1. This document sets out Inquyr’s rules that participants must follow when dealing with any real estate on the Inquyr Site (for example listing, selling or purchasing real estate).  These rules must be read in conjunction with the Inquyr Site Terms of Use and by using and accessing the Inquyr Site you agree to be bound by these rules.
2. We may change these rules at anytime.  

Real Estate

3. Only the following types of real estate can be dealt with on the Inquyr Site:
   1. 1. residential real estate (including off-the-plan sales);
      2. commercial real estate;
      3. industrial real estate; and
      4. vacant land;

(collectively, “Real Estate”).

4. No other dealings must occur on the Inquyr Site.  For example, the Inquyr Site must not be used to promote any business or services.
5. Currently, only Real Estate located in either Victoria or New South Wales can be dealt with on the Inquyr Site.

Eligibility

6. To be eligible to register as a User on the Inquyr Site:
   1. 1. if the User is an individual, they must be over 18 years of age; and
      2. if the User is registering on behalf of a body corporate, all representatives who use the Inquyr Site on behalf of the body corporate must be over 18 years of age;
7. Real Estate can only be dealt with on the Inquyr Site if:
   1. 1. the vendor has the capacity to enter into a legally binding contract;
      2. in the case of a User selling property, the User is the vendor of the Real Estate or has been duly appointed and authorised by the vendor of the Real Estate to deal with the Real Estate on the Inquyr Site;
      3. the User is not restricted in anyway from dealing with Real Estate in Victoria or New South Wales (as applicable) through use of the Inquyr Site;
      4. the User has agreed to be bound by the Inquyr Site Terms of Use; and
      5. the vendor of the Real Estate engages either an Australian legal practitioner or registered conveyancer (Representative) to act for the vendor and prepare the necessary sale documentation.
8. Estate agents, developers, solicitors and conveyancers are all permitted to register as Users on the Inquyr Site provided that they identify themselves as such a User when registering.  
9. If a User registers as an estate agent, they represent and warrant to us that they hold a licence to carry on the business of an estate agent under either the:
   1. 1. the Estate Agent’s Act 1980 (Vic); or
      2. the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 (NSW).
10. If a User is an estate agent, they must comply with their obligations under the above legislation (as applicable) when dealing with Real Estate on the Inquyr Site. For example, when advertising a residential property in Victoria estate agents must generally ensure that:
    1. 1. the estimate price is reasonable;
       2. the estimate price takes into account the sale prices of the 3 comparable properties to the property for sale;
       3. the estimate price does not use any qualifying words or symbols, such as 'from', 'offers above', or '+'; and
       4. if a price range is stated, the difference between the upper and lower limits of the range must not exceed 10% of the amount of the lower limit of the range (e.g. $500,000 – $550,000).

Further, in Victoria, an estate agent engaged or appointed to sell any residential property must prepare a statement of information for the residential property that includes certain prescribed information and must (among other things) ensure included with any advertisement for the sale of the residential property published by or on behalf of the agent on any internet site during the period that the residential property is offered for sale.

Listing of Real Estate on the Inquyr Site

11. In order to list Real Estate for sale on the Inquyr Site, a User must:
    1. 1. register as a User with Inquyr and provide all requested details;
       2. fill out the “Property List” form on the Inquyr Site;
       3. select the selling method, being either “sale by tender”, “expressions of interest” or “buy now” (explained below);
       4. provide the details of the Representative for the Real Estate listing; and
       5. select any referral services that will be purchased in connection with the listing.
12. The User must accurately and fully describe the Real Estate in the listing. For example:
    1. 1. specific lot numbers and other details of the Real Estate must be included;
       2. no pictures or images which are not of the actual Real Estate should be included;
       3. no misleading or deceptive statements should be included; and
       4. no material information should be omitted.
13. If the Real Estate is an “off the plan sale” then this should be made clear in the listing.
14. A User may nominate times for an open for inspection that will be hosted at the site of the Real Estate.  The Use will be responsible for managing the open for inspection process.
15. All vendors and purchasers must be successfully ID verified prior to completing a sale on the Inquyr Site (for more information on the verification method see the Inquyr Site Terms of Use).  In particular, all prospective purchasers must have their identity verified:
    1. 1. before submitting an offer to purchase Real Estate on the Inquyr Site; and
       2. as part of the completion of sale documentation process (see clause 35 below).

Preparation of documents for listing of Real Estate on the Inquyr Site

16. The vendor’s Representative is required to prepare (or at a minimum must review) the contract of sale of Real Estate, the guarantee or indemnity (if any) and all other documentation required to be disclosed to a prospective purchaser in the state in which the Real Estate is located e.g. such as a vendor statement (Vendor Disclosure Documentation).  The Real Estate will not be listed on the Inquyr Site until the Vendor Disclosure Documentation has been uploaded to the Inquyr Site.
17. The Vendor Disclosure Documentation will be viewable by the general public on the Inquyr Site.  
18. Once the Representative’s details have been provided to us for any Real Estate, we will contact the Representative:
    1. 1. to provide instructions on how to upload the Vendor Disclosure Documentation and any other required documentation to the Inquyr Site (this must be done by the Representative); and
       2. collect the Representative’s trust details in which a successful purchaser will be directed to pay the deposit.
19. The Representative may add special conditions to the contract of sale.  The vendor and any prospective purchaser may agree during negotiations to vary the special conditions in the contract of sale (including by adding in additional special conditions).
20. The Representative may subsequently make amendments to the documents uploaded to the Inquyr Site by uploading the amended documents. Only the most recently uploaded documents will be shown on the Inquyr Site.
21. However, we cannot update the documents uploaded to the Inquyr Site after the purchaser and the vendor have agreed to buy and sell the Real Estate.

Sale by tender

22. A vendor may choose to offer or list Real Estate on the Inquyr Site for sale by tender. Under a sale by tender, the listing will show the vendor’s preferred particulars of sale, including:
    1. 1. price;
       2. settlement period; and
       3. the deadline for all tenders to be submitted by (Tender Submission Date).
23. A prospective purchaser may submit an offer to purchase your Real Estate Listed as sale by tender prior to the Tender Submission Date. This offer may:
    1. 1. vary or add to the special conditions listed in the contract of sale;
       2. propose variations to the particulars of sale. For example, changes to the settlement date, price, or the amount of the deposit; and
       3. subject to clauses 24 and 25, specify how long the offer is open for.  
24. The offer must be valid for at least 5 business days after the Tender Submission Date. No offers may be submitted after the Tender Submission Date. 
25. Subject to clause 24, a prospective purchaser may withdraw an offer at anytime before it is accepted by the vendor.
26. A vendor may respond to an offer with a counter offer.  This is managed through the Inquyr Site dashboard.  A vendor may withdraw the counter offer at anytime before it is accepted by the purchaser.
27. If a vendor accepts an offer, the listing will be marked as ‘under offer’ on the Inquyr Site and the vendor will be directed to complete the sale documentation with the purchaser. Until this sale documentation has been completed and signed by the vendor and purchaser there will be no binding contract of sale.

Expression of interest

28. A vendor may choose to sell Real Estate on the Inquyr Site through an expressions of interest sale process. Under this sale process the listing will show the vendor’s preferred particulars of sale, including:
    1. 1. price; and
       2. settlement period;

but the Real Estate will be listed with no time limit.

29. Through this function, prospective purchasers can submit offers at anytime and the vendor is able to accept, decline and negotiate with prospective purchasers (e.g. by making counter offers) to initiate a sale.
30. If a vendor accepts an offer, the listing will be marked as ‘under offer’ on the Inquyr Site and the vendor will be directed to complete the sale documentation with the purchaser. Until this sale documentation has been completed and signed by the vendor and purchaser there will be no binding contract of sale.

Buy now

31. The vendor may choose to sell Real Estate on the Inquyr Site by using the ‘buy now’ function.  If Real Estate is listed using the ‘buy now’ function, the vendor is indicating an intention to sell the Real Estate on the terms set out in the listing with a fixed price and fixed contract terms.
32. Under this sale process the listing will show the vendor’s preferred particulars of sale, including:
    1. 1. price; and
       2. settlement period;

and prospective purchasers will be advised that these particulars of sale are non-negotiable.

33. A prospective purchaser may agree to purchase the Real Estate listed as ‘buy now’ by clicking the buy now button on the listing. 
34. If a vendor accepts an offer made using the ‘buy-now’ function, the listing will be marked as sold ‘under offer’ on the Inquyr Site and the vendor will be directed to complete the sale documentation with the purchaser. Until this sale documentation has been completed and signed by the vendor and purchaser there will be no binding contract of sale.

Completion of the sale documentation

35. Once the particulars of sale and any special conditions have been agreed to by the vendor and purchaser:
    1. 1. The registered User of the vendor accepts the offer made by the purchaser and, at this time, the registered User of the vendor must pay Inquyr’s fee.
       2. The vendor’s Representative will then be sent the details of the agreed sale terms and will be requested to prepare the contract of sale and to upload the completed contract of sale to the Inquyr Site.
       3. The registered User of the purchaser will then be directed to download and review the contract.  If the contract is in order the registered User of the purchaser is directed to arrange for the purchaser to verify their identity, sign the contract of sale and then upload the signed contract to the Inquyr site.
       4. The vendor’s Representative is then directed to download and review the signed contract of sale.  If the contract is in order, the registered User of the vendor is directed to arrange for the vendor verify their identity and to sign the contract. The registered User of the vendor then uploads the fully executed signed contract of sale to the Inquyr Site.
       5. The registered Users will then receive an email advising that the contract of sale has been fully executed.  A download of the fully executed contract is made available on the Inquyr Site.
       6. The registered User of the purchaser is sent the trust account details of the vendor’s Representative and asked to upload evidence that transfer of the deposit has been made.  This will then be sent to the registered User of the purchaser.
       7. The registered Users are notified to contact their respective conveyancers or legal practitioners to coordinate settlement.
36. In some circumstances, other sale documents may need to be signed e.g. such as guarantee and indemnity.  The execution process outlined above will apply to these documents.
37. Signatures on some sale documents may also need to be witnessed.  Where this is the case, witnesses to the signing of the document must be in the physical presence of the person signing the document when they apply their signature to the document. 
38. There are also some circumstances where sale documentation to be entered into is drafted as a deed. If any sale document purports to be a deed, the parties should seek legal advice as to whether these documents can be executed using electronic signatures if it is intended that they are to be signed electronically.
39. Vendors and purchaser should always carefully read the all sale documents before applying their signature to the document.

Community guidelines

40. We reserve our right to maintain the quality of the Inquyr Site by:
    1. 1. making directions to Users to amend content; or
       2. removing any content posted by Users on the Inquyr Site.
41. All Users must only use the Inquyr Site for the purposes for which it was designed and not for any other purpose.  All Users must use the Inquyr Site in a responsible manner.
42. Only one piece of Real Estate may be offered for sale in each listing.
43. If a User is a developer, they must only list Real Estate which is either an individual new house and land package, an individual new apartmens, an individual land allotment, or similar single piece of Real Estate in each listing.
44. You must only list Real Estate which you own, or have authority to sell.
45. Users ensure that any statement, content or material uploaded to the Inquyr Site:
    1. 1. does not breach any laws;
       2. is not provided for an improper purpose;
       3. is not misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive;
       4. is not defamatory, offensive, fraudulent, indecent, abusive or threatening; and
       5. does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third parties or expose Inquyr to any liability.

Interpretation

46. Unless context otherwise requires, a word or term not defined in these rules has the same meaning it has in the Inquyr Site Terms of Use.