Is seller entitled for 0.25% if deposit haven’t been paid after termination?

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by MeowMeow19, 31st May, 2019.

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  1. MeowMeow19

    MeowMeow19 New Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I have some questions here and will need some advices.

    I signed a residential contract to buy a house in QLD last week and had exchanged the contract with the owner. However, I terminated the contract during cooling off period, haven’t pay for deposit, had send the email to the real estate agent that I wanted to terminate the contract, had a conveyancer speak to them about the withdrawal, and the seller also confirm that he knows we wanted to terminate the contract. My conveyancer said that according to section 168 of the Property Occupations Act 2014, we don’t need to pay the 0.25% as we haven’t pay any deposit yet.

    However, the seller himself texted me on my mobile which he found from the contract and asked me to pay him directly to his bank account or else he will sue me. And he also have our home address which make me feel uncomfortable.

    I don’t know what I should do now, and I feel like the seller is threatening me.

    And as he said that he will sue me, and again he texted me and said that after Monday if I ignored his text message, he will make sure I pay for more money.

    I am so worried and have briefly speak to a lawyer and will have another meeting on Monday.

    Do I still need to pay the 0.25% if he asks for court document. Will he wins the case if bring up to court? Any lawyer here that can give me advice please?

    Very unlucky that I have to pay lots of others money now even though I haven’t buy the house. Very sad and traumatic property buying experience for me.

    Thanks.

    Regards,
    Meow
     
  2. JDM

    JDM Well-Known Member

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    Termination fee can only be withheld from a deposit that has been paid. If no deposit has been paid, then no termination fee is payable.
     
  3. MeowMeow19

    MeowMeow19 New Member

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    Thank you so much for the confirmation. One more reason I was so worried is because the conveyancer I hired doesn’t wants to charge me any fee, make me very confused and was thinking there is no such free service. I kept worrying that they didn’t not handle my contract termination properly. And in the end I kept calling them to issue me an invoice for their service.

    Sorry for being such a pain, do you think the seller will sue me for compensation lost for taking the house of the market for a week? Or he has no right to do it?

    The morale of this situation, always get a conveyancer or lawyer to deal with anything in Australia. And ask the conveyancer to check the contract before exchanging the contract.
     
  4. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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  5. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

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    I dunno about that.

    you cant just do as you like with no solid and sound reason.

    were not talking about a shop selling 10 buck items here....

    I would speak to your solicitor, not the forum.....frankly.
     
  6. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    Did you read the legislation that I linked above?
     
  7. MeowMeow19

    MeowMeow19 New Member

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    Hi terry_w,

    Thanks for the information. Appreciated this link provided and your time to response to this post. Even though I have a solicitor going to deal with the buyer once again for his text message asking to pay the penalty, however, his text message has worried me a lot and I am in a stress mode. And the link you provided has give me a better idea.

    Thank you.
     
    lixas4 and Terry_w like this.
  8. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    Refer the owner to the real estate agent if you are going to respond.
    I suspect the owner got a "no" from the RE agent, so they are now trying you directly.

    The Y-man
     
    TMNT likes this.
  9. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

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    Nope, no time to read in depth into others problems, I have a bunch of my own to sort ...lol ... :)
     
  10. Propertunity

    Propertunity Well-Known Member

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    No one is going to sue you for a 0.25% deposit. Legal fees exceed that to even begin an action against you.
    Most sellers won’t even sue you for a 10% deposit if you fail to settle for the same reason unless the property is priced in the 10’s or 100’s of $millions.
     
    thydzik likes this.
  11. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    This thread really of explains the differences between a solicitor and a conveyancer.

    You paid a conveyancer but they cant give legal advice but you need legal advice. Sigh.

    A lesson for all
     
  12. RPI

    RPI SDA Provider, Town Planner, Former Property Lawyer

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    Agreed. Legislation is dead clear, no one is getting sued.
     

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