Due Diligence Check List & Information
Information followings:
1. Due Diligence Checklist
2. Privacy Policy
3. Complaints policy
1. Due Diligence Checklist
What you need to know before buying a residential property
Before you buy a home, you should be aware of a range of issues that may affect that property and impose restrictions or obligations on you, if you buy it. This checklist aims to help you identify whether any of these issues will affect you. The questions are a starting point only and you may need to seek professional advice to answer some of them. You can find links to organisations and web pages that can help you learn more, by visiting consumer.vic.gov.au/duediligencechecklist
Urban livingMoving to the inner city? High-density areas are attractive for their entertainment and service areas, but these activities create increased traffic as well as noise and odours from businesses and people. Familiarising yourself with the character of the area will give you a balanced understanding of what to expect.
Is the property subject to an owner's corporation? If the property is part of a subdivision with common property such as driveways or grounds, it may be subject to an owner's corporation. You may be required to pay fees and follow rules that restrict what you can do on your property, such as a ban on pet ownership.
Growth areasAre you moving to a growth area?You should investigate whether you will be required to pay a growth areas infrastructure contribution.
Flood and fire riskDoes this property experience flooding or bushfire?Properties are sometimes subject to the risk of fire and flooding due to their location. You should properly investigate these risks and consider their implications for land management, buildings and insurance premiums. Land boundariesDo you know the exact boundary of the property? You should compare the measurements shown on the title document with actual fences and buildings on the property, to make sure the boundaries match. If you have concerns about this, you can speak to your lawyer or conveyancer, or commission a site survey to establish property boundaries.
Planning controlsCan you change how the property is used, or the buildings on it? All land is subject to a planning scheme, run by the local council. How the property is zoned and any overlays that may apply, will determine how the land can be used. This may restrict such things as whether you can build on vacant land or how you can alter or develop the land and its buildings over time.
The local council can give you advice about the planning scheme, as well as details of any other restrictions that may apply, such as design guidelines or bushfire safety design. There may also be restrictions – known as encumbrances – on the property’s title, which prevent you from developing the property. You can find out about encumbrances by looking at the section 32 statement.
Are there any proposed or granted planning permits?The local council can advise you if there are any proposed or issued planning permits for any properties close by. Significant developments in your area may change the local ‘character’ (predominant style of the area) and may increase noise or traffic near the property.
SafetyIs the building safe to live in? Building laws are in place to ensure building safety. Professional building inspections can help you assess the property for electrical safety, possible illegal building work, adequate pool or spa fencing and the presence of asbestos, termites, or other potential hazards.
Is the property subject to an owner's corporation? If the property is part of a subdivision with common property such as driveways or grounds, it may be subject to an owner's corporation. You may be required to pay fees and follow rules that restrict what you can do on your property, such as a ban on pet ownership.
Growth areasAre you moving to a growth area?You should investigate whether you will be required to pay a growth areas infrastructure contribution.
Flood and fire riskDoes this property experience flooding or bushfire?Properties are sometimes subject to the risk of fire and flooding due to their location. You should properly investigate these risks and consider their implications for land management, buildings and insurance premiums. Land boundariesDo you know the exact boundary of the property? You should compare the measurements shown on the title document with actual fences and buildings on the property, to make sure the boundaries match. If you have concerns about this, you can speak to your lawyer or conveyancer, or commission a site survey to establish property boundaries.
Planning controlsCan you change how the property is used, or the buildings on it? All land is subject to a planning scheme, run by the local council. How the property is zoned and any overlays that may apply, will determine how the land can be used. This may restrict such things as whether you can build on vacant land or how you can alter or develop the land and its buildings over time.
The local council can give you advice about the planning scheme, as well as details of any other restrictions that may apply, such as design guidelines or bushfire safety design. There may also be restrictions – known as encumbrances – on the property’s title, which prevent you from developing the property. You can find out about encumbrances by looking at the section 32 statement.
Are there any proposed or granted planning permits?The local council can advise you if there are any proposed or issued planning permits for any properties close by. Significant developments in your area may change the local ‘character’ (predominant style of the area) and may increase noise or traffic near the property.
SafetyIs the building safe to live in? Building laws are in place to ensure building safety. Professional building inspections can help you assess the property for electrical safety, possible illegal building work, adequate pool or spa fencing and the presence of asbestos, termites, or other potential hazards.
Rural propertiesMoving to the country? If you are looking at property in a rural zone, consider:
Is there any earth resource activity such as mining in the area?You may wish to find out more about exploration, mining and quarrying activity on or near the property and consider the issue of petroleum, geothermal and greenhouse gas sequestration permits, leases and licences, extractive industry authorisations and mineral licences.
Soil and groundwater contamination previous land use affected the soil or groundwater? You should consider whether past activities, including the use of adjacent land, may have caused contamination at the site and whether this may prevent you from doing certain things to or on the land in the future. Building permitsHave any buildings or retaining walls on the property been altered, or do you plan to alter them?There are laws and regulations about how buildings and retaining walls are constructed, which you may wish to investigate to ensure any completed or proposed building work is approved. The local council may be able to give you information about any building permits issued for recent building works done to the property, and what you must do to plan new work. You can also commission a private building surveyor’s assessment.
Are any recent building or renovation works covered by insurance?Ask the vendor if there is any owner-builder insurance or builder’s warranty to cover defects in the work done to the property.
Utilities and essential servicesDoes the property have working connections for water, sewerage, electricity, gas, telephone and internet?Unconnected services may not be available, or may incur a fee to connect. You may also need to choose from a range of suppliers for these services. This may be particularly important in rural areas where some services are not available.
Buyers’ rightsDo you know your rights when buying a property? The contract of sale and section 32 statement contain important information about the property, so you should request to see these and read them thoroughly. Many people engage a lawyer or conveyancer to help them understand the contracts and ensure the sale goes through correctly. If you intend to hire a professional, you should consider speaking to them before you commit to the sale. There are also important rules about the way private sales and auctions are conducted. These may include a cooling-off period and specific rights associated with ‘off the plan’ sales. The important thing to remember is that, as the buyer, you have rights
- Is the surrounding land use compatible with your lifestyle expectations? Farming can create noise or odour that may be at odds with your expectations of a rural lifestyle.
- Are you considering removing native vegetation? There are regulations that affect your ability to remove native vegetation on private property.
- Do you understand your obligations to manage weeds and pest animals?
- Can you build new dwellings?
- Does the property adjoin crown land, have a water frontage, contain a disused government road, or are there any crown licences associated with the land?
Is there any earth resource activity such as mining in the area?You may wish to find out more about exploration, mining and quarrying activity on or near the property and consider the issue of petroleum, geothermal and greenhouse gas sequestration permits, leases and licences, extractive industry authorisations and mineral licences.
Soil and groundwater contamination previous land use affected the soil or groundwater? You should consider whether past activities, including the use of adjacent land, may have caused contamination at the site and whether this may prevent you from doing certain things to or on the land in the future. Building permitsHave any buildings or retaining walls on the property been altered, or do you plan to alter them?There are laws and regulations about how buildings and retaining walls are constructed, which you may wish to investigate to ensure any completed or proposed building work is approved. The local council may be able to give you information about any building permits issued for recent building works done to the property, and what you must do to plan new work. You can also commission a private building surveyor’s assessment.
Are any recent building or renovation works covered by insurance?Ask the vendor if there is any owner-builder insurance or builder’s warranty to cover defects in the work done to the property.
Utilities and essential servicesDoes the property have working connections for water, sewerage, electricity, gas, telephone and internet?Unconnected services may not be available, or may incur a fee to connect. You may also need to choose from a range of suppliers for these services. This may be particularly important in rural areas where some services are not available.
Buyers’ rightsDo you know your rights when buying a property? The contract of sale and section 32 statement contain important information about the property, so you should request to see these and read them thoroughly. Many people engage a lawyer or conveyancer to help them understand the contracts and ensure the sale goes through correctly. If you intend to hire a professional, you should consider speaking to them before you commit to the sale. There are also important rules about the way private sales and auctions are conducted. These may include a cooling-off period and specific rights associated with ‘off the plan’ sales. The important thing to remember is that, as the buyer, you have rights
2. Privacy Policy
Palliser Real Estate Real Estate respects your right to privacy. We are bound by and adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles (“Principles”) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (“Privacy Act”). Those Principles regulate most of our activities with respect to personal information collected, stored, used and disclosed by us. For further enquiries about your information contact Palliser Real Estate or information in relation to Privacy you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by visiting their website at http://www.oaic.gov.au.
Contact Wendy Palliser
Phone: (03) 94594780
Email : palliser@live.com.au
Mail : Palliser Real EstateAttention Wendy Palliser 1/29 James Street Heidelberg Heights VIC 3081
Email : palliser@live.com.au
Mail : Palliser Real EstateAttention Wendy Palliser 1/29 James Street Heidelberg Heights VIC 3081
The kinds of personal information we collect and hold:
- Firstly, 'personal information' in our privacy policy has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act, namely it means information about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.
- The types of personal information we collect from you and hold will vary depending on the context of our dealings with you. We will generally collect the following personal information from you:
- Your full name
- Contact details
- Information about the property/properties you express an interest in and/or own
How you may access or correct the personal information that we are holding?
- We will only collect, hold, use and disclose personal and sensitive information that is reasonably necessary for us as an organisation to carry out our activities and functions.
- These activities and functions include:
- In our agency business we use personal information collected from you for the purpose for which it was collected which is to act as your agent and to perform our obligations under our agreement with you.
- Personal information collected by us in the course of a tenancy application and any subsequent tenancy is necessary for us to verify your identity, to process and evaluate your application and to manage the tenancy. Personal information about you collected in the application and during the course of the tenancy, including through property inspection reports, may be disclosed to other parties as permitted by the Privacy Act including to the landlord, referees, other agents and operators of tenancy reference databases. Information already held on tenancy reference databases may also be disclosed to us. If you fail to comply with your obligations under the tenancy agreement, that fact may also be disclosed to the landlord, other agents and operators of tenancy reference databases.
- We use personal information collected from you for a range of reasons. These include security purposes and to contact you with respect to this property and other properties which we believe may interest you and in providing the information you agree to these uses unless you advise us differently. If the information is not provided, we may not be able to provide an effective service to you. We may provide access to your personal information to third parties with whom we have a business relationship, for example solicitors and/or conveyancing. Other than in the circumstances allowed under the Privacy Act, we do not disclose information of this kind to other parties.
We may also disclose or use your personal information without your consent in the following circumstances:
- For a reasonably expected purpose which is related to the purposes for collecting the information as contemplated by this policy
- We are authorised or required to do so by law (for example, we are required by law to provide your details to government-related bodies including the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority and Residential Tenancies Tribunal).
- The disclosure is to a Credit reporting agency in connection with recovering amounts which you owe to us.
- We reasonably believe it is reasonably necessary to assist an enforcement body to perform its functions
- If we believe it is reasonably necessary to prevent a threat to life, health or safety.
We may also disclose or use your personal information without your consent in the following circumstances:
We shall take all reasonable steps to make sure that any personal information we collect, use, hold or disclose is accurate, complete and up to date.You can access the personal information we are holding about you at any time (subject to the exceptions provide by the APPs). We ask that such a request is to be in writing. There will be no charge for providing the information to you. If you would like to access such information, please contact us and we will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible.Palliser Real Estate will give access in the manner requested unless it is unreasonable or impractical to do so. Access will generally be granted within 30 days of the request.We will try to make sure that the personal information we hold is up to date, correct, complete and relevant. However, from time to time, we may need your assistance to identify if we are holding incorrect or out of date personal information. If you would like to update or correct the personal information that we are holding, please contact us (our contact details are set out at the bottom of our privacy policy). A dated record will be kept of any corrections to personal information. We will not charge you for any request to correct your personal information.
3. Complaints Policy
COMPLAINT HANDLING AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION POLICYAt Palliser Real Estate we like to achieve and perform to the highest professional standards of our industry. However, if for any reason you feel we have not lived up to our ambitions and you need to raise a complaint, then the following should assist you.
How to make a complaint
We will endeavour to resolve your complaint as soon as possible. However, the length of time will depend on the nature and complexity of the issues you have raised. You will receive acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint from us within two business days. We will give you an estimate of how long it may take us to deal with the matter and will endeavour to finalise the matter within 5 business days.
What action will we take in response to your complaint?If we determine that your complaint is justified, we will then decide what action we should take in response. We will always try to match our response to the nature of your complaint and the desired outcome. Some of the things we might do include:
Seek to understand the situation in full by clarifying the situation with those primarily involved. Take steps to rectify the problem or issue you have raised. Provide you with additional information or advice so you can understand what happened or how we have dealt with it. Take steps to change our policies or procedures if your complaint identifies a problem in the way we are doing things. What if you're still unhappy?
Sometimes it will not be possible to resolve a complaint to everyone's satisfaction, and you might want to contact your legal representative or Consumer Affairs Victoria for further information.If you need to register a complaint with Palliser, please contact
Principal Wendy Palliser on 0 3 94594780 or 0407532044Email: palliser@live.com.au
How to make a complaint
- Please provide as many details as possible about the nature of your complaint, including the outcome you would like in order to resolve the matter.
- How we will handle your complaint
- We will treat the process, and all the details of your complaint, in strict confidence.
- How long will it take?
We will endeavour to resolve your complaint as soon as possible. However, the length of time will depend on the nature and complexity of the issues you have raised. You will receive acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint from us within two business days. We will give you an estimate of how long it may take us to deal with the matter and will endeavour to finalise the matter within 5 business days.
What action will we take in response to your complaint?If we determine that your complaint is justified, we will then decide what action we should take in response. We will always try to match our response to the nature of your complaint and the desired outcome. Some of the things we might do include:
Seek to understand the situation in full by clarifying the situation with those primarily involved. Take steps to rectify the problem or issue you have raised. Provide you with additional information or advice so you can understand what happened or how we have dealt with it. Take steps to change our policies or procedures if your complaint identifies a problem in the way we are doing things. What if you're still unhappy?
Sometimes it will not be possible to resolve a complaint to everyone's satisfaction, and you might want to contact your legal representative or Consumer Affairs Victoria for further information.If you need to register a complaint with Palliser, please contact
Principal Wendy Palliser on 0 3 94594780 or 0407532044Email: palliser@live.com.au