PROPERTY BUYERS HAVE INALIENABLE RIGHTS WHICH, IF IGNORED, CAN INVALIDATE THEIR OFFER

Buyers of a residential property have certain legal rights of which they should be aware, particularly if they are nervous about the offers they put in, says Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

 The first of these rights is that, if they change their minds about an offer made either independently or via their agent, they can withdraw or alter it provided that the seller has not been made aware of it.  If the seller has been informed of it, the offer it is totally binding.

 Where, however, the agent or the seller makes any subsequent changes to the terms and conditions of the purchase offer, the buyer, said Steward, is legally entitled to reject the amendments which will render the offer null and void.  Only changes initialled by the buyer on the document have validity in law.

 Depending on the wording of the sale agreement, two scenarios, said Steward, can become applicable once the offer has been submitted.

 In the first of these a counter-offer from the seller, e.g. asking for a higher price, can be presented to the buyer.  When this happens the original offer is deemed to have been rejected and is no longer binding.

 In the second scenario, certain agencies, including Anne Porter Knight Frank, leave the door open for further negotiations by stating in their sales agreement that a counter-offer by the seller shall not be deemed a refusal of the original offer until such time as the time period stipulated in the offer has expired.  In effect, therefore, with this clause the seller has the right to go back to and accept the original offer.

 In all cases, said Steward, it is important that the agent refrains from making any sort of mark or amendment to the original offer.  If this does happen it can invalidate the entire document.

 A good agent, said Steward, will almost never touch an original offer.  If changes are later agreed to, he or she will draw up for the buyer a clean sales document incorporating the altered clauses.

 Altered documents, Steward said, require the initials of both parties on every single amendment and can end up looking like “a rose garden”.  All too often, she said, in these cases the attorneys will find an initial missing here or there, which can invalidate the entire document if you do not have a willing buyer and seller.

 “It is therefore not unreasonable to expect the agent to take the trouble to rewrite the agreement neatly and cleanly,” said Steward.  “After all, the buyers may well be tied into that agreement for the next 20 years.  It should, therefore, be absolutely crystal clear and not open to any sort of misinterpretation or query.”

For further information contact Lanice Steward on 021 671 9120 or email lanice@anneporter.co.za.