Pay your house deposit

There is always a deposit payable to the real estate agent when you have signed a contract of sale…

But did you know the deposit is paid in two parts?

The deposit is detailed on Page 3 of the signed Contract of Sale. 

The deposit in Queensland is split into two parts on the Contract of Sale, (1) the holding deposit and (2) the balance deposit. Both need to be paid for the contract to become unconditional.

The first is a holding deposit (also called the initial deposit) and is usually a small amount of $500 to $2,000 (or up to 0.25%) to secure the property.

The holding deposit shows you are serious about wanting to buy the property and needs to be paid within 3 business days of signing the contract of sale…

Or your signed contract of sale can be considered VOID.

The balance deposit is more substantial, either a set per cent of the purchase price (like 5% or 10%) or a set amount like $25,000.

And the balance deposit is paid once your finance and other conditions have been met.

The deposit can be made via electronic funds transfer, cheque or in rare cases cash.

The deposit is paid directly to the real estate agents trust account.

The deposit is paid directly to the real estate agents trust account either by Electronic Funds Transfer, Cheque or Bank Transfer.

The deposit holder (generally the real estate agents) trust account details are on page 3 of the standard signed contract of sale in Queensland.

The contract of sale also tells you where to make the deposit payment, usually this is to the real estate agents trust account.

Once you pay your holding, and actual deposit you need to request a receipt from the real estate agent to confirm this has been paid.

The real estate agent will hold the deposit in their trust account until settlement, and the amount you pay in deposit will reduce how much you need to pay at settlement.

In other words, if your purchase price is $500,000 minus bank loan of $450,000 and you had paid $10,000 initial deposit, you only need to pay the balance or $40,000 at settlement.

Once you have paid your deposit on a property, you have legal right over the property called a financial interest… Make sure you get your insurance sorted ASAP.

Source: Canstar.