Can anyone help with a moment of time?  It would be so greatly appreciated.

 

Is there any way out for a ‘seller’ during the cooling off period?

 

If a purchaser has ‘buyers remorse’ during the cooling off period, isn’t it only fair if a seller feels they

 

Have signed the first initial contract under pressure or stress, they have the option to pull out as well?

 

My sister & her husband are selling their property & they are in day 3 of the cooling off period between themselves

 

& the purchasers.  The valuation has been done on the property via the purchasers side & the pest & building have yet to be done

 

Which apparently will be done on Monday.  The closing time for the cooling off period is 5pm on Wednesday.

 

Is there anything in favour for the seller if they want out of the contract?

If you signed the contract under pressure you may be able to back out.  What are the full details of the sale?

Hi Peter.  Thank you for your response.  Your time is greatly appreciated.

I’m not sure what you mean by full details’ of the sale?

Basically the house was advertised for $469,950 to $489,950

We had an offer for $420,000 at one stage which we knocked back.

Then, these buyers came along & offered $460,000

They were brought through our home for a 2^nd inspection – after the 2^nd inspection,

They went outside – waited out the front while the agent came back inside & said the buyers were

Prepared to sign a contract ‘that night’ at $460,000

We sat & sat for about 10 minutes – the agent didn’t actually say too much that pressured us with words parsay,

However she did re-iterate that they were ready to sign that night – it was already about 5:30pm when this occurred.

We agreed verbally, the agent went outside, told the buyers & came back an hour later with the contract for us to sign.

I didn’t have a good feeling about it – anyway, I guess out of desperation & the house being on the market for a good 9 weeks,

We thought gosh, we’ve not had any other offers to date with this amount so we signed the contract.  When the agent left, I could feel

The un-easiness in both of us, & the next morning – well you could say we regretted the agreement.  But at this point we thought: ‘too late’ we’ve signed.

So, that is basically it.  The valuation has been done today, the pest & building on Monday next week & cooling off period finishes on Wednesday at 5pm

Next week.  We really have nobody that can help us.  I even rang a couple of solicitors this morning ……….to no avail.  (I say this with tears in my eyes).

We’ve worked hard to keep our home for 5 years – it is a silly silly mistake we’ve made by signing it.  We don’t wish to cause a rift between the agent, the purchase & ourselves but, what on earth can we do?  Unless the valuation, pest & building don’t produce what the purchasers are looking for, well the purchaser may well pull out, however this is highly unlikely as our home is a lovely 5 yr old, double storey, 4 bedroom, double garage home. 

Oh Peter, I think we’re doomed in this situation!

& to add to injury, even if we somehow were able to withdraw the contract, we would still have to pay the agent their commission wouldn’t we?

Also Peter,

The real estate agent ‘did say’ – in all honesty, ‘if you sign this contract now, you cannot get out of it’ – she re-iterated this twice, before we signed the contract.

I know if we conversed with her about how we felt, she would remind us of this – that she did say that & that, if we wanted to withdraw from contract it would cost us their commission + any expenses the purchaser has gone to. So , this part is also our error.

Thanks Peter.

Cooling off is a way of eliminating allegations of cheating, tricking etc. and the evidentiary problems associated with determining who is right and who is wrong.  It allows a purchaser to simply walk away from a deal.  Vendors don't have a cooling off option because the vendor always has the upper hand as against a purchaser in a real estate transaction. 

It appears to me that the purchaser of the property made you an offer, you accepted the offer, and both you and the purchaser were happy with the outcome.

You have now had a change of heart, and you don't want to part with the property.

If you want the property back you will now have to negotiate with the purchaser, but it may cost you a lot more money.

I do not see that anyone has done anything wrong.

ok, i understand what you are saying Peter, but to say, the 'vendor always has the upper hadn as against the purchaser in a real estate transaction' well i just cannot agree with you on this one, given our now circumstances.  It's alright for a purchaser to:  a) have a change of heart & thus pull out of the contract, however there is no law to say, the Vendor deserves the same right. If a purchaser feels they have made a mistake, put a deposit down & 2 days later feels uneasy about the whole thing & wants to pull out, they can!  why can't the Vendor have the same rights?  i just do not think that is fair at all.

It is true, the vendor ALWAYS has the upper hand.  A purchaser can be tricked in so many ways by the vendor and by the estate agent.  Consider all of the things a vendor can hide from a purchaser, and the many ways estate agent trick purchasers.  Then compare these with ways in which a purchaser can trick a vendor - there are none.

Cooling off was never about a change of heart.  It's just an easy way to end the whole deal with no questions asked and no costly court cases.

i suppose now you put it that way - yes i understand.  Thank you for your assistance & perspective.  It is much appreciated.  Either way, we have learn't 'alot' & isn't it all about that too.

Lauren, for more information about the tricks used by estate agents and the need for purchasers to be protected, see Criminal Deception in Real Estate on the Lawyers Conveyancing website.