Navigating a Tasmanian real estate contract
Buying a house in Tasmania, here are a few handy tips!
The Tasmanian Real Estate Defect Limit
Keep the defect limit on the contract to a minimum of around 1% or no greater than $10,000
It was 1% on every contract prior to May 2017 and still can be 1% or a $ figure.
Get a good lawyer or conveyancer:
If you do it yourself and make a mistake, you could suffer a loss as a result and will be unable to get financial compensation.
Get insurance:
The buyer becomes liable for damages to the property once contracts are exchanged. I've seen a house that was unoccupied and someone broke in and lit a fire on the timber floor after the contract was signed.
Make sure you have the building inspection clause and the 3-day cooling-off period, In the contract:
Plus a minimum of 7-10 days period to get the building inspection done. (Christmas time longer, 21 days)
Don’t use a real estate recommended Building inspector!
Would you buy a car from a used car salesman and get it checkout by his mechanic or your own!
Get a fully licensed and insured local building inspector and research him:
You're about to spend your life savings.
Check to see if he is a licensed builder with the Department of Justice Tasmania
Ask to see a copy of his PI insurance
Because without PI insurance a building inspector can't certify the defects if there is a problem.
Try to line up the building inspector early
To take advantage of the 3-day cooling-off period.