What’s The Process For Selling A Property?

If you’ve been thinking of selling your property but aren’t sure where to begin, this guide provides an overview of the conveyancing process when selling real estate in New South Wales.
The guide is intended to provide a general overview only, and individual transactions will vary.

1. Find A Lawyer

Before a property can be marketed for sale in New South Wales, a contract for sale of land must be prepared by a lawyer.

The contract must include certain prescribed documents such as title searches, plans of the land, planning and zoning information, and sewerage and drainage diagrams. Where the property is part of a strata scheme, there will also be various strata related documents in the contract such as copies of the registered by-laws.

In addition to this, your lawyer will include the terms and conditions of the sale. This includes things such as when settlement will take place, how a deposit gets paid, who is responsible for what searches and costs during the conveyancing process, and what will happen if something goes wrong during the transaction.

2. Appoint a real estate agent

Once the contract has been prepared, a real estate agent can legally market your property for sale. Once you’ve selected a real estate agent, they will usually provide you with an exclusive agency agreement which dictates the terms of their engagement.

Once your agent has been engaged, they will make suggestions on how to achieve the best sale price for your property which will include things such as making touch-ups to the property, decorating the property in a specific way, advertising the property on online platforms, and coming up with a timeline and plan for your sale campaign.

3. Negotiation and exchange of contracts

Once a prospective purchaser is interested in your property, the negotiations will begin. Your real estate agent will typically be responsible for negotiating price with potential purchasers, while your lawyer will be responsible for negotiating the terms of the contract.

Once a contract has been provided to a potential purchaser, they will usually have their own lawyer review the contract and at that stage they may have their lawyer contact your lawyer to negotiate certain terms in the contract.

Once the parties have reached agreement on the terms of the contract, the purchaser will pay a deposit (usually 10% of the price) and the parties will sign, date, and exchange identical counterparts of the final contract. This is known as ‘exchanging contracts’ and is the point at which the sale gets locked in.

4. Settlement

Once contracts are exchanged, there will be a settlement period (usually 42) during which the parties will prepare for settlement. This will include things such as signing loan paperwork, adjusting outstanding rates, and preparing the title transfer documentation.

On the day of settlement the purchaser will pay the balance of the purchase price owing, and the vendor will sign a transfer document which will transfer ownership of the land to the purchaser. Settlement will usually take place electronically between the lawyers on either side of the transaction, and no physical exchange of documents or money is required.

5. Other considerations

If you are selling an investment property, it’s also a great idea to speak with your accountant prior to starting the sale process, so that you are aware of any tax obligations that may fall due because of your sale. Depending on how you have used the property in the past, you could be liable for capital gains tax or goods and services tax.

If you’re thinking of selling your property, the team at Thornton + King oversee hundreds of property sales each year. The experts in our property law team have been working on property transactions for decades, and our team includes one of the few Law Society Accredited Specialists in the state. We’d love to hear from you. Give us a call or submit an enquiry now.

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What our customers say

Andy was fantastic with our families recent property purchases. We had a longer wait to settle but Andy kept us updated on the status and next steps. As with property purchases the stress levels are high but Andy was calm and reassuring and made the process as seamless as possible. Would recommend Andy and Alan for your next property purchase.

Kylie Bone

a week ago

October 31st, 2022

Highly recommended. The team at Thornton + King was very responsive, very knowledgeable and professional. We felt extremely supported and at ease throughout the sale of our IP. Definitely engaging with the firm again for our next property acquisition/sale.

Jerry L

3 months ago

October 31st, 2022

My wife & I have engaged Vanessa Caputo for conveyancing numerous times over the last 10 years. Our experience has been consistently good. Vanessa is able to tap into her considerable experience to provide salient advice & guidance throughout the whole process, be it a property purchase or a sale. We've also received great service from Vanessa's support team, particularly Andy Ha...

Neil O'Malley

4 months ago

October 31st, 2022

Awesome work by Andy. Kept me in the loop at all times and ensured that a smooth settlement went through for my clients. Highly recommend!

Melvin Bautista

2 months ago

October 31st, 2022

Highly recommended. We were very nervous about our purchase via our Super Fund and these guys are all over it. Kept us calm, knew exactly what to do and were super efficient, even though it was over the Christmas/New Year period, they were there! Thank you so much Vanessa, Alan and Amber who looked after us.

Chriss Costi

9 months ago

October 31st, 2022

I have used Thornton + King's service for the purchase of our first home. All throughout the process, they have been very professional and honest with their feedback. They ensured that we understand the impacts of clauses in the contract and possible risks associated with them. We have been able to take informed decisions for every single time and at the end had a very smooth set...

Narayanan Unni

a year ago

October 31st, 2022

Thornton and King were engaged by my wife and I to handle the sale of our apartment. This was our first engagement with them as our previous solicitor had retired and they came highly recommended. I must say I found the experience smooth and faultless. The communication was concise and clear. All aspects were handled with professionalism and at all times we felt our sale was thei...

Neil Ashley

a year ago

October 31st, 2022

The solicitors and support team were so amazing I have never experienced a well connected team that delivers seamlessly. I have purchased many properties over the past 20 years and never had an experience like this.I highly recommend this amazing team 10/10 from me.Thank you so much for the drive and dedication.

Jane

a year ago

October 31st, 2022

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