VIC Vendor in breach of contract

[Regular blokes]

Hi All,

Happy friday.

I signed a contract to purchase a property last month (accepted and signed by the vendor) and have paid 10% of the deposit to the realestate trust. the settlement date was 20th October and vendor failed to settle on the said date, the vendor is Indian and is in India and was suppose to transfer the property through their lawyers. it appears that the vendor is having trouble getting the mortgage released from their bank to complete the transfer. we are not aware of any further details and have been waiting for almost a month and so we decided to issue a rescission notice yesterday (17th Nov).

I don't have a lawyer on my side and only a conveyancer.

My questions are

1. There are costs involved with the bank valuation/ application processing fee / legal fees / insurance fees
can all of these be recovered from the vendor. since they are in breach of contract

2. Can i file a punitive case against the vendor for wasting time/money and possible lost opportunities elsewhere.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rod]

1. Quite likely.
2. No. Australian courts do not award punitive damages for a pure breach of contract.

It is arguable conveyancers should not give out legal advice on contracts where there is the possibility of legal action being contemplated. The wording of your rescission can be important to your chances of success and is best handled by a lawyer.

Suspect you will need a lawyer to claim back your costs. DIY could be expensive if you get things wrong.

 

[Clancy]

My parents got hit with a deposit scam not once, but twice! Then my sister as well!! Different story each time but resulting in a 'compromise' settlement whereby they give you back the larger portion of your deposit, but keep a few thousand for themselves.... (in order to avoid dragging it through court).

Makes me wish i had a spare property somewhere i could pretend to sell to people repeatedly, make up some 'story' and keep some of their deposit each time.... free money for nothing, perfectly legal.