All contracts for residential property in NSW come with a 5-business day cooling-off period for the benefit of the buyer. It allows the buyer to obtain their unconditional approval from their bank, any pre-purchase reports that may be required as well as final checks of the contract terms before committing to the purchase.
If the buyer chooses not to proceed with the purchase, the buyer will forfeit their 0.25% (of the purchase price) deposit paid to the real estate agent.
Note there are several scenarios where a cooling-off period may not apply:
- At auction. There is automatically no cooling-off period where the property is sold at auction, or where the property is passed in at auction but sells the same day.
- Non-residential property. Where the property is used wholly for non-residential purposes or there are more than two places of residence.
- Where the property is over 2.5 hectares.
- Where a section 66W certificate is provided by the buyer’s conveyancer.
