Advertising Properties for Sale
Some recent situations we have advised on have once again highlighted the dangerous situation agents place themselves in when making statements about properties.
You may be aware that agents are liable for any damages a buyer may suffer if there is incorrect information is provided to a buyer. This may be the case even where the information was provided to the agent by the client.
To protect yourself you need to either verify the information is correct or when presenting the information use the following wording:
“This information has been provided by the owner and the agent has not verified the accuracy of the information. Any potential buyers should make their own inquiries regarding this information”.
Obviously you don’t want to do this for every single detail of the property. If you can easily verify the information e.g. 4 bedrooms double lock up garage is fairly easy to verify, then you will be fine.
The areas we have seen problems are:
Development potential – try to steer clear of making representations on this topic as it is difficult for you to know if it can be developed and if so how many units you may put on it.
Built in underneath the house.- For a room to be called a bedroom or living area the height needs to be 2.4m. Only 75% of the ceiling height needs to be 2.4m so you can have beams running through the room. Garages converted into living areas usually don’t have approval for this so be careful before claiming this in advertisements.
Bedroom v Study – There is no size requirement before a room can be called a bedroom. You just need to be able to fit a bed into the room. Studies don’t have to be 2.4m high where as bedrooms do.
For further information please contact Roland Taylor on 0417 605 185 or rtaylor@swc.net.au