Negotiating the purchaser’s offer and your
acceptance.
If you have engaged a real estate agent to sell your property, never be
tempted to negotiate directly with potential interested parties yourself. The
agent will conduct all the necessary negotiations for you. Should a prospective
purchaser contact you as seller, always refer them to the agent.
Agents will put any offers made on your property to you – in writing and
signed by the prospective purchaser. A real estate agent is bound to present
offers to you – irrespective of whether they may be deemed too low. You are not
obliged to accept, or even respond to an offer if you are not pleased with
it.
You do however have the option of:
- Accepting the offer
- Rejecting the offer
- Making a counter offer
The purchaser can then either withdraw their offer or accept your counter
offer. They could possibly come back with another offer again.
Remember that a prospective purchaser may make conditions on their offer –
such as, for example:
- subject to them having their finance approved
- subject to a building and pest inspection of your home
In the case of a building inspection, if anything adverse is found with your property, the purchaser may wish to negotiate your property’s price downwards in order to cover for the cost of defects.
Reduced offers based upon property inspections may be reasonable, so it is in your interest to discover what may be wrong with your home, in order to either rectify it or possibly accept the reduced amount.
If you are selling by auction, the purchaser cannot negotiate anything after they have made a successful bid at the auction – it is their responsibility to look after all their conditions before they bid at an auction.
It is possible purchasers will try and catch you out with a ridiculously low offer – merely in the hope that you might accept it. This is where you need your wits about you regarding the current true value of your property – and don’t forget, your agent is acting in your interests, so their knowledge of the market should be impeccable.
If you do wish to accept the offer, do this as soon as possible. At any time prior to your acceptance a buyer can withdraw their offer. Upon accepting an offer you will be asked to sign a contract agreeing to the sale.
Your contractual obligations
Your solicitor or real estate agent will advise you on all the documentation necessary for a property sale. Make sure you tell them of any special conditions or limitations you want on the sale.
Examples of common conditions that are incorporated into contracts are:
- Identity - A provision limiting the buyer’s right to complain if there is a mistake in the description of the property, other than one of a very serious nature.
- Planning - A condition stating that the property is sold subject to all relevant planning regulations.
- Auction - If you sell at auction there will be specific conditions which will need to be put into the contract, including that the highest bidder sign the contract immediately and that the auctioneer has the right to resolve any disputes between bidders.
- Other - This may include a list of chattels you wish to remove from the property as well as a suitable settlement date.
The contract is legally binding upon both parties’ signature, i.e. you and the purchaser. A holding deposit may also be paid to you at this stage. Although there is no legal requirement to pay such a deposit, it has become an accepted act of good faith by the purchaser.
Settlement of your property
Settlement date is the day you hand over possession of your property. Legally speaking, settlement is the completion of the transaction. On settlement day the balance of the purchase price is paid to you and you hand over the title deeds (legal documents stating property ownership) and keys to the purchaser in return.
The purchaser is entitled to vacant possession at settlement date. They are also entitled to a last inspection prior to settlement date. If your property is not as the purchaser expects, i.e. the property has been unfavourably altered in some way since you exchanged contracts, they may choose to delay settlement until the property is returned to the state it was in at the time the offer was made.
Moving to your next location
Don’t delay preparing your move onto your next destination. We have plenty of helpful moving tips to assist you with what can be a daunting prospect (to the unprepared!).
*Article by Geoffrey Lush
by AliceM | 03/03/2010
No comments:
Post a Comment