Written offer template

Rob, what State do you live in?   This will have a bearing on the answer given as not all states operate under the same guidelines when offering on a property.

Jon

Hi Rob,   I don't profess to know all of the methods of Offer, however I am aware that in NSW the contracts are drawn up by the Solicitors, and Buyers stand the risk of being gerzumped while the Solicitor gets around to preparing the contracts for signing.   From my understanding in property transactions a verbal offer and acceptance are not binding untill the contract is signed and just like in Auctions, once a price has been accepted verbally there is often another Buyer who will pay that little bit more in order to secure the property.

The best help I can give is to set out the issues that you should consider in your offer.   The only point that I will add is that the cleaner you make the offer the better the cahnce you will have of securing the property.   The main issues will be:-

Subject to finance   The time frame for this clause will depend on wether or not you have spoken to your broker or lender before attempting to purchase (amazing just how many people haven't).   The normal term for this is 14 days.   (p.s.   There seems to be a trend for lenders to demand 21 days for this which in my opinion is wrong because if they are given 21 days they will take 21 days.   I preferr to advise 14 days and discuss extensions if they are rquired.   There are other reasons for this but I won't go into them at this point)

Purchase Price   This is the amount that you wish to offer for the property.

Amount of Deposit   While there is no standard amount for the deposit it is generally accepted that it be somewhere between 5% and 10%.   It is illegal for an Agent to accept more than 10%.   Agin,  this is a contentious point for many on this site as a lot of Investors are borrowing 105% of the purchase price and in point of fact many don't have any spare money lying around doing nothing.   The time frame for the payment of the deposit can be, on signing or on a given time after  the acceptance of the offer
 
Building and Pest inspections   If the property is brand new, you have to ask yourself if these are worth spending the money on, however if the property is second hand then these are important for your protection on 'issues previously unseen'.   Again there seems to be a trend by some people to obtain a building and pest inspection and then use it as a tool to re-negotiate the purchase price.   If you are re-negotiating for something previously unseen, I have no problem with this, however, I do have a problem with the people who add up all of the things that the inspector has found and subtract them from the offer price. (as an example of this, most Inspectors are obliged to advise that the 40 year old iron roof will require replacement soon (this is to cover their public liability insurance) noe the Buyer has already seen the roof and the price has been set with this age in mind, so why should the Buyer expect a reduction?

Body Corporate Disclosure Statement   If purchasing a property in a Community Title Scheme (and I'm not sure how this is handled in NSW) in QLD the Seller has an obligation to provide a full disclsure on matters pertaining to the Scheme that would effect the decision process of the Buyer.

Settlement Date   This is the date you wish to complete the sale.    Normally 30 days from contract date, but negotiable

Posession   This can be a touchy one.   If the property is Tenanted and you wish to move in yourself, you may desire to have
'vacant posession' .   The Seller can only give this if there is no current lease in place and they will require to give the Tenant 30 days notice.   This will effect the settlement date on a 30 day contract as obviously there is not enough time to give the notice as the Seller is not likely to give it untill the contract becomes  (that is your finance and other conditions are met)

Other conditions   There are a miriod of other conditions that can be attached to a contract, suffice to say  that as I mentioned previously, the cleaner the contract the better the chance of acceptance.

Good luck in your offer, I hope this helps a little.

Jon

Jon, in NSW you can not put a property on the market without a contract being available for review by purchasers (std form contract complete with S149, sewer diagram, site survey (not essential)). You can be guzumped only if the vendor is fielding a number of offers (including signed contract) & selects between them.

It would be extremely rare to accept a bid after a property has been 'knocked down' at auction but not unheard of.

Hi Melbinvester,

  You appear to have tacked a reply onto a 6 year old thread !!   

  Your situation might be better suited by starting a new thread with your own questions, situation, etc outlined for all to see.  t sounds like you might have been "low-balling", but a bit of background re what (general) area, your reasons for the low offer, what is your planned "top price range" for this purchase, other comparable values in the area, etc.   

   Without that, your question is like asking "How long is a piece of string"…… 

Benny