I have on many occasions spoken about preventative law.
Preventative Law
This is similar to preventative medicine. After all, a doctor who diagnoses a heart attack after the patient has died isn’t of much use.
In that sense, only engaging a lawyer after you have a problem is both expensive and also means that you are missing the opportunity to access that skill set in advance to avoid the problem.
A number of experiences over the past week illustrate this.
Building Contract
Standard domestic building contracts are typically prepared by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and the Master Builder’s Association (MBA). The HIA and the MBA represent builders – so it should be no surprise that the contracts that they prepare favour builders.
One key reason why building projects finish late is that builders have no real incentive to finish on time. We have covered some of these issues in previous newsletters – such as this one.
Last week I was advising a client whose project was off the rails. A number of issues had come together to complicate the client’s position:
- The standard HIA / MBA contract was used;
- There were a number of side agreements and variations made;
- The client had been far too nice.
A little advice at the right times could have significantly improved the client’s position. We could have put special conditions in the contract to protect the client from delays and poorly documented variations. We could also have ensured that the variations were properly documented so that the client’s position wasn’t undermined.
If you are about to sign a building contract – please contact us for a building contract review by clicking here.
Purchase Contract
Buying a home is for most clients the largest purchase they will make for a decade – and also results in a fair level of stress and anxiety for most.
For this reason, we offer a contract review service for $165 (inc GST). This includes:
- A zoom call with me to work through the contract on line;
- Answers to any questions that you may have; and
- Suggested special conditions to tailor the contract to your needs and add some value.
As usual, I reviewed a number of purchase contracts for clients last week.
In one of these, an older unit style property, it was clear that the car park, which was on a separate title, had been omitted. This was picked up in my review and the vendor updated the contract to include it. This was a much better result than trying to sort it out with a settlement deadline pressing or trying to find the vendor years later.
In another review, the apartment being purchased was subject to outstanding orders for the replacement of flammable cladding. Whilst this is clearly an issue to be concerned about, I was able to point out that this was at most a $10,000 issue and if the client could negotiate a $20,000 discount on the property the client would be ahead.
To book your own purchase contract review you can click here.
Concluding Thoughts
My most prolific and successful clients have purchased more than a hundred properties each.
I am always struck that, despite this experience, they always get their purchase contracts reviewed. One said that the difference between speculation and investment is due diligence.
In this context, a little legal advice before you sign a contract should be an important part of your due diligence.
If you are about to sign a contract or are about to embark on a property development, please reach out. With more than 30 years of experience, I am always able to add more value than the cost of the consultation. In fact, I will guarantee it – if you don’t think you get value from our consultation, I will offer your money back! Click here to book.
Lewis O’Brien
Your Preferred Property Lawyer