How To Bid On SLOD!
Bidding on SLOD! is simple, safe and swift. The basic steps are as follows:
Prepare and submit your bid
Here's how you bid for a property on SLOD!.
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Visit the property - When you visit the property you will be asked to provide photo ID, for security purposes and to cross-check when you register online as a bidder. You will be asked to provide your name and a contact telephone number. (If the property is land only, we will contact you after you have submitted your bid to confirm your identity and bona fides.) |
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Bid online - Go to the listing for the property you intend to purchase, and click on the "Bid on this Property" button. You will be required to register as a bidder by entering your name and address, telephone number and email address. (The details you provide when you register will be checked against the details provided when you visited the property, as a cross-check to eliminate dummy bidding.) |
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Bid on paper - For those who prefer hard-copy, a Bid to Buy form is included with the disclosure document. Go to the listing for the property you intend to purchase, and click on the "Disclosure" button. The disclosure document will include a Bid to Buy form, and this can be printed, completed by hand, and emailed, faxed or posted to Lawyers Real Estate. |
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Submit your bid - If you submit your bid online you will receive an email confirmation, your bid will appear in the the listing's bid history (accessible by clicking on the "Bid History" button on the listing page of the property), and all other bidders will be notified by email that a fresh bid has been submitted. If you submit a hard-copy (paper) bid, a Lawyers Real Estate staff member will enter the details of your bid into SLOD!, and you will receive email notification when it has been uploaded. It is likely that you will also receive a telephone call from Lawyers Real Estate, in order to confirm your bid, as part of our integrity procedures (see our Bidding Integrity FAQ for more information about this). |
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Receive our follow-up call - We will contact you very promptly to confirm your bid (as part of our integrity verification procedure - see "Bidding Integrity FAQ"), and to let you know that we're acting on your bid. You will not be lefting wondering what's going on. (Please be patient if you've placed your bid outside of business hours.)
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Remember, it costs you nothing to submit a bid, and no obligations can arise from submitting a bid. By submitting a bid you are simply expressing your interest in the property, informing the vendor of the amount you are prepared to pay for the property, and inviting the vendor to enter into negotiations with a view to selling the property to you at the price indicated in your bid.
Follow the progress of bidding
After submitting your bid you will want to know if it is acceptable to the vendor. You will also want to know if anyone else is interested in the property, and how much they are prepared to bid. By keeping track of the bidding, you can see how competitive your bid is, and you can make decisions about updating your bid.
There is no pressure when bidding on SLOD!, and you will not miss out on a property because of a deadline or a mistake. SLOD! is designed to include everyone in the bidding process, to make bidding an orderly process, and to allow proper personal negotiations to take place without unnecessary pressure or hassle.
Negotiate the final details of your purchase
While SLOD! invites bidding on an auction-like basis, it does not result in an instant sale to the highest bidder. If the highest bid is made on terms that are not acceptable to the vendor, the vendor may enter into negotiations with other bidders.
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Negotiations with the highest bidder - Having the highest bid means that you are best placed to buy the property. In most cases, when bidding has reached a point where the vendor is prepared to sell the property, the vendor will enter into final negotiations with the highest bidder. |
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Two or more highest bidders - Because of the flexibility built into SLOD! and the Lawyers Real Estate sale concept, it is possible (although rare) that more than one "highest bidder" can emerge. For example, we may receive 3 bids for exactly the same amount if one is completed online, another is submitted by fax, and another is made through a purchaser's lawyer, and it is impossible to determine the priority of the bids before uploading them to SLOD! In such a situation we will enter into negotiations with each of the highest bidders. |
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Negotiations include conditions - While price is the first consideration when selecting a purchaser, the conditions on which the price is offered are also very important. For example, if the highest bid is conditional on the bidder selling their property, the highest price may not be as attractive as the second-highest price. Negotiations will include discussions about special conditions, settlement period, and other matters of importance to the parties. |
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Negotiations concluded - Negotiations will conclude when both parties are satisfied with the negotiated terms. The negotiated terms are then put in writing, usually by creating a computer-generated standard form Contract of Sale of Real Estate, based on the Bid to Buy completed by the purchaser. |
While the negotiation stage may appear to be complex, most negotiations take place very quickly. Some sales take place within 24 hours, particularly if the first bidder makes the vendor "an offer they can't refuse". (See Impress the vendor with a knock-out bid.)
Sign a formal Contract of Sale of Real Estate
Nothing is final until both parties have signed a formal Contract of Sale of Real Estate.
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Contract prepared - When the details of the sale have been negotiated, and the parties are in full agreement about the terms of the sale, a standard form Contract of Sale of Real Estate is generated, based on the details provided in the Bid to Buy. The purchaser makes a formal, and binding, offer to purchase the property by signing the contract and submitting it to the vendor through Lawyers Real Estate. |
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Contract sent - The Contract will be sent to the purchaser, usually by email as a PDF document. It may be sent direct to the purchaser, or to the purchaser's nominated legal representative, or both. It is possible that more than one Contract will be prepared and send to a number of potential purchasers, just in case the leading purchaser decides not to proceed, or makes last-minute changes to the Contract that render it unacceptable to the vendor. |
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Contracts signed and returned - When the Contract has been sent to the purchaser, the vendor will expect it to be signed and submitted promptly. Until the signed Contract is returned, the vendor is entitled to entertain further offers on the property and may even sell it to a late-comer. If more than one Contract has been sent out, the vendor may decide to sell to the party who is first to return their signed contract. The final decision as to which party has their formal offer accepted is, at all times, entirely up to the vendor. |
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Contract signed by the vendor - SLOD! - When a signed Contract is received from a purchaser, the vendor has signed it to accept purchaser's offer, and the purchaser has been informed that their offer has been accepted, the property is SLOD! (of course, SLOD! means sold). |
But wait, there's more! Even at this stage, the property may not be finally SLOD! This is because the sale may still be cancelled by the purchaser if:
- The purchaser is entitled to a "cooling off" period; or
- The purchaser has included special conditions that allow for cancellation (such as where the sale is "subject to home loan approval").
If the sale is cancelled, the property will be returned to the market, with under-bidders being given a further opportunity to purchase.
In most cases a property that has been SLOD! will remain sold, and the matter will proceed to the conveyancing stage.
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