Review the contract After accepting an offer, carefully review the contract and check the finer details to make any necessary amendments for your conveyancer to raise with the other party before signing. Contract signing Signing the contract is the legal step in selling a property. Both the seller and buyer must sign the contract, and once signed, it becomes binding. Once the contract is signed by both parties, the sale moves toward the settlement process, and both parties are legally committed. Cooling-off period (if applicable) A cooling-off period of 5 days applies to contracts for residential properties— this means if you’re not totally happy, you can cancel the contract during this time. The cooling-off period doesn’t apply if you buy at auction. The cooling-off period starts the day you receive a copy of the signed contract. If received on a weekend or public holiday, the cooling-off period starts on the next business day. If the buyer withdraws during this time, the seller must refund the deposit within 14 days. They may deduct a penalty of up to 0.25% of the purchase price. You can choose to waive or shorten the cooling-off period reduced if mutually agreed upon by both parties. Conditional to unconditional Your contract might be subject to certain conditions like: • whether you get finance • a successful building and pest inspection • if you can sell your existing property You must check to make sure these conditions are in the contract when you sign it, otherwise they won’t be legally binding. This is your responsibility. If you’re not sure about anything, ask your solicitor to check it before you sign. Once all conditions are met by the agreed-upon date, the contract becomes unconditional. Settlement date The sale contract will outline a settlement day or period. The usual time frame is 30 to 60 days from the date of the contract and can be negotiated between both parties. The buyer must pay all outstanding costs to ‘settle’ the property purchase at settlement. Navigating the sales process. Once an offer has been accepted and the conditions of the sale have been satisfied, the property becomes unconditional and is legally sold, the settlement period begins. Your agent and conveyancer or solicitor mainly navigate this sale stage. Still, it is worth noting the following in the selling process. 14
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