It is almost unheard of for residential land sale and purchase contracts in Western Australia to have a cooling-off period within which the contract can be cancelled by the buyer. In Western Australia there is no statutory cooling-off period unless one is inserted into the contract before it is signed by the parties. Similarly, real estate bought at auction does not have a statutory cooling-off period.
Additional conditions can be included in a contract by agreement of the parties. These conditions may include obtaining finance, selling your existing home and the result of building and pest inspections conducted on the property.
After the contract becomes unconditional it becomes difficult to cancel the contract. If you wish to cancel a contract at this stage, you should always seek the advice of a lawyer first.
We have assisted many clients in cancelling residential contracts for sale and purchase. One example of clients we acted for in cancelling a contract is as follows:
Wife and Husband (Buyers) viewed a property, and told the selling agents (Agents) that they did not want to purchase a property with pipes and or easements within the boundaries of the Property. The Buyers asked the Agents if there were easements and or pipes within the boundaries of the Property. The Agents assured the Buyers that there were not. The Buyers entered into a contract to purchase the Property in reliance of these representations by the Agents only later to find out that there were sewer and drainage pipes and other infrastructure within the Property’s boundaries.
We advised the clients on their right to cancel, wrote to the sellers and the Agents on behalf of the Buyers and successfully recovered monies which had been paid by the Buyers.
Have you signed a contract and would like to know if you can call it off or what your options are moving forward? Talk to Martin Tuohy (Executive Director) or Ciara Dillon (Lawyer) on (08) 9228 2881 or by emailing martin@equitaslawyers.com.au or ciara@equitaslawyers.com.au.
Disclaimer – The articles provided by Equitas Lawyers are for general information only. While every care has been taken in preparing these articles, they are intended to be a guide only, and no warranty is given as to the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information contained in them. The articles are not intended to be, nor should it be, relied upon as a substitute for legal or other professional advice. Formal legal advice should be sought in particular matters.
