As a friend pointed out, there is a clause in the contract that gives our solicitor the right to cancel the contract if he/she isn't happy with it.
We sent the Builders Report to her last night, and WOW, our friend Marty did an amazing job of it!
He has identified all the defects, with photos, and has said the house is in the VERY HIGH RISK of failure due to the cladding and weather tightness issues that are glaringly apparent to him.
So, really I shouldn't be so stressed out. But I am. Until it is over, I will be doing tummy flips.
Once it's sorted, we can then move on to making an offer on something else.
We are lucky that the people who are buying our home are happy to stretch out the settlement, giving us more time to find something.
I can't quite believe how difficult it is to find something in Hamilton! But, we will eventually, even if it's in Cambridge. *smiles*
Cambridge has some lovely shops, and isn't that far from Hamilton after all.
As I am literally knackered from all the travel and stress, today is going to be a true day of rest for me. Sadly, poor Stew has to go back to work... and commute for a bit longer.
ONWARD...
3.44 pm: time is ticking down... and we have not yet heard if we are released from the house contract. I have literally been paralysed with fear that somehow we will be locked into buying a leaky house.
Our estate agent put a building report clause in the contract that OVER RODE the solicitor's clause. So we have had to try and get around that by getting the bank to refuse our finance... therefore meaning we can't buy the house.
I am waiting to get confirmation that the contract is null and void. Until that happens I can hardly breathe, I'm that scared we will still have to buy the house.
All I have managed to do today is some washing! The rest of the day has been spent looking at the damn computer, waiting for an email to come in from our solicitor.
Shit have we ever learnt a hard lesson with this. NEVER EVER try to go unconditional in just a few days, and NEVER EVER let your estate agent put an additional clause in that overrides your chances of getting out of the contract!
I still don't know WHY she did that. I think Stew will be asking her though.
4.43 pm: We can breathe again. Our solicitor found a loop hole, and the vendor's solicitor has accepted it. We just have to get our bank to refuse us finance ON THIS HOUSE, and we are free of that contract. I could cry I am that relieved.
All going well we will be free to look for another house by Thursday.
I'm feeling very cross with our Hamilton Estate Agent. She rang me half an hour ago, assuring me that it would all work out 'just fine'. That may be, but it has been a bloody stressful few days, that would have been totally unnecessary if she hadn't put her stupid clause in the contract.
Today has been utter shit. I'm hoping a good night's sleep will result in a better day tomorrow.
TRACY: Stew is aware of the finance thing and can counter that by stipulating 'finance from our bank" when the finance clause is written in tomorrow.
If there is that clause you will have no issue with getting out of the contract. Did you see this yesterday.. no wonder it's hard for you to buy a house!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stuff.co.nz/business/79560171/hamiltons-the-city-of-rental-sales-for-those-from-the-city-of-sails
Your Real Estate Agent did WHAT!!!!!!!!!! The building report clause should be sufficient in this case anyway. Fire that agent immediately.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little confused - does a very high risk of failure mean that the house is a danger to live in? Wasn't that something that should have been exposed to you - the buyer at the beginning?
ReplyDeleteRisk of Failure in respect to the house rotting from water getting into the interior walls.
DeleteShe wanted the sale. It's probably been on the market for ages and they saw you coming and went "Suckers!". Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteYou have a solid building report - you will be OK, there is no way you must buy that house. I can't believe the agent didn't know though. Sounds crook to me. Can't believe she changed out a lawyer's clause though!!
ReplyDeleteOMG - I hate going to bed when you have unresolved issues. Isn't that silly.? But it's nearly midnight here and I may not find out if you are free of this contract! I wish you luck, I am sure it will work out. The bank certainly won't want to loan you the money on that deal, right? Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSorry Chick! Go to bed and relax, we have a legal loophole to get out of the contract with now. I am so, so relieved I cried. But then, I AM A BIG SOOK. *smiles*
DeleteI would have cried with relief too!!!! That clause should NEVER have been allowed in any contract.
DeleteMy goodness, I would be spitting tacks. That agent should have a complaint laid against her with the Real Estate licensing people. Some years back I had a real estate agent do something a bit dodgy, ( gave a buyer private info about my relationship ending, and 'indicated' I would take ALOT LESS then asking price, thankfully I heard a rumour it had happened and my lawyer was able to ask the buyer ( who was trying to get my place for $140,000 less then asking price) the prospective seller confirmed she had been told she should be able to 'get it for a steal' and that was enough for my complaint to the REA to be successful and for the agent to get himself in serious hot water over trying to get me to accept a price much lower then I knew the place was worth. He even said to me " You should be laughing all the way to the bank, knowone is going to pay anywhere near close to asking price", yet two months later, with a change of agent, I not only sold the place, but got FULL asking.
ReplyDeleteIt's tricky. The agent is a kinda friend from way, way back. But Stew and I will talk about it tonight, and if we feel she has done wrong by us, we will be dropping her like a hot potato! Oh worth noting, she used to live next door to the house in question, and knows the owners. Tricky.
DeleteThen she must have known it was a leaky house! It's totally illegal to market a house without full disclosure. I think swap real estate agent.
DeleteShe is not a friend of yours, chances are she is friends with the current owners and knew you were keen to buy quickly so saw her chance. Remember in NZ real estate agents are the agent of the seller NOT the buyer. Their job is to sell sell sell. I am sorry but you cannot trust her, Lynda is right, she must have known the house was a leaky. And remember the current owners put some wood in front of one area hoping it would not be seen. Deceptive all around. Find another agent.
DeleteCan you explain though that if you had a building clause why you can't get out on that clause??? Why finance? Anyway lesson learned - always, always put an out clause in :)
ReplyDeleteThe ammended clause that was added by our agent said : They had three days to say they would 'rectify' the defects, and hold us to the contract. It also cancelled out the right of our solicitor to refuse to honor the contract because of a builder's report! Thank goodness our solicitor thought of the 'finance' option... hence giving us that loophole to get out of the contract. Otherwise, we would have had to go ahead with the purchase, ONCE they had rectified the house's defects. And that might have taken MONTHS, if it were even possible to fix it. We could have been right royally screwed!
DeleteThat's dreadful! No wonder you were stressing. Get your solicitor's advice before signing any more contracts. Seriously though, any agent who puts in a clause like that is not on your side!!!
DeleteRelying on the Finance clause is also a risk. If your bank says no, the vendor could turn around and find a lending institution that will say yes. Unless the finance clause is clear, it does not specify what sort of finance etc. There was a case a few years ago where the purchaser's bank said NO but the vendor found a secondary institution which agreed to provide finance - at a horrendous rate but they had to go through with the contract.
DeleteHorrible. Just horrible. I'm so glad this bit is over!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief Chris!!! Agents tend to put that second half of the building clause in so that they can secure a sale. It's not a biggie in situations where you're looking at brick and tile etc but where it's that sort of construction - not a great idea. Always good to get your solicitor to caste their eye over an agreement before signing. At least you can relax. Will you resubmit your offer on the brick and tile in Hamilton tomorrow ?
ReplyDeleteLove, the other half of the hot building inspector.
DeleteNo we are going to wait until this fiasco is over, then look at more houses then. The Vermont Place we looked at with you will more than likely go for way more than we can afford, Hamilton's house prices are nuts! Thanks for caring so much Jacqui and Marty. We owe you guys so much! Hot building inspector.. would that be me 'boyfriend' ??? lol
DeleteOf course. When you too get together I feel like the third wheel 😉 Always here for you guys. We 💘 you lot.
DeleteOver here in the UK the estate agent is acting for the seller, not the buyer - even though they may act like your best friend it's the seller who's paying their fees and they generally don't get paid unless a sale goes ahead. I don't know if it's the same for you, as I find your property selling system really confusing, but even if she is a friend of yours she may not be on 'your' side, so to speak. Hope you can soon find the right house for you.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same here, they are acting for the seller and the commission comes from the sale price, and is percentage based so the better sale price the more they earn.
DeleteHey Chris,
ReplyDeleteI'm just a tad confused so my quarto on might be a dumb bum one...
Did she add that clause after you had signed the contract? If that's the case wouldn't that be a matter the real estate institute will be interested in?
cheers :)
No she added before we signed it. Clearly we didn't realise the ramifications of it's wording. It will never happen again I can assure you!
DeleteIn my eyes her doing that is unforgiveable. Even if it was a mistake, she has proven that she is not reliable. Get rid of her!
ReplyDeleteI agree kick her to the curb! I know it is stressful time but relax down a bit and don't be rushed into anything you have assurances from your buyer you can stay on SO do that, or rent down Hamilton, or house sit advertise on trade me for house sitting...... it may get you closer and less travelling for Stew it also means getting kids settled into a school sooner than later etc. I know you have though of all these things maybe just take a step back look in a lower price range open up more possibilities.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have an agent that is protecting the seller more than you, the buyer. Not good. Fingers crossed all works out.
ReplyDelete