All Topics / Legal & Accounting / Delayed Settlement by Vendor Bank

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  • Profile photo of diclemdiclem
    Member
    @diclem
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 537

    Hello everyone,
    The property I am buying was due to settle yesterday but has been delayed (no new date set) as the Vendors bank is not ready.
    This was a sixty day contract so there was plenty of time!
    I have looked through my contract and it has specifics about the purchaser delaying settlement but not the vendor.
    It just has a general clause about a breach in the contract by any party and that compensation may be payable.
    My loan contract has clauses in it about delaying settlement and that I may incur extra fees, if it is delayed for any reason.
    To top it off this property is already advertised for rent (Available 20/10) and has received a lot of enquiries.
    It has been advertised as freshly painted as we were intending on painting and tidying the place in the two weeks between settlement and the 20/10.

    Any ideas on what compensation I may be entitled to?
    Should the vendor pay my delayed penaties from my bank if any?
    Should I ask for lost rent payments even though the property is currently empty?
    What about the interest I am paying on the deposit monies?
    Should I ask for access to paint?

    I know I need to talk to my solicitor, but I just don't know what I should push for.
    Anyone been in this position, what did you do?
    I'm in Melbourne by the way.

    Thanks,
    Sue

    Profile photo of TerrywTerryw
    Participant
    @terryw
    Join Date: 2001
    Post Count: 16,213

    Hi Sue

    Has a breach even occurred?

    You say it is a 60 day contract and plenty of time left, which suggests they haven't gone over the 60 days.

    Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
    http://www.Structuring.com.au
    Email Me

    Lawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au

    Profile photo of diclemdiclem
    Member
    @diclem
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 537

    I think so, the contract was signed on the 4th August at auction, with settlement in sixty days.
    So the 4th of October was set as settlement day.
    What I meant was, they had a full 60 days to get the bank ready. The property was on the market for at least 4 weeks before the auction so its not like they were rushed or anything.

    On auction day they prefered a 30 day settlement, but we opted for 60 days, lucky we didn't go with the 30 days!

    Profile photo of LinarLinar
    Member
    @linar
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 567

    I have been in this situation in the NT as a vendor.  My bank wasn't able to settle until about 10 days after the agreed settlement date.  It was extremely frustrating for me because I already had the money committed somewhere else.  So as slack as the vendor may seem to you, they may be just as frustrated as you are.  Some banks have a lot of difficulty getting figures together in time for vendors.

    In the NT at least, the purchaser has no remedy other than to terminate due to breach.  If that is the case in your state (and I don't know whether it is), you would have to give the vendor notice that they have breached and then give them a timeframe to remedy the breach.  By the time that is done, the bank will probably be ready to settle so it would be a fruitless exercise.

    As far as I am aware you are not entitled to any compensation or "interest".  You could certainly ask for early access to paint and reno if you want.  If I was the vendor I would allow that. 

    We just bought our house a few months ago and the vendor's bank wasn't able to settle on time.  The vendors gave us a "licence to occupy" which meant that we had a legal entitlement to live in the place even though we didn't own it.

    Cheers

    K

    Profile photo of diclemdiclem
    Member
    @diclem
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 537

    Thanks for your reply Linar,

    I am not really upset with the vendors as it is one of those lovely banks causing the problem.
    It is just really annoying when your plans get all mucked up!
    I am itching to get in an tidy up the place as there are practically tenants lining up at the door.
    I don't really want to cancel the contract, as I believe it was a good buy. Although I am a big believer in Karma and not really happy about a negative beginning.
    Hopefully it won't be too long…… if I could just have a date it would be nice.
    My solicitor advised my that I shouldn't be up for fees as the loan wasn't drawn down on the supposed settlement day.

    You'd just think in this time of almost instant communication 60 days is plenty of time to arrange some documents, I once built a unit in not much more than 60 days!
    Cheers
    Sue

    Profile photo of LinarLinar
    Member
    @linar
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 567

    You'd think they would …

    With the delayed settlement when we had the money already committed elsewhere, the bank (actually it was a subsidiary of one of the big banks) delayed for about two weeks.  I eventually went into the big bank to complain.  They couldn't work out why the subsidiary was not able to settle so the bank manager of the big bank gave me the proceeds of the sale in cash and told me that they would work it all out when settlement occurred.  So I walked out of the bank that day with about $45000 in cash!

    To this day I still deal with that bank because of their service

    Cheers

    K

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