If you are buying a house or apartment or other residential property in your own name, and the price is R250 000 or less, the cooling-off clause states that the buyer has 5 working days after signing the offer to purchase during which you can reconsider your offer and cancel it if you want to, without being in breach of contract. The buyer simply has to give written notice in the agreed way, within the 5-day period, of his intention to cancel the agreement. No liabilities, damages or commission claims can arise if a buyer exercises his/her cooling-off right.
The following conditions apply to the cooling-off period:
- the buyer (you), must be a "natural person", not a company, or a close corporation, or a trust.
- you must be buying the property for yourself, not on behalf of someone else
- your notice of cancellation of the sale must be in writing and signed.
- the notice of cancellation of the sale must be delivered to the seller (or the seller's agent, or another person, as stipulated in the contract of sale) within five days after the day on which the buyer signed the offer to purchase. This five day period starts running on the day after the offer to purchase was accepted in writing. The 5 day cooling off period also excludes any Saturday, Sunday and public holiday
- if, during the "cooling off" period, you sign an offer to buy another property, it automatically cancels the offer to buy the first property - unless you want to buy both properties.
- if you have paid any money towards the seller, such as a deposit, the seller must refund such monies full.
You will not have the right to the "cooling off" period if:
- you are buying property on behalf of another person or a company, close corporation or trust
- the property is being sold by auction sale
- you and seller have already signed a similar contract for the sale of the same property
- you are exercising an option to buy, which has been open to you for at least five days.
Remember: If the buyer accepts and signs a counter offer from the seller, the cooling-off period does not apply because it is a second offer on the property.
