Selling a house

Selling your home is an important and can be a dauting experience, but it doesn’t need to be with the assistance of Catron Simmons Lawyers.

We charge fixed fees for most conveyancing matters, depending on their complexity.

Before the Property goes on the market

Before the property enters the ‘market’ a contract for sale needs to be prepared along with required legal documents. This is commonly referred to as a draft sale contract as the contract can be subject to negotiation.

Often as the Seller you will hire a real estate agent to take care of the “Selling” of the property. The estate agent takes care of the advertising of the property, open inspections and potential buyers.

Offer & Acceptance

An offer will be made for the property, if you accept, the purchaser will likely be asked to pay an initial deposit. It is important to remember this does not “secure” the property.

The Contract / Exchange

When the contract is signed the purchaser will often need to pay 10% deposit at this time unless negotiated otherwise. This money is paid to the real estate agent and held until settlement.

If you have sold the property under Auction conditions, it is important to understand that there is likely to be no ‘cooling off’ condition for the purchaser.

If you have sold the property under a private treaty conditions, there is typically unless negotiated a five-day cooling off period.

Contract to Settlement

After the contract has been signed, your solicitors will make a number of enquiries/tasks including but not limited to:

• Payment of Fees and Government Charges
• Liaising with the financial institutions
• Checks with Government organisations such as Sydney Water, RMS etc to ensure they don’t have a caveat or interest in the land

The solicitor will also be required to attend the settlement conference involving the banks, real estate agents and other party’s solicitors. This is where the title for the property and keys will be handed over in exchange for the monies.

Whether you hire a conveyancer or solicitor, it is critical to hire them at the outset of your transaction.

The advantage of hiring a solicitor is a greater level of knowledge in various areas of law, meaning that any legal issues that potentially arise can be quickly dealt with.

Solicitors are typically more expensive, however, if there is an issue that arises while using a conveyancer often you are required to pay double the amount as you are then forced to hire a solicitor.

A solicitor generally able to provide a more focused client-based approach to the transaction.

A private treaty occurs when a property is listed for sale, the purchaser makes an offer and it is accepted by the vendor. The contract is then signed and contracts are exchanged. There is typically then a cooling off period of five business days.

An auction is where prospective purchasers gather following a sale period and bidding is conducted on the property. Once the property is placed on the market is is a case of the highest bidder wins the property. Typically the purchaser signs a waiver of their cooling off rights.

You do not need to use a local conveyancer and/or solicitor, they must however, be registered within NSW.

At Catron Simmons Lawyers we can operate wholly electronically so there is no need to come into the office. Alternatively if you prefer however, we do of course accept in house appointments at no extra charge.

Yes, by law there must be a valid contract in place before the property is able to be marketed.

Typically, a property is sold ‘as is’, which means that any fixtures are included in the price.

A fixture is anything that can not easily be taken away without doing damage to the property.

A fixture can be excluded from the contract of sale and it is common practice that fixtures are expressly included in the contract to avoid legal disputes.

Common Fixtures include but are not limited to:-

• air conditioning
• ovens
• fixed floor coverings
• above-ground pool
• curtains

A deposit bond is essentially an insurance policy, the bond is a policy document that tells the vendor that the insurance company will pay the 10% of default of the contract.

Come settlement the deposit bond, the purchase price is paid in full and the bond simply lapses.

Caveat – A notice on the title proclaiming an ‘interest’ over the property (other than the owner)
Certificate of Title – A document that shows the ownership and interest in the land/property under the Torrens System of title.
Easement – Right to use the land of another or a right to prevent the owner from using the land in a particular way. Common easements are drainage and electricity.
Lien – A charge, security or encumbrance on a property for the payment of debt.
Reserve Price – The lowest acceptable price fixed by the vendor.
Vendor – The person/unity selling the property.
Zoning – a local planning tool, controlling the current and future prospects of the land.

Yes, you or your agent cannot advertise a property to be sold without a contract.