A Section 32 is the statement made by the Vendor (Seller) on the state of the property as required by the Sale of Land Act, Section 32.

There are 9 parts of the Section 32 where the Vendor is obliged to disclose information relating to the property, failure to disclose information could make the contract void. These include:

• Financial Matters, rates taxes and other charges.
• Insurance, the vendor is responsible to maintaining insurance on the property.
• Use of Land, this includes zoning and any restrictions on the land.
• Notices, all notice currently active on the property.
• Building Permits, any permits for the past 7 years must be included.
• Owners Corporation, if applicable.
• GAIC, Growth areas infrastructure contribution, if applicable.
• Services, such as electricity, gas, water, telephone and more common internet.
• Title, what type of title, who is the Title holder and if any finance is owed on the property it also addresses the questions does in have any covenants, caveats or Section 173 restrictions. The title also will tell the purchaser if property subject to subdivision or any planning provisions.

At Central Victoria Conveyancing, we ensure that the vendor has support in preparing the Section 32, we have a comprehensive questionnaire that we have prepared to make sure all the information required is included. The Vendor Questionnaire is completed at the same time as the Verification of Identity at the initial appointment.

As conveyancer’s we compile all the information do the relevant search’s and obtain the certificates to verify the information, this can take up to three weeks to prepare depending on the type of sale and locality. When complete we send it to the Vendor to review and sign. Occasionally the Vendor may notice items they may not have been aware of and may need to take action to make the property compliant. When the Vendor has signed the Section 32 it is ready for the purchaser.

It is important to note the Section 32 must be given to the Purchaser prior to them signing the contract.

When we represent the Purchaser, our role is to make sure the information provided is correct, advise the purchaser of any areas of concern and investigate then obtain a final searches and verify the amount of financial obligations are outstanding on the property.