Interesting Facts that most Agents do not talk about, and vendors and Purchasers do not know.

1 If you are buying from an agent and the agent tells you that you have to sell with them to enable a contract to go through is just not true, in fact it is a conflict of interest for that agent to sell a purchasers property under the Act Section 24F. They can if the agent gets a Warning Notice for Purchasers, Form R6 signed which tells you it is a conflict of interest and that you understand this and under the act and you must sign the warning notice. This means that you do not have to sell with the agent selling the other property in fact it is considered an offence under the act.

2 A contract is an agreement between Vendors and Purchasers on Price, Conditions and Timeframes. It locks in the vendor/s only, as vendors they do not have cooling off rights. The purchaser is not locked into the contract until they are served the Form 1 with all the information about the property through searches and a vendor statement. Cooling off finishes two clear business days after the Form 1 is served to the purchaser. Cooling off does not start from signing of the contract.

3 Deposits on a contract are negotiable. They should normally be 10% but all deposit amounts can be negotiated with the vendors as part of the contract. It is the agent’s job to facilitate this.

4 Under quoting is a common tactic used by agents to get lots of interest on the property to try to achieve the highest price. The issue will be when we the market slows down. In all Sales Agency Agreements, there is a single figure vendor price that should always be the price a vendor is prepared to accept. Telling vendors to put this figure lower to get activity at the beginning of a campaign is dishonest. An agent should verify their Agents Price with realistic comparative sales. Vendor Price is your price not the agents to manipulate the market.

5 I have advised this before, but it is a good time to remind everyone. You as the vendor determine the length of an agency it can be from 1 day to 90 days maximum. If you have an agent, tell you they have a buyer, welcome them but give them a limited time agency, ie. Two weeks to get you a contract that is acceptable to you. Be aware competition on your property drives your price higher. A single offer prior to going to the full market may not achieve this.

Any questions give me a call at anytime.

Roger Smith

Over 17 Years as an Agent

Extensive knowledge of the Fleurieu Pennisula

Avid Golfer

Husband to Deb, Father to Amy 10 & Charlie 9

Monster Car Enthusiastic