Pressure To Sign
It’s late on a Sunday and purchasers are feeling the pressure to sign a sale and purchase agreement. To help reduce the risk they receive a suggestion to include a Solicitor’s Approval condition in the agreement. The condition goes into the agreement, it gets signed and the purchasers believe that their conveyancing lawyer can review everything next week and if there is anything the conveyancing lawyer doesn’t like then the purchasers can cancel the agreement, right? Wrong.
The Truth
It is a common misconception that a Solicitors Approval condition allows the purchasers’ conveyancing lawyer to object to anything relating to the agreement or property and the purchaser can cancel the agreement. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case as a Solicitor’s Approval condition usually restricts the conveyancing lawyer’s approval to a very narrow part of the overall purchase.
What Can a Lawyer Object To?
The Courts have held that a Solicitor’s Approval clause can only be used to cancel a sale and purchase agreement where the conveyancing lawyer finds an issue with a conveyancing aspect of the agreement. There must be a problem that can prevent the transfer of the property or another technical issue with the title, such as the nature and extent of an easement. In addition, the conveyancing lawyer needs to act reasonably when deciding to approve the agreement. The conveyancing lawyer can’t object to a commercial aspect of the agreement or some other matter outside the conveyancing lawyer’s area of expertise.
What Should You Do?
Every property purchase will be different with unique circumstances. We always recommend that you have the agreement reviewed by your conveyancing lawyer before signing. This will allow you to receive advice on the entire agreement and allow the inclusion of appropriate conditions that reflect your circumstances.
If for some reason you do need to sign a sale and purchase agreement urgently and want to make sure that your lawyer can review the entire agreement after signing then we recommend that you include a comprehensive due diligence condition. This will allow you and your conveyancing lawyer and other advisors to review the entire sale and purchase agreement to ensure that you are happy with all aspects of it. However, you should note that vendors are often reluctant to sign an agreement that includes a due diligence condition as it effectively allows the purchaser to cancel the agreement for any reason.
Contact Us
Don't hesitate to contact a conveyancing lawyer at Samson Legal for advice on your agreement or any conditions or clauses you are thinking about including. We can provide specific advice for your circumstances to ensure your interests are protected. Contact us here.
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