Page 53 - Smart Money

Smart Money

with the price or something in the contract, then negotiation takes place
between the real estate agent, the buyer and the seller.

Once they all agree on a price and all the conditions, the contract is
signed off and accepted, and it becomes a legal, binding contract. There
are generally only three things that can cause a contract to fall over:

$ the contract is subject to finance and the finance falls through
$ the contract is subject to a pest inspection and the property
doesn’t pass the pest inspection
$ the contract is subject to a building inspection and the property
doesn’t pass the building inspection
However, if the finance is pre-approved, then that means that the contract
can go ahead, subject to all other conditions being met. It then becomes a
live contract and you have bought the house.

So, in order for the transaction to go smoothly, you need to talk to the
broker to find out how long you need for finance and how long for
settlement on the contract. You need to make sure that you get all the
documents to the mortgage broker so that if the bank requests more
information, they are on the ball and can provide all the information
as soon as possible. The real estate agent needs to make sure that when
the bank wants to do an evaluation it can be done straight away, and
that it goes smoothly. Also, with regard to settlement, we need to make
sure that you sign the mortgage documents correctly and the settlement
agency documents quickly in order for the settlement to go through on
time. Normally it takes 28 days for finance and 28 days for settlement in
Perth, but in the eastern states, it is normally two weeks for finance and
two weeks for settlement, so it is pretty quick.

Settlement can be delayed if the bank takes longer than expected, or
doesn’t issue the documents correctly and they need to be redone. In
that case, we have to get an alteration to the contract. So sometimes we
have to rearrange things, and if you are late, the vendor or the buyer can

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