If you are looking to purchase a property on the Gold Coast, or in Brisbane, the first thing you will do after finding a property you’d like to purchase is to make an offer to the seller. In Queensland this is done by way of signing a contract of sale containing your offer and providing this to the seller for their consideration. The real estate agent will in most cases act as the intermediary in this process, delivering your offer to the seller.
But what if you change your mind after signing the contract of sale?
There are steps you can take to revoke your offer to purchase the property, but what steps you have available will depend upon if the seller has accepted your offer and signed the contract.
Prior to Acceptance by the Seller:
Revoke Your Offer in Writing:
If the seller has not yet accepted your offer and signed the contract of sale you are able to revoke your offer.
Under Australian contract law the contract of sale does not become binding until the offer made by you, the buyer, has been accepted by the seller. This provides you with a small window of opportunity to revoke your offer in writing, so long as it is done before the contract is signed by the seller.
If you choose to do this ensure you do it promptly, in writing and deliver this to the agent, or seller. There is no obligation for you to provide a reason to the seller for revoking your offer.
Contract of Sale – Time-Based Special Condition:
An alternative option to the above, is to include a time-based special condition in the contract of sale as part of your offer. Again this option is only available if the seller has not accepted your offer and signed the contract of sale.
When making your offer you can make it subject upon the seller accepting it within a set period of time, for instance the seller must accept it by signing the contract of sale within 48 hours of you making the offer. By inserting a condition such as this, your offer will automatically be revoked at the end of this time period without you needing to take any action.
Following Acceptance by the Seller:
Terminating the Contract Under the Cooling-Off Period:
Once the seller has accepted your offer and signed the contract of sale you still have an opportunity to terminate the contract simply for change of mind purposes.
As part of the conveyancing process in Queensland and as stated in the contract of sale, buyers are provided with a five-day cooling-off period, in which you can terminate the contract for any reason.
This contract condition has a strict five business day time limit, that begins as soon as you, the buyer, receive a copy of the fully executed contract of sale. During this time, you can elect to terminate the contract for any reason, however in doing so the seller is entitled to keep 0.25% of the purchase price from your deposit as a penalty. It is at the seller’s discretion whether they wish to impose this penalty.
If you are considering terminating a contract under the cooling-off condition it is important that you seek the advice of your conveyancing solicitor as they will ensure your rights are protected.