Welcome to my Conveyancing Blog. 

January 2011:

Q: What risks am I taking if I decide to exchange Contracts for purchase of a property with a cooling off period?

A: This is a good question as there are benefits of exchanging with a cooling off period however, you should always be aware of any risks.  The main benefit is that you are effectively taking the property off the market: the vendor cannot accept offers of any other parties within that cooling off period and is not able to pull out of the contract. You can then have peace of mind that you have secured the property.  The risks to keep in mind are that you will need to place a 0.25% deposit (0.25% of the agreed purchase price) on the property to hold it and, if you pull out within the cooling off period for any reason (eg inspection issues, finance issues, or just change your mind), you will lose that initial deposit.  The biggest risk is to make sure that you are aware of the dates you have a cooling off period available for.  The standard time for cooling off is 5 working days which commences from the next day after signing the Contract.  An extension to this time can be requested from the owner should you need more time for any reason (most commonly to allow time to receive your unconditional loan approval) and the owner may or may not agree to this extension.  You will need to pay the balance of your 10% deposit prior to expiry of the cooling off period or you will be in breach of the Contract.  If you cannot obtain your finance before this cooling off expiry or do not wish to proceed for any reason, your conveyancer will need to serve a notice rescinding the Contract.  This is critical and, if not done correctly, can see you bound to proceed despite not wanting to and risking losing your full 10% deposit once the Contract becomes binding.  If you do sign Contracts subject to a cooling off period with an agent contact Anderson Conveyancing straight away and we can ensure you are fully protected. 

December 2010:

What is there to be interested about in conveyancing you may ask?  Well... how many times have you heard a conveyancing "horror" story and wanted to know if it is really true or how to avoid such a situation?  Have you ever had questions about the conveyancing process that you just don't know who to ask?  What is conveyancing and what can you expect?

Solicitors can use legal jargon that is hard to make sense of when you just want an easy answer or get an idea about the general procedure.  Solicitors also may not have kept up to date with conveyancing changes and requirements.  A licensed conveyancer is a specialist in conveyancing law - we do not get distracted with other fields of law and have annual education requirements ensuring we are always up to date.

Anderson Conveyancing is a firm on the New South Wales Central Coast run by licensed conveyancer Joanne Anderson.  Joanne will be running this Blog as a series of updates on conveyancing changes, example situations and answering any queries you may have.  I look forward to your comments or contact at any time by way of email to info@andersonconveyancing.com.au.