Buying an "off the plan" but no building plans included in contract

Hi all

I have put a $5000 deposit on an "off the plan" townhouse. This $5,000 deposit gives me the option to view the contract and if I agree to all the terms and conditions I need to pay the remainder to make up a full 10% deposit, they are referring to this as a 90/10 contract with no progress payments required during the build process. If I don't proceed to signing the contract my $5,000 is fully refunded.

Settlement is due in around 12 months where I will then need to pay the remainder 90% to settle on the property.

Here is my dilemma: The popular/volume builder who is marketing this "off the plan" townhouse for the vendor has shown me brochures, sketches, building drawings that state "works in progress" on them and other material such as a list of inclusions but the contract of sale that they have emailed me does not include any of this in the contract and the contract has a condition that specifically excludes any reference to any other promises or material not included within the contract so I can't rely on any of this separate marketing material.as to what I am purchasing.

The contract of sale does include an in-correct diagram of the wrong townhouse and includes a landscaping floor plan that is in-correct or if they build it this way the door way out of the garage opens out onto a garden bed and not the proposed path way.

The sales person has told me that the building drawings won't be ready till the end of April (they want me to sign earlier than that and pay the full 10% deposit earlier than that), but I phoned the architect directly and he has confirmed he has finished them but is not at liberty to give them to me and that I should deal with the sales department who took my deposit, so even if I can convince the sales person to give me the building plans earlier (which doesn't look promising) how am I going to convince them to also include the building plans in the contract of sale when they clearly don't want to? The volume builder sales person also states that as this is not a conventional separate "house and land" package their is no need to supply a copy of the building drawings or have separate contracts for the land and a separate contract for the build.

The other issue I have is this "off the plan" sale is promoted with stamp duty savings, does anyone know if the contract of sale needs to clearly identify the price of the land and the price of the build separately to achieve a stamp duty concession because as it stands it is all summed up as one single price, how will the State Revenue Office handle it when I attempt to gain a stamp duty concession as it was purchased off the plan? I thought the SRO would need it clearly identified as a single price for the land and a separate price for the construction?

I have not engaged the services of a conveyancer yet because I don't want to spend more money only to be informed by my conveyancer that the vendor will not supply the building plans in the contract which I already know.

Any help would be appreciated as I would like to buy this particular property.

Regards,

alicudi

 

What did your lawyer say?

 

Hi

I haven't contacted my lawyer yet because he normally doesn't handle conveyancing matters. I am considering contacting a conveyancer/solicitor that specialises in "off the plan" purchases but was hoping to solve these little hiccups first.

I would feel somewhat embarrassed if I gave a conveyancer/solicitor the go ahead and they said it is ok to proceed without any formal building plans in the contract of sale and I was still to use that as an excuse not to proceed, it's like I was going against the advice of a legal expert.

I am really trying to achieve some certainty and commitment from the vendor.

Regards,

alicudi

 

What is so special about this property?

 

Hi

It's just a run of the mill townhouse with a nice outlook and large office space which I could take advantage of. I have chosen this townhouse because it is a 250 metre walk to a shopping centre, 2 houses away from a school, 100 metres away from a bus stop and a 1.2 k walk to the train station.

However It is the contract that I am having the issues with.

Regards,

alicudi

 

It would be a good idea to get some legal advice before signing any contracts

 

Hi

I will most certainly do that, I haven't signed anything as yet.

My intention is to get over these little hiccups and then if I am satisfied I will proceed to using a conveyancer/lawyer that specialises in "off the plan" contracts.

Regards,

alicudi

 

At the very least a number of conditions need to be tied to the contract since that what their try-on includes. Then the deposit needs to be held on trust. All this requires personal property legal advice. Sign nothing. DO NOT USE A CONVEYANCER - Not qualified !

 

What is "it"...isnt "it" a possibility ??

 

Hi

Exactly my problem, what is it?

I will make sure to use a lawyer and not a conveyancer.

Regards,

alicudi

 

A contract to make a contract may not be a contract. You end up with a deal that allows the dev to switch you into a 1 bed apartmnet and your only right is a refund. Maybe

 

Hi

I am looking for recommendations of the best solicitor/lawyer that specialises in these types of property transactions. Feel free to post any recommendations so I can check them out.

Regards,

alicudi

 

I was offered the same opportunity for a property in Sydney, while the $5k fee to view the contract was acceptable, they were expecting me to pay the full deposit on the spot at a contract viewing if I was happy with it. Such BS.

They can get away with this when the market is hot.

In my experience you wont get plans, you might get high level plans but nothing showing the detail of your property.

My layman advice - you are better off going with an existing property.