Selling Property in Sydney

Summer Sale – Selling your property:

For a limited time, if you engage us to act for you on the sale of your property and you then decide, after you engage us to withdraw your property from sale, we will not charge you any legal fees other than disbursements.
Disbursements are the fees we are charged to obtain the essential documents that are required by law to be in a Contract for Sale.

Property Conveyancing Solicitors Sydney offer a fixed fee on our conveyancing services for selling property in Sydney.

As part of our sales service, we will help you prepare your contract for sale and ensure that all necessary reports and certificates are located and attached to ensure an efficient process. This includes the essential documents disclosing the nature of the property required by legislation to be included in the contract, such as a council zoning certificate, sewer diagram, plan of the property and title searches.

A contract must by law be prepared before your property can be marketed for sale.

Download Sellers Instruction Sheet

Certain documents must be provided with the contract such as a copy of the Certificate of Title, the Plan and any related documents, a Drainage Diagram and s149 Zoning Certificate. In the Balmain area we recommend an identification survey also be provided.

Some contracts may need to have included in them a building certificate and a home owners warranty certificate. We can advise you on whether these should be included.

Once you are happy with your contract we will submit it to your choice of real estate agent for marketing.

When a buyer is found contracts are signed and formally exchanged i.e., the purchaser signs their contract, the seller signs their contract and they are swapped. The (usual) 10% deposit is also handed over at this time. We prefer to attend on exchange however some agents do the exchange themselves.

The deposit is usually held by the selling agent and is released to you after settlement less their fees and charges. Commission rates can vary between agents so we recommend you shop around and obtain a written guide to the agent’s fees, commissions and expenses before you sign an agreement with them. Also see this Tenants and Homeowners factsheet.

The usual time frame for completion of your sale from the day contracts are signed and exchanged to handover of settlement money and keys is 6 weeks but some parties may want to negotiate for a longer or shorter period. We will ensure your property is sold on your terms.

If you choose to sell by auction the contract does not include a cooling off period. A cooling off period can apply when you sell by private treaty and this allows 5 days for the Purchaser to carry out their pest and building inspections and obtain a strata report if it is a unit being sold. If at the end of the 5 day cooling off period the Purchaser does not proceed then they forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price. A cooling off period can be waived such that the buyer is locked in from the day contracts are exchanged.

At settlement you receive the balance of the settlement money including an adjustment for any water or council rates you have prepaid. Our invoice is paid at or before settlement along with the settlement agent’s approx $70 fee. You don’t need to attend settlement in person – we do it all for you including arranging paying out your mortgage (if any) at settlement.