New Contract of Sale of Real Estate - FREE Download!

Published 09 October 08 02:33 PM | Peter Mericka 

OPINION
by Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B
Real Estate Lawyer
Qualified Practising Conveyancer Victoria
Director Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd

 

I have been very critical of the underhanded approach taken by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) in designing the new standard form Contract of Sale of Real Estate so as to create an even more deceptive document than the old Contract Note. To put my money where my mouth is I have designed a superior form of the standard Contract of Sale of Real Estate, and I am making it available free of charge to all estate agents and industry professionals.

In my 22 September, 2008 posting "Contract Note Banned! Estate Agents Lose Deception Tool" I was optimistic that the banning of the Contract Note and the introduction of a single, full Contract of Sale of Real Estate containing all of the terms and conditions of the sale would end the deceptions perpetrated by estate agents when handling real estate contracts.

In my most recent posting "New Contract - Same Old Deception" I fired a broadside at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) after I had received a "short form" Contract of Sale of Real Estate which the estate agent had sent to me and to my client with the message, "Please find attached contract of sale ready for the purchasers to sign...", and with no General Conditions or Cooling Off information. The estate agent was able to do this because of the devious way the REIV has designed its version of the new Contract of Sale of Real Estate.

To demonstrate that is is possible to incorporate the new prescribed Contract of Sale of Real Estate into a document that is both estate agent friendly and consumer friendly, I have prepared an alternative.

Just click on the following link to download the new Contract of Sale of Real Estate. It is available free of charge to all estate agents and industry professionals:

I have already received positive feedback from an estate agent, who left the following comment:

"I have just downloaded your contract and had a close look at it. There is no doubt, in my opinion, that it is better than the REIV one. The idea of making it openly available is also a great idea..."

I would appreciate any further feedback on this new version of the Contract of Sale of Real Estate.

Filed under: REIV, Contract, contract note, contract of sale of real estate

Comments

# New Contract of Sale of Real Estate - FREE Download! | Australian Real Estate Blog said on October 9, 2008 4:59 PM:

PingBack from http://www.australianhousehunters.com.au/blog/2008/10/09/new-contract-of-sale-of-real-estate-free-download/

# Naomi B said on October 9, 2008 5:16 PM:

I admit I do not like a lot of things you say about agents but I am sure I am not the only agent that agrees that your contract is a godsend and its free - I forgive you for everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

# Peter Mericka said on October 9, 2008 6:13 PM:

Hi Naomi,

Thank you for the comment.  I am also keen to find out what vendors and purchasers have to say about it in due course.

# Akubra said on October 9, 2008 7:16 PM:

Don't like you and don't like your views but I don't like the REIV either and your contract is better than theirs.  There I said it but don't let it go to your head.

# Peter Mericka said on October 10, 2008 12:54 PM:

Hi Akubra,

Yes, we've done some sparring in the past and I appreciate your honesty.  The more you use this contract the more you'll save on buying the REIV's version - let's call it my shout.

# antzer said on October 10, 2008 5:12 PM:

can i save the pdf in my system & print as many as i want without breaking copywrite and can i carry blank copies around with me

# Peter Mericka said on October 10, 2008 5:24 PM:

Hi Antzer,

Yes, you can save the contract document as a PDF on your computer, and print as many copies as you like.

You can also print multiple blank copies and carry them around with you.

However, the document must NOT be photocopied.  The reason for this is that photocopying reduces the quality of the document.  Also, photocopies tend to be photocopied.  I can recall receiving Contract Note documents that were photocopied so many times that they were barely legible.

So, print as many copies as you like.  They don't have to be in colour, but they must be printed and NOT photocopied.

# Peter Mericka said on October 10, 2008 5:41 PM:

Hi Antzer,

I also want to confirm that it is OK to photocopy a completed contract.  That is, if you have filled in the document with details of the sale, then of course you can photocopy the completed document.

The rule against photocopying applies only to BLANK contract forms.

# interested observer said on October 11, 2008 9:38 AM:

Not only is the reiv contract drafted to permit abuse by unscrupulous agents its also coloured blue so when photocopied its becomes more illegible.. I think the REIV may have done that deliberatley to raise more money from their members by having to use four originals (leading to one of the four not been identical) when it could easily use one white contract and then photocopy the one original for distribution to other parties etc.  

# Peter Mericka said on October 11, 2008 10:07 AM:

Hi Interested Observer,

I am getting the impression that the REIV has miscalculated on the attitude of estate agents to its version of the standard contract.

It is becoming clear that estate agents are not generally as unscrupulous as the REIV believes them to be.  Sure, in less than a week our office has received two "contracts" from purchaser clients, each of whom was given no more than the Form 1 particulars page and had no idea that there was a Form 2 page containing the statutory warnings, but from the comments I'm seeing on this posting it seems that there are some estate agents who don't like the REIV's methods and would prefer not to follow them.

# Agent said on October 11, 2008 11:04 AM:

Itnteresting to note that the Goodman Group has also released a version of their own contract, in a much similar format to yours and that too has been well received. The REIV is going to lose lots of revenue when we aren't buying their products to same degree we used to. Most of us agents have no desire to be unethical, we just want to earn a dollar as any other small businessman would. I have said time and time again i have no issue with full disclosure to purchasers and I am also happy to leave drafting of special conditions to solicitors, leaves me less open to litigation.

While there are agents who do the wrong thing their numbers are thinning rapidly.

# Peter Mericka said on October 11, 2008 12:25 PM:

Hi Agent,

I am sure that many of the estate agents using the new contract improperly are doing so out of ignorance, rather than intention.

I took an estate agent to task over the issue, thinking that she was being deliberately shonky, but she later explained that she had honestly believed that she was acting as the REIV had intended.  She then promptly added the Form 2 to the PDF'd Form 1 and Section 32 she'd sent me.

I accepted her explanation, but I had to marvel at how some estate agents will follow the REIV wherever it may lead them.

Also, I have never understood why the REIV would want to charge its own members for contracts.  OK, I can understand that providing hard-copy documents would involve a cost, but knocking up a document that is based on a format specified in legislation, and putting it into PDF formal is a one-off cost.  

Admittedly, I put many hours of work into my preparation of the new contract, but I am hoping that it will mean many less hours of argument and hassle with fewer purchasers coming to me claiming they were diddled.

I would love to get some insight into the thought processes that went into the REIV contract and the decision to sell it to its own members.

# Call said on October 29, 2008 1:15 PM:

I have just sold a property and the new REIV contract of sale was used. The conveyancer acting for the purchaser has added the special condition;

The Vendor & Purhaser acknowledge that general conditions 24.3-24.6 do not apply to this contract.

These are the claused relating to not delaying settlement if one or more items are not in the same condition at settlement and that fund are to instead be set aside and held by a stakeholder until issues sorted ect.

can the general conditions be legally removed?

# Peter Mericka said on October 29, 2008 4:38 PM:

Hi Call,

I would suggest that the better way to look at the situation is to say that the purchaser has said to the conveyancer, "I'd like to buy this property, but not with this condition in it.  Can you sort this out for me."

The conveyancer has then prepared the purchaser's offer according to the purchaser's wishes.

Any purchaser is entitled to formulate their offer as they see fit.  Similarly, the vendor is entitled to reject the purchaser's offer, and to make a counter-offer on whatever terms the vendor sees fit.

If the parties are prepared to do business on the basis of the amended contract they are quite entitled to do so.

There is nothing illegal about removing general conditions if it is what both parties want.  Illegality usually comes in where a person other than the vendor or purchaser, acting without proper instructions, seeks to change the document or refuses to change the document, for reasons of their own.  The most common situation is where an estate agent couldn't be bothered with the argy-bargy of sale negotation, and falsely tells the parties that they're not allowed to change anything.

In this particular case, I have no idea why a conveyancer would advise a purchaser to delete these general conditions, as they a designed to make things easier for the purchaser.  Perhaps the conveyancer is confused by them.

You could tell the conveyancer to see the explanation of the general conditions at http://www.realestatedocuments.com.au/DefaultShp.aspx to get a better understanding of them.

# Lawrie said on October 31, 2008 2:22 PM:

Thank you for providing the Real Estate industry with a constructive, easy to follow, Contract of Sale document in competition to that produced by the REIV. I, like a number of my contemporaries, believe that the REIV’s lofty ideals have become a “lame duck”, having degenerated into a self perpetuating revenue generating machine, under the guise of an established, Armani wearing suit, authority.

# Peter Mericka said on October 31, 2008 2:27 PM:

Hi Lawrie,

It's been download over 1,000 times so far.  That represents a lot of savings for a lot of agents.