Articles & FAQs

What are the advantages of signing a Contract with a cooling off period?

When buying residential property in New South Wales you are provided with a 5 business day cooling off period, provided that the property is not purchased at auction or on the same day as the property went to action.

It is possible to waive your cooling off rights with a s66W certificate which can be provided by Prime Conveyancing to assist you secure a property. 

A cooling off period gives you the advantage of conducting all your searches and enquires to satisfy yourself of the condition of the property, to obtain Contract advice, to organise your deposit and receive written unconditional finance approval all with the comfort of knowing that the property is yours (as the seller does not have a cooling off period and cannot sell to anyone else during the cooling off period (do I have a cooling off period?). 

If you are purchasing a house it is strongly recommended that you obtain a pest and building report and if you are purchasing a strata property it is also recommended that you obtain a strata report before the cooling off period expires.

If you are not satisfied with the property, if you have not obtained your finance, or have just changed your mind then you can pull out of the purchase before the expiration of the cooling off period and by doing so you will loose the ‘holding deposit’ paid to the agent (being 0.25% of the purchase price), but will obtain a refund of any other monies paid to the agent as the deposit. Many purchasers will request an extension of the cooling off period to 10 business days with the consent of the seller, although these amendments must be worded in a particular way to ensure that they are legally binding.

Prime Conveyancing are property solicitors who will ensure your rights are protected and we invite you to contact us or obtain a no obligation quote to see how we can assist you.