Almost one in three vendor statements we reviewed hadn't yet been signed by the seller

The vendor statement, or section 32, is the seller's signed declaration about the property. In 450 of the 1,410 contracts we reviewed, it hadn't been signed when the contract went out. That's often innocent. It's still worth checking before you sign.

The vendor statement is the part of the contract where the seller tells you what they know.

Rates. Planning. Easements and covenants. Building works. The owners corporation. Notices from council or other authorities.

Most people call it the section 32, after the section of Victoria's Sale of Land Act that requires it.

The seller signs it to declare that what's in it is complete and accurate.

What we found

Timing matters here.

We see contracts when the agent first sends them out, often before any offer has been made. At that point, the vendor statement can still be a working document. The seller may well sign it later, before any buyer signs the contract.

So an unsigned vendor statement isn't a sign that anything is wrong with the property, or that anyone has done anything wrong.

It's a sign to check again before you sign.

A signed vendor statement is the seller putting their name to the disclosures.

Under Victorian law, the seller must give the buyer a signed vendor statement before the buyer signs the contract. It is an offence not to. If that doesn't happen, the buyer may have a right to end the contract before settlement.

That right isn't automatic, it has exceptions, and it isn't something to plan around. It's far simpler to make sure the statement is signed before you sign.

There's a second reason to check.

Roughly one in six contracts are amended after they are issued, as Article 5 found. If the vendor statement changes along the way, the signed version may not be the one you read.

What to check before you sign

Most of the time, an unsigned vendor statement gets signed and nothing more comes of it.

But the signature is what gives the disclosures their weight. It's one line on one page, and it deserves ten seconds of your attention before you commit to the biggest purchase of your life.

Send us your contract.

A Prepared lawyer will review your contract the same day, for free, including whether the vendor statement has been signed and what it discloses.