Property sales and trusts: Demand proof of trustee authority
“If you want to make your house easy to sell, make it easy to buy” (Anon) You are overjoyed at receiving a good offer for your property – not easily achieved in these hard times and of course you certainly don’t want to do anything to jeopardise the sale. But perhaps do that little bit […]
Trustees: Your risk of personal liability in property sales
Firstly, a warning to anyone selling or buying property to/from a trust – have your lawyer check upfront that you are adequately protected by the terms of the sale agreement. The problem is that contracting with trusts has its own specific set of rules and, as a recent High Court case illustrates, standard sale agreements […]
PROPERTY SELLERS: JUST HOW FAR DOES YOUR DUTY TO DISCLOSE GO?
“Where a seller recklessly tells half-truths or knows the facts, but does not reveal them because he or she has not bothered to consider the significance, this may also amount to fraud” (extract from judgment below) Firstly, a note on the CPA What is said below does not pertain to those property sales where the […]
BUYING AND SELLING PROPERTY: THE BOND CLAUSE BLUES, AND HOW TO BEAT THEM
“Men keep agreements when it is to the advantage of neither to break them” (Solon, Athenian lawgiver c. 638 BC – 559 BC) Here’s the story of yet another High Court battle over a disputed property sale agreement. A fight over how to interpret the “bond clause” again highlighted how vital it is to clearly […]