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Aug 28, 2014

Where's my money?

When we act for sellers, generally the sale proceeds are collected at settlement in one of two ways. Either:

Every few weeks we have a seller ring us on the day of settlement saying the sale proceeds are not showing up in their bank account yet. It is quite COMMON for the sale proceeds to not show on their bank statement until the NEXT BUSINESS DAY, so don't panic if you can't see the money in your online bank statement straight away.

Further, as it is a bank cheque, there is generally a three business day wait until the cheque clears and you can draw on the funds.

If you need to draw on the funds earlier there are two courses of action open to you:

  1. Arrange early clearance of the settlement cheque with your bank, however this is at the bank's discretion and is not always possible, and there is sometimes a hefty fee for this service as well; or
  2. Request an additional cheque at settlement payable to whomever you need the money for. This is very commonly done when sale proceeds from one property are being used at a settlement for another property taking place either simultaneously or within the three days it takes for funds to clear.

If we get conflicting instructions from our seller client, for example that we are to collect net sale proceeds but the bank demands full proceeds on the morning of settlement, we will generally try to contact you for clarification, but sometimes it is not possible to contact sellers, in which case the bank's instructions prevail. 

We generally would be loathe to call settlement off in these circumstances because it may render our seller client legally vulnerable, so it's important that sellers understand the instructions they are giving to their banks on the Release of Security form, which is increasingly completed online. It's not a bad idea to print or copy it and provide it to us so we are fully informed as to your intentions.

If a seller has instructed their bank to collect full proceeds and the funds do not appear to be in the correct account the following business day, s/he should contact the bank. It is preferable in any property dealing involving a bank that clients have the name of the bank lending officer dealing with the matter, along with their email address and direct phone line and mobile to ensure rapid lines of communication can be opened should they be required at the sharp end of settlement.

DISCLAIMER: The above advice is intended to provide a summary and is not intended to be relied on in any particular case. It should NOT be construed as legal advice. For detailed advice specific to your circumstances you should seek specific advice from an appropriately qualified professional.
 

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