Instalment Contracts

Can you avoid getting caught in an instalment contract?

 

 

An instalment contract (called a terms contract in Victoria and Western Australia) is an agreement to purchase a property by paying in increments without obtaining title to the property until the last instalment is paid.

 

There is a significant risk to the buyer by not having legal title in the event that the seller becomes bankrupt or there was a mortgage from a lender and the lender sold the property.  South Australia and New South Wales have passed legislation to ban and severely restrict their use.

 

In Victoria and the Northern Territory there is legislation that prevents the seller from mortgaging or selling the property once it is under an instalment contract of sale. In the NT, a mortgage given in contravention, the mortgage is voidable by the purchaser any time before completion.

 

In Queensland and Western Australia, the permission of the buyer (or by leave of the court in WA) is required to add a mortgage.  Also in Queensland, a variation of the mortgage that was in existence when the instalment contract was signed must not increase in the principal sum; however additional advances made under an existing contract are acceptable.

 

Queensland and the Northern Territory provide some additional protection for the buyer, as, other than for the initial installment which is treated as a deposit with time being of the essence, the seller must provide 30 days notice for the buyer to rectify the contract by paying any overdue installment. 

 

Queensland legislation allows for the buyer to lodge a non-lapsing caveat on the property to prevent the registration of any other instrument until the contract is completed.  Queensland also gives the buyer a right to have the title transferred once they have paid one-third of the purchase price with the balance taken as a registered mortgage to the seller back over the property.  The payments continue on the terms of the instalment contract. This can, however present a problem if there is an existing mortgage on the property.  There is a reciprocal right for the seller to demand the same transfer of title and mortgage, but the seller might be obliged to advance the buyer an amount equal to the transfer duty and legal costs payable by the buyer to be added to the principal sum and would be included in the mortgage.

 

In general, the payment of an amount more than 10% of the purchase price, without conveyance of the title, can make a contract deemed to be an instalment contract even if that was unintended.  If a buyer has to pay other amounts in addition the standard deposit prior to settlement the agreement would become an installment contract.  Alternatively, if the buyer is given a rebate before settlement, that would cause the deposit to exceed 10% of the purchase price.

 

Other considerations including the buyer’s right to conduct searches, timing of the payment of transfer duty, repercussions of a buyer’s requirement to pay interest charges if the purchase price remains outstanding and any equitable charge the buyer may have over the property should be carefully considered after receiving sound legal advice for the particular circumstances of your transaction.

Off the Plan Contracts

Off the Plan Contracts

Our top tips for negotiating and entering off the plan contracts

Extensions

What happens in a conveyance when one party needs an extension?

Tenants with Pets; Discrimination, Extra Bond and Extra Rental

When Builders Go Bust

The flow-on effect of building companies declaring insolvency

Insolvency can be thought of as bankruptcy for companies (though there are obviously differences).  The legal definition is an inability to pay the company’s debts as and when they fall due (insolvency).

In recent years there has been a string of insolvent building companies. Collier Homes late last year is a recent example. When building companies go under, they take the expectations of home buyers, finance companies, subcontractors, professionals (such as real estate agents and solicitors), insurance companies and the community at large down with them. The flow-on effect can be enormous.

Following a builder’s insolvency, the company is usually placed into external administration (administration, receivership, or liquidation; same people different titles, rules and outcomes), where a third party Administrator, Receiver or Liquidator takes control of the company.

Often the company will continue trading under this new control format, and may finish building the homes to try to minimise the loss to the company’s creditors. While this might sound like good news for the home buyer, in reality they can be left to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars from insurers when the homes aren’t built to specification. Further, home buyers are often forced to deal with colossal delays in receiving the home they bargained for while the Administrator, Receiver or Liquidator takes stock and works out how best to proceed.

Subcontractors are worse off than home buyers, often being left significantly out of pocket as well as out of work.

The effect on the home building industry includes unprecedented rises in home indemnity premiums as insurers try to make up their losses.

The economic cost of delayed building projects along with the social cost of incomplete buildings littering suburbs makes for more bad news.

If you know a home buyer or subcontractor that would rather be protected against builder insolvency, make an appointment to speak to one of our experts about how to amend your contracts to address the issue.

Developer barred from terminating under Sunset Clause

The New South Wales law provides that a developer cannot terminate under a sunset clause in an off-the-plan contract unless the Court grants them permission to do so.

Property values have soared over the last few years. Developers who entered off-the-plan contracts to sell a property for, say,  $400,000.00 in 2014, which by 2016 is worth $550,000.00, may feel unhappy at having to sell the property for less than its’ current market value. Some unscrupulous developers began using the sunset clause in the contract to terminate it by intentionally delaying the completion of projects until the sunset date arrived. At that point they were terminating the off-the-plan contracts, quickly completing the projects and then selling the properties.

In response the New South Wales law now protects buyers from developers looking to take advantage of the sunset clause in off-the-plan contracts by forcing developers to get Court approval before terminating the contract.

That legislation was tested recently in a case involving a developer and a purchaser.

The Court will consider the developer’s reasons for the delay in creating the Lot, whether the reasons for the delay are reasonable, whether the developer has acted in bad faith, what effect the termination will have on the purchaser and whether it is fair and equitable that the developer be allowed to terminate.

In the recent case of Jobema Developments Pty Limited v Zhu & Ors the developer selectively extended the sunset dates on some contracts in the development and not others, and offered no explanation as to why some contracts were extended where others weren’t.  It will come as no surprise that the Court refused the developer’s application.

It will be interesting to see how this protection is extended or redacted as more cases under these laws are brought before the Courts.

Underbelly: housing schemes- Vendor finance and rent-to-buy housing schemes called a ‘black market’

Underbelly: housing schemes

 

Vendor finance and rent-to-buy housing schemes called a ‘black market’

 

 

The seemingly unstoppable rise in housing prices over the last decade has caused many Australians to feel ‘locked out’ of the dream of owning their own home.

 

Perhaps in response to this, a string of new businesses (called ‘equity providers’) have opened shop and now offer purchasers the ability to take a loan to pay the deposit on their home. The purchaser then makes their usual mortgage repayments to a bank in addition to paying back the equity provider for the deposit, usually over a period of 5 to 10 years. Assuming the purchaser has met their instalment payments, each year the equity provider transfers a small portion of ownership to the purchaser.

 

While this might appear to be great news for young people entering the property market, a recent investigation has revealed that people who enter into these arrangements are sometimes left worse off or even financially ruined.

 

The way the equity provider often charges what they call ‘option fees’. These fees are paid in exchange for the right to purchase the property from the equity provider at an agreed value when the instalments for the deposit are paid. The option fees don’t go towards paying off the debt.

 

The reason these arrangements can be risky is because the value of the property, and therefore the price the purchaser pays the equity provider at the end of the agreement, is agreed at the beginning of the agreement and not updated at any time before the purchaser purchases the property from the equity provider. Just some of the issues this creates for the purchaser include;

 

·        Some equity providers have over-inflated the worth of the property and set very high final purchase prices;

·        The purchaser ends up paying exorbitant option fees as well as funding two mortgages, and is  far worse off than before the agreement; and

·        Even if the purchaser is able to meet the repayments, there is then an over-inflated price for the property to be paid at the end of the agreement.

 

Some consumer advocates have called for these schemes to be banned, or at the very least provide protection under the National Credit Code.

Contracting Death- Real Estate

What happens when a contract is signed and the vendor or purchase passes away before settlement?

A ‘party’ is defined in the latest REIQ contract[1] to include the party’s executors, administrators or successors.

The take home message is simple: death does not release a party from their rights and obligations under the contract. This includes the parties’ obligation to complete the contract.

Do I need probate?

Practically, it may not be possible for the contract to settle until a grant of probate has been issued by the Supreme Court. A grant of probate, or a grant of letters of administration on intestacy, is a court order granting a person authority to execute the deceased’s will, or deal with property in accordance with the rules of intestacy (the Government’s rules). The grant takes approximately 10 weeks to be issued so the parties usually need to extend the settlement date out until the deceased’s executor has been able to get the grant.

The most unfortunate scenario here is where you act for the deceased’s party and the other side refuses to allow an extension of time.

What if the other party refuse to extend the settlement date?

Where a purchaser dies and the vendor refuses an extension, the vendor may place the purchaser in breach. On breach, the vendor could choose to take the purchaser’s deposit as well as either;

·        Terminating the contract, reselling the property and suing the purchaser’s estate for any loss they suffer on resale, or

·        Applying to the court for an order of specific performance, which compels the purchaser to complete the contract.

Where the vendor dies and the purchaser refuses to allow an extension, the purchaser may place the vendor in breach. On breach the purchaser could;

·        Terminate the contract and sue for damages, or

·        Apply for specific performance as above and sue for damages.

Who gets the proceeds?

In the event a vendor passes away before settlement, on settlement their personal representative becomes entitled to receive the balance of the purchase price on behalf of the deceased’s estate. In the event a purchaser passes away before settlement, if the contract settles then the property forms part of the deceased’s estate. In practical terms this means the property vests in the parties’ personal representative/s.

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[1] Clause 10.9(1)(d).

Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)

This is a new Commonwealth law.  The commencement date is 30 January 2012

Þ           From this date Queensland's REVS (motor vehicle), Bills of Sale Register and Register of Cooperative Charges will be rolled into Commonwealth Register.  It will provide a one stop shop for all registered encumbrances over assets other than company charges and land.

Þ           Searching the Register (PPSR) requires either an account or can be accessed as a guest (pay as you go if guest user).

Þ           Search criteria will include grantor details, serial number of property (if applicable), and vehicles will be searchable by serial number

Þ           The law provides for penalties against misuse of information contained in PPSR

As a Buyer: -

Þ           This applies to personal property not including land or building or a fixture

Þ           Personal property includes cars and other vehicles, art, aircraft, intellectual property, contract rights, crops, livestock, machinery,

Þ           Search facility allows you to confirm any security interest in your proposed purchase to ensure no repossession by lender after purchase

As a Grantor (person granting the security over their property): -

Þ           The Grantor uses personal property to secure lending, business assets as security for lending (example given is that of fixed and floating charge), title retentions (leasehold rather than freehold), or leases personal property for extended periods of time (ie cars, equipment)

Þ           Grantor's details can be included in PPSR where no description can be provided for the personal property – organisations provide an identifier; individuals provide name and date of birth

Þ           If information listed in PPSR is incorrect, Grantor needs to contact Secured Party (Lender) to request amendment

Þ           Upon disposal of personal property, Grantor needs to contact Secured Party to obtain relevant discharge/release

As a Secured Party: -

Þ           A Secured Party has a secured interest in personal property of the Grantor such as fixed and floating charges, long term and finance leases, chattel mortgages (interest free purchases like TVs), title retentions, commercial consignment and factoring

Þ           The law has default and specific rules as to registering personal property with priority which take into consideration:

ü             control of personal property

ü             competition existing between security interest and statutory interest.

Bennett Carroll Solicitors have offices located in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast

Freecall: 1300 334 566
Fax: (07) 3343 8664

Email: info@bcglaw.com.au

Website: www.bcglaw.com.au 

CONTRACT NEGOTIATION – TACTICS & STRATEGY

Your approach to the contract negotiation process will depend upon a range of variables, some of which will be beyond your control.

The most obvious example of this is the attitude of the buyer who may employ a range of different approaches, and will have priorities and processes which will probably only be partially known to you.

Obviously, the buyer’s attitude approach and priorities, will have a major effect on how the negotiation proceeds, how far it gets, which contract variables are altered or conceded, and ultimately whether you get a deal at all.

There are several important things to remember when stepping into this process:-

1.             BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

As the seller, by setting the initial parameters for negotiation, you have some control over where the process begins.  Your broker (if you have chosen the broker well), should have been conditioning the buyer, and attempting to set expectations, throughout the purchase introduction process.  The broker (and you if there have been face to face negotiations), should have given a fairly clear indication of the variables in the contract which are important and/or non negotiable.  Having said that, most things are negotiable to some degree. Your initial approach and parameters, should be set up to allow some room for negotiation by the buyer, and give a reasonable expectation to the buyer of what you will and won’t accept, whilst at the same time being somewhere near reasonable.

You and your broker should have discussed this, and have a strategy in place.

2.             DECIDE WHAT’S IMPORTANT

It is exceedingly rare for the buyer of anything, let alone a business, to step up and immediately agree to every variable of the deal.  It is important for you to decide which variables are important and which ones are not.

There are essentially three categories and variables for you to consider:-

a.             Central and not negotiable

b.             Central and negotiable

c.             Throwaways

a.         Central and not negotiable

Examples of this category might be an absolute requirement for a guarantee from a purchase of company, or the requirement for the buyer to obtain a new Lease rather than an assignment of the existing Lease. The purchase of a business with the assignment of an existing Lease renders you liable for rent to the landlord, for the balance of the rental term.   If this is a significant amount and you have concerns about this ongoing liability, a requirement for a new Lease will rid you of this liability.  Likewise, where you have a purchaser that is a company, and you are uncertain as to its asset base or solvency, a guarantee from the directors (and, these days, the spouse(s) of the director(s)), is really quite essential.

b.         Central but negotiable

The purchase price is the most obvious example of this situation.  The amount you receive as the sum of your business, it’s critical for your future, but you can certainly expect the buyer to want to reduce the price. It is quite common for contracts to be received which have several prices crossed out, one after the other, before a final figure was reached.

c.         Throwaways

A good example of this is the restraint clause.

The buyer might well be extremely keen to see you out of the industry for a significant period of time.  If you are leaving the industry entirely, and have no plans to return, this is something you might throw away, in exchange for, for example, keeping the purchase price higher.  All this will need to be negotiated during the contract completion phase.

3.             THE ROLE OF THE BROKER

The broker will earn significant permission on the sale of your business. The brokers role is to find and introduce a buyer who is ready willing and able to complete.

The broker should also be assisting you with:-

a.             Conditioning the buyer to the important parameters of the deal, upon which you will not compromise;

b.             Relaying important information to you about the buyer’s priorities and attitudes;

c.             Manoeuvring the buyer towards a contract which best suits you.

Many people, buyers particularly, make the mistake of assuming or believing that the broker is an unbiased mediator between the parties.  This is untrue.

The broker quite literally and legitimately, is your agent, and, if he or she wants a commission, must act in you interests to get a contract together.

The other side of this coin however, is that the broker cannot act in a false or misleading way.  The broker is your agent and you will be responsible for any improper conduct undertaken on your behalf.  It is not a sustainable approach from either you or the agent, to attempt to hoodwink the buyer into buying a business, as, at some stage either before or after settlement, the true facts will come to light and you will be held accountable for the acts of your agent.

Having said all of this, an enthusiastic and skilled broker can create appropriate deals where each party “wins”, where, in many other circumstances, a deal will not materialise.

The broker is also a worthwhile circuit breaker between you and the buyer.  It is very often extremely worthwhile to be able to deliver information through a third party, and avoid directly having to answer questions on the spot.  Having the broker relay information, allows the possibility of time for thinking, and ensures the provision of appropriate information.

The broker is also (or should be), a skilled negotiator, focused solely on the sale deal.  Remember, in these circumstances, you will still have the business to run, and this must remain a focus.

4.             NEGOTIATION STYLES

The character, personality and approach of the buyer is a major variable in the contract negotiation process.

There is a large number of types of approach and list below is by no means exhaustive.

Some of the styles of negotiation which are often seen are as follows:-

1)     Direct clear and simple

2)     “Soviet style”

3)     “Chinese Style”

4)     Pushy

5)     Round and round

1)         Simple Clear and Direct

This is the buyer who displays a “what you see is what you get” approach.  The buyer presents a contract with variables that are somewhere within the bounds of what you consider to be a deal, and is willing to respond to a counter offer that you might make.  Responses to your proposals are returned in a timely way and the negotiation proceeds at a reasonable pace.  These are the easiest buyers to deal with.

2)         Soviet Style

Soviet style negotiation (named for the cold war negotiating style brought to prominence in 60’s and 70’s), opens with assumingly impossibly low offer and then proceeds at snails pace with tiny concessions away form that original position.

An example of this approach would be that if you have indicated a purchase price of, say, 20 with an expectation that you might settle it around 16 or 17, the Soviet style negotiator’s first offer will be 4, and might then proceed very slowly to 5 or 6.

In the face of an extremely low offer, particularly initially, the best options are:-

a)     withdraw from the negotiations and brand the offer ridiculous;

b)     Refuse to make a counter offer until the serious proposal is put forward

c)      Feign insult and go silent.

3)         Chinese Style

This style of negotiation, much applied in South East Asia, involves running a negotiation over long time frames.  Each issue dealt with one by one, and, similar to Soviet Style, concessions are small and well spaced apart.  This style of negotiator is looking for somebody who is impatient or desperate, and will attempt to make a “big concession” to bring the matter to a close.  Patience is the key with this style of negotiation and you must walk the line between keeping the matter going at a reasonable speed, and, at the other extreme, appearing needy or anxious.

The best response to this style of approach is to attempt to meet the size of the concessions being made, with the size of your own concessions, and try to be patient.  Making large concessions to attempt to prompt similar large concessions from the buyer, will not work with this type of buyer.  This may be frustrating but trying to force the pace will be interpreted as desperation, and you may well end up with deal parameters well below your expectations.

4)         Silent approach –

Some buyers will make an offer and then go silent

Bennett Carroll Solicitors have offices located in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast

Freecall: 1300 334 566
Fax: (07) 3343 8664

Email: info@bcglaw.com.au

Website: www.bcglaw.com.au