Think very carefully before signing anything with Clockwork Properties

Think very carefully before signing anything with Clockwork Properties

Our experience with Clockwork Properties has been extremely stressful and has completely changed the way we will approach property transactions in future.

As first-time home buyers, we entered this process genuinely excited about purchasing our first home. Unfortunately, when the transaction later had to be cancelled, what followed became an incredibly difficult and financially stressful experience.

We fully understand that an Offer to Purchase is legally binding and that cancelling a property transaction can have financial consequences. We are not trying to avoid responsibility. What has been upsetting is the way the situation has unfolded and how little consideration we feel has been given to what we can realistically afford.

We have tried to resolve the matter amicably. We have legal representation assisting us and have proposed a repayment arrangement based on our genuine affordability. Despite this, the repayment being demanded is simply beyond what we can realistically afford, while additional potential costs and damages have also been raised.

We are even prepared to provide proof of our income, expenses and financial commitments to demonstrate our financial position. We aren’t refusing to find a resolution — we are asking for one that we can realistically afford and actually honour.

As first-time buyers, this experience has been devastating. Something that began with excitement about buying our first home has turned into legal correspondence, financial claims and an enormous amount of stress.

The entire experience has left us feeling financially cornered and exploited by the situation, rather than feeling that there is a genuine attempt to find a reasonable solution that takes our actual circumstances into account.

My strongest advice to other buyers, especially first-time buyers, is: protect yourself before you sign anything. Read every clause of the OTP carefully. Have an independent attorney review it if you are uncertain. Ask exactly what happens if the transaction needs to be cancelled. Understand the commission clauses, damages, transfer-related costs and every possible financial consequence before putting pen to paper.

Based on our personal experience, I would never choose to work with Clockwork Properties again, and I cannot recommend them.

We have learned an incredibly painful and expensive lesson from what was supposed to be one of the happiest milestones of our lives.

If this review helps even one first-time buyer slow down, ask more questions and protect themselves before signing, then at least something positive will have come from our experience.