at the moment. Just getting my head around it… what's Problematic (P rating)?

      • yellowfever on 12/11/2019 - 22:09
        +1

        Class P soil is common in Australia. You can google it but in short it is most reactive soil type. You can build on it and engineers can design to suit. Although it may cost more to build structural footings on a class P soil, but you weigh up pros and cons of that land location and decide from there.

        There are other factors that are actually more problematic such as sloping land, termites, neighbours, traffic and congestion, resale value etc. Class P soil isn't so bad.

        What is more of concern is the bushfire zoning, which will cost alot more to get the builder to build to bushfire criteria. And even if it is built correctly, you are still subject to the actual bushfire. You still have to escape and abandon your house and pay hefty insurance premiums.

    • EFC94 on 12/11/2019 - 21:55

      Basically comes down to how reactive the soil is and how likely it is for movement to occur which can lead to cracking in the brickwork/movement of foundations etc.

    • blwnhr on 13/11/2019 - 07:47
      +3

      From AS 2870-2011 - Residential slabs and footings:
      Class P sites include soft or unstable foundations such as soft clay or silt or loose sands, landslip, mine subsidence, collapsing soils and soils subject to erosion, reactive sites subject to abnormal moisture conditions.

      Class E is a site classification that falls outside the AS2870 standard design tables, Class P is a step beyond that. Anything else isn't a big deal if your designer knows what they are doing and the builder actually finds good founding material.

      TABLE 2.1
      CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SITE REACTIVITY
      Class Foundation
      A - Most sand and rock sites with little or no ground movement from moisture changes.
      S - Slightly reactive clay sites, which may experience only slight ground movement from moisture changes.
      M - Moderately reactive clay or silt sites, which may experience moderate ground movement from moisture changes.
      H1 - Highly reactive clay sites, which may experience high ground movement from moisture changes.
      H2 - Highly reactive clay sites, which may experience very high ground movement from moisture changes.
      E - Extremely reactive sites, which may experience extreme ground movement from moisture changes.

      Class P stands for "Pull out our wallet for the next 30 years."

  • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 21:19

    I doubt very much its yours to sell or giveaway. It's quite likely you paid for the report for your own use. The rights would be unlikely to extend to you selling or making it available to someone else.

    Check the contract you signed for the creation of the report before you do anything else.

  • TheBilly on 12/11/2019 - 21:19
    -4

    Ummmm no.

    1. You said you bought a house subject to the report which means you entered a contract. Then pulled out subject to that report.

    2. However subject to the report saying what? if you didnt define anything then you effectively breached contract as you got your report and now you have to buy the house. You didnt say you wont buy it if the report returns a certain result?

    3. The only way you can pull out otherwise is pre cooling off where you dont have to give a reason. After cooling off you can only pull out subject to the conditions you negotiated at purchase.

    i.e. subject to finance being accepted / pest inspection returning a positive pest infestation / subject to soils test returning P etc.

    Maybe thats why agent wants report to see if you breached or not.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 21:27
      +4

      Maybe thats why agent wants report to see if you breached or not.

      If that is the case, you can let them sight the original but do not provide a copy unless the pay for one.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 21:57

      However subject to the report saying what? if you didnt define anything then you effectively breached contract as you got your report and now you have to buy the house. You didnt say you wont buy it if the report returns a certain result?

      Actually, by not defining what the contract is subject to, it works in favour of the OP. If a contract is ambiguous, it usually works against the party that wrote the contract.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 21:54

    According to some, your cost is already sunk therefore what you're trying to charge is for profit.

    The fact that you're considering withholding something from someone even though you don't stand to lose from it and because someone else doesn't want to bear any expense for is vindictive as you are sanctioning them from that which they require.

    If you were to only release the report for a monetary sum, that would amount to extortion.

    My actual opinion - get the vendor to pay a portion. I'd start with 75-25. There is still value for the vendor to seek a second assessment so they are unlikely to pay 100%. Paying 100% is essentially burning a confirmation report.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 22:06
      +3

      lol … too soon?

      • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 22:09

        The 22.3 year rule only applies to tragedies.

        Maybe you consider it akin to a train wreck, I thought it was the best waterpark ever!

        • [Deactivated] on 13/11/2019 - 17:42

          I await the next (im)moral dilemma 😉

          • [Deactivated] on 13/11/2019 - 17:58

            @[Deactivated]: Any suggestions? 🤔

            • [Deactivated] on 13/11/2019 - 18:31

              @[Deactivated]:

              The scenario I present in the original post is actually heavily doctored but in essence still completely true, however, I found this dilemma paralleling another one I have been having. I think I'll explore the ethical considerations further before starting a new discussion, perhaps even directly about said dilemma.

              You all but promised!

              • [Deactivated] on 13/11/2019 - 19:01

                @[Deactivated]: Yes but just as I promise the boys a BBQ rib lunch doesn't mean they must not lend a hand at the barbie.

      • kiitos on 13/11/2019 - 08:16

        Thus one whooshed over my head.

    • geoffs87 on 12/11/2019 - 22:56
      +2

      If you were to only release the report security footage for a monetary sum, that would amount to extortion.

      Fixed it for you

  • Blue Cat on 12/11/2019 - 22:27

    Check your contract! Maybe upload a copy of your contract with identifiable details removed, if you feel brave.

    If there's nothing in the contract, casually ask them to pay for it. If they refuse, tell them "Sorry, when I was looking for it, I couldn't find it. Must have gotten lost somewhere."

    • [Deactivated] on 12/11/2019 - 22:44
      +5

      Why the need to lie? I'll be upfront about it : this is how much I've paid for this report - if you want it, you'll have to pay x amount. They can accept the offer, make a counter-offer or decide to get their own.

      • AlienC on 12/11/2019 - 23:26

        Upfront is the best option.

        Both parties get treated with respect and equally none of this sorry I forgot I lost it I dunno goodbye bullshit.

  • tsunamisurfer on 12/11/2019 - 22:43

    The report belongs to you OP.

    You do what you like with it.

    • whooah1979 on 13/11/2019 - 05:59
      +3

      The report is probably copyrighted. OP can’t do what they want with the report if it is.

      • blwnhr on 13/11/2019 - 07:52
        +1

        It would be considered a Fair Dealing under the Copyright Act, therefore you could sell it, provided you didn't try to claim the work as your own.

      • [Deactivated] on 13/11/2019 - 09:13
        -1

        If it is copyrighted, you cannot distribute the work but you sure can sell the copy that's in your hand.

        This is the same as trying to sell a music CD. Absolutely okay.

        The application of copyright to prevent resale has been attempted infamously by Steam.

  • ShahAU786 on 13/11/2019 - 10:43

    Should part the equal cost. Send the receipts. Get payment. Supply report. Fair deal.

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