Read the Fine Print

A Sydney tradie has lost his $241,500 deposit due to not fully understanding the wording of a contract. The $4.8 million deal on a luxury Sydney property fell over because the buyer, pool fence contractor Theo Alexakis, missed the payment date by two days and the sellers cancelled the exchange.

The house on a large block with waterfront views in the high-end suburb of Vaucluse was supposed to settle on April 4, 2019. The contract’s fine print stipulated the deposit balance must be paid “on the fourth month after the contract date”. The buyer assumed this would mean any day during the fourth month after the exchange.

The court found that, although the contract’s language was “awkward”, the full amount still needed to be paid before August 5, 2019. Mr Alexakis was holidaying in Greece and was returning on April the 6th. Assuming that the deposit balance could wait the extra two days meant it became a very expensive holiday.