Do the vendors need to tell you an offer is accepted?

may depend on the wording of the contract as to what form an 'acceptance' needs to be in -e.g.
Offer is valid until 5pm Thursday. Seller must notify the buyer in writing prior to that time or the offer is automatically revoked.
(Ok - above is not proper contract language - used as a rough example).

What does the contract say

Blacky

 

Is it subject to cooling off? Maybe they are dragging it on because the cooling off which is not very smart as you can walk away after 3 days. The property is only sold if both parties have signed and exchanged contracts.

 

I think exchange of contracts is important. I am not sure if cooling off can start until contracts are exchanged.

 

I'd ring the real estate agency and tell them if you don't receive confirmation of acceptance/refusal in 15 minutes, in writing (email) you will cool off. Ask to speak to the Principal of the firm if necessary. The selling agent might be sick etc.

 

Cooling off starts when you sign.

 

Vendor or purchaser? I would have thought that cooling off starts after a contract is formed.

 

Purchaser has the right to cool off, not the vendor.

 

I am reading about it now. I thought cooling off was after an offer was accepted. This is not the case. I had no idea you could cool off an offer. I thought you could only cool off a contract.

Cooling off on a property sale
A cooling-off period of three clear business days applies to private sales of residential and small rural property sales regardless of price.

The cooling-off period gives you time to consider the offer. It begins from the date you sign the contract, not from the date the seller signs it.

To cool off, you must give written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent. You will be entitled to a full refund of money paid, less $100 or 0.2 per cent of the purchase price, whichever is greater.​

Buying property by private sale - Consumer Affairs Victoria

So in the case where an offer is not accepted and no contract is formed, you would be withdrawing your offer, which they call cooling-off. This is the part I find confusing:-

To cool off, you must give written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent. You will be entitled to a full refund of money paid, less $100 or 0.2 per cent of the purchase price, whichever is greater.​

When I have put in an offer, I have never paid a deposit until the offer is accepted and a contract is formed. So in the case of an offer not being accepted, I don't see how you can "cool off".

Buying property by private sale - Consumer Affairs Victoria

If I was not notified of an offer being accepted, I would cool off for this reason:-

Cooling off can be manipulated
We regularly receive complaints from clients who have been misled by estate agents who know how to use the cooling off provisions against purchasers. Here is a common example:

Withholding The Contract: The estate agent has the purchaser sign the contract on Saturday, and says that the vendor cannot sign until she returns from a weekend trip. The vendor signs the contract on the Monday, but the estate agent holds the contract until the Wednesday before posting a copy to the purchaser’s lawyer. The lawyer remains unaware of the purchase (see previous item). By the time the contract is received by the lawyer the cooling off period has expired;​

Cooling Off and cool off in Melbourne Victoria - Lawyers Conveyancing - Conveyancers Melbourne Victoria

Makes me glad to be out of Melbourne.

 

By the wording I would think that an 'accepted offer' has to be communicated to the buyer or their representitive.

Blacky

 

Cooling off starts when purchaser signs. Its not a done deal until contracts are exchanged so holding on to the contract and sending it to the purchasers solicitor after 3 business days is not a good idea. The buyer can walk without paying the cool off fee as it would be still considered an offer. Thats why you should only pay deposit on acceptance (exchange of contract).
Cooling off does not apply if you are an estate agent, a company or signed a similar contract on the same property previously. Also if it is a commercial property or rural property larger than 20 hectares.

 

This may depend on the exact wordings of the contract but the principle is that if an offer is stated as valid for three days and you get no response in three days, the offer expires and there is no way to bring it back. If the other party comes back five days later and says we actually accepted your offer, that becomes a new offer (that you can accept or not) but certainly won't be able to revivive the original offer you made.

Just adding my first bit of input to the forum after learning so much from it lol

 

From my understanding in Victoria (OP is from) it isn't binding until both parties have received the signed contract.

So the agent will typically scan and email or deliver the contract to the purchaser, as the vendor would likely already have the signed agreement.

I cant remember the case but the REIV told me that both parties need to have a signed contract for it to be binding and a phone call saying 'congrats' is not suffice.

 

Hi @The Y-man

Did you not put an expiry on your offer?