When purchasing a property, one of the most important things is to order the correct searches. These searches are important as they are one of the most important ways to check whether there are issues with the property other than those disclosed by the Seller within the Sellers Disclosure.
Why should I order searches when the information is already disclosed in the contract or Sellers Disclosure?
Even if nothing is showing in the contract or Sellers Disclosure, as the seller may not have disclosed the correct information in, or if the information is outdated and the information changed between this timeframe, you would not find out until you re-order the searches again.
What are the risks of not conducting the recommended searches on time?
The failure of not ordering searches, delay in ordering them or waiving conditions such as Due Diligence or Cooling Off Period and choosing to go unconditional and/or settle before we have the results, and your own investigations may result in negative consequences for you including:
- your interests are not protected as you do not have all the information you require;
- you may fail to discover a right of termination or compensation that you may be entitled to;
- the property may be adversely affected and you would never know until potentially hitting an issue after settlement, affecting your use and enjoyment of the property
- Costly litigation; and/or
- Financial or other losses
as a result of an issue that a search may have discovered.
Although the costs of the searches will be payable even if the contract does not proceed to settlement, ordering searches, and early, increases the chance that search results will be received in a timely matter allowing to reveal any unsatisfactory results and giving you options of how to proceed with your purchase.
Our Due Diligence Condition blog article outlines more of why these are important to be ordered within the timeframe of this condition.
Every contract is different. Our property team can help you understand your rights under a due diligence condition and assist with negotiating extensions or terminating a contract if necessary.
Please contact our property team should you have any questions regarding your property contract.
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