Cooling Off Period
Contained in a Standard REIQ Contract directly above the signature panel is a statement referring to what is known as the “cooling off period”.
During the statutory cooling off period, the Buyer has five (5) business days in which they are entitled to terminate the Contract for an undisclosed reason. However, the Seller may be entitled to a termination penalty of 0.25% of the purchase price if the Buyer does wish to terminate during the cooling off period. The termination penalty may be retained from the deposit paid under the Contract and the balance of the deposit (if any) must then be refunded to the Buyer within fourteen (14) days from the Termination Date.
The cooling off period begins from the date the Buyer receives the fully executed copy of the Contract from the Seller or the Seller’s agent. In the event that the Seller signs the Contract before the Buyer, then the cooling off period does not start until the day the Buyer signs the Contract and confirms the acceptance of the Contract to the Seller or the Seller’s agent.
The cooling off period consists of five (5) business days. If the date the period begins is not a business day (Monday to Friday), then the cooling off period starts on the first available business day after that date. Please be aware that a business day relates to a day other than Saturday, Sunday and the period between 27 to 31 December inclusive. Additionally, the cooling off period ends at 5:00pm on the fifth business day.
It is the Seller or Seller’s agents’ responsibility to draw the Buyers attention to the cooling off period and the termination penalty before signing the Contract.
The Buyer may wish to waive the benefit or shorten the cooling off period by providing written notice to the Seller. It is strongly recommended that the Buyer obtains independent legal advice before doing so.
This document offers general information only and should not be relied upon as legal advice under any circumstances. Please do not hesitate to contact Rapid Legal Solutions on (07) 4755 9100 to speak with one of our friendly professionals if you require assistance with your conveyancing matter.