For most people, buying or selling residential property is one of the biggest decisions they will ever make, involving as it does, very large sums of money. The process involved in transferring ownership of property from the seller to the buyer is called conveyancing. It is an ordered and structured process that is quite transparent and in Queensland, it must be conducted under the supervision of a solicitor.
Contracts of Sale in QLD: Explained Step by Step
Standard REIQ Contract the Industry Norm
The process starts when a contract of sale is formed. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland and the Queensland Law Society developed a standard contract which is drawn up by the real estate agent who arranged the sale. Because this is a standard contract, it is not designed to cover all the individual circumstances arising from every sale. These are often added by the real estate agent or they can be added by the legal professional who reviews the draft on behalf of the client.
At Ownit Conveyancing we recommend to our clients that before they sign the contract, they forward a draft to us to check any non-standard conditions. Typical conditions are the sale proceeding subject to the buyer’s property being sold within a certain time frame. If the buyer’s sale does not proceed, then the contract is void.
Typical clauses that are often inserted stipulate that the property is not subject to flooding, and the sellers have obtained any statutory approvals and complied with all local government regulations. We also go through the important warning and disclosure statements with our clients to make sure they understand them before they sign the contract. It is then legally formed.
Five Day Cooling Off Period for the Buyer
In Queensland, contracts for residential property sales are subject to a cooling off period of five business days for the buyer to be certain that they have made the right decision for them. The cooling off period starts on the date the buyer or their legal representative receives a copy of the contract signed by both the seller and the buyer.
If the buyer decides not to proceed, they must notify the seller and also pay the seller 0.25% of the purchase price of the property. This prevents cancellations in circumstances that are frivolous and thoughtless, affording the seller some protection. There is no cooling off period for properties purchased at auction.
The process of reliable conveyancing works because it was designed to protect the interests of all parties to the contract. Here at Ownit Conveyancing we operate under the standard premise that time is of the essence, and once the contract is in order, we proceed to the next stage of the process. Further information about our services is available at Ownitconveyancing.com.
