One thing that can derail a sale… before it’s too late
A client asked us something recently that sounds simple – but the answer can have serious consequences when selling a property.
It all comes down to your vendor statement… and when it quietly stops being “okay”.
We’ve seen situations where this catches people out – and it can be the difference between a smooth sale and a deal falling over.
We explain it clearly in this quick 2-minute video below.
If you’re selling, might be soon or know someone who is, watch or share – this is one of those things you’ll want to know before it becomes a problem.
Working with you,
Ross Millen & The Millens Team
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Ross Millen:
Hi. What we try to do with these informational videos is to talk about things that maybe we as lawyers just take for granted that we think you automatically know, but maybe you don't know.
And so talking about vendor statements which are involved in selling real estate, now I think everyone knows that if you're selling or you're buying, hey, you have to give or you get a vendor statement.
But a little bit more about that. Someone asked us this week, they said, "Well, how long is a vendor statement good for?" And the answer is it's as good for as long as it's correct.
Now, if something changes, then you've got to update your vendor statement. So if for instance, you have a planning certificate in your vendor statement and then the planning changes, your vendor statement's no longer accurate and it needs to be updated and corrected.
Because when you give it to the purchaser, it's got to be correct and you can only be excused if you've acted honestly, reasonably, in order to be excused for giving incorrect or not all the information.
And what can the purchaser do? Well, the purchaser can say, "We've got an incorrect vendor statement, you're not excused. We're canceling the contract and we're pulling out." So you don't want that to happen.
So generally, we've said to people, most vendor statements are good for about six months or so. Most things stay okay. And we rely on the information you give us, our title searches and all the statutory certificates we get from the various authorities.
But after about six months, they start to look a bit out of date, maybe they look a bit stale. And anyone coming to look at the vendor statement will think, "This property's been on the market for six months, maybe there's something wrong with it, maybe the vendors are desperate, no one's buying it, maybe we can get it at a bargain."
So from a marketing point of view as well, it's always better to have a fresh, up-to-date vendor statement.
So if you've got any issues about selling properties, buying properties, contact us. We have a full conveyancing service. We're here to help you with your conveyancing and your property queries