Selling a Property

The decision to sell a property is never an easy one with many factors to be considered. Once you have decided that you do indeed want to sell a property then there are a number of steps that will need to be completed with the assistance of a conveyancing lawyer.

Initially you will need to decide upon a conveyancer or conveyancing lawyer to consult with throughout the process as the sale cannot proceed without their appraisal of the property due to legal restrictions in place regarding contracts. This contract will need to be viewed by all parties involved including the seller, the potential buyer and the estate agent. This contract will breakdown all aspects of the property sale from title details, ownership, conditions of sale and any additional property restrictions. These are known as 'Prescribed Documents'. As a seller of property it is in your own best interests to ensure that all legal contracts are completed and in place as without them allows the buyer of any property to back out of a property deal with no penalty up to days after the exchange of contracts.

To cover your own best interests as a property seller and make the sale process as smooth as possible, make sure that certain documents are included within your Prescribed Documents package such as a full title search from the Land Titles Office, sewer diagram with the location of the authorities sewer main, the property's location and breakdown of all security and safety features and all zoning certificates from the local council.

In addition to the Prescribed Documents are the 'Prescribed Warranties' that the seller must provide which detail all aspects of the property's land status, free of any affectation or direct access to a sewer main and not located near any major future developments unless clearly stated in the contract of sale.

A conveyancing lawyer will also be able to explain the details of the estate agents agency agreement for which there can be several different types all with various conditions of sale. Within the different types of estate agency agreements are Exclusive agency agreement (the most common form of sale contract), Sole agency agreement, Multiple listing agreement, Auction agency agreement and Open agency agreement. Conveyancing lawyers will also be able to assist you in the exchange of contracts between property buyer and seller.

Finally as a seller of property there will be several other important issues to close before you can successfully sell a property which includes discharging of any mortgage attached to the property in question for which your conveyancing lawyer can assist by organising your lender to send their authority form to you while also gaining a fixed payout figure. Additionally, you will need to maintain all building insurances until settlement is complete, adjust all Council and Water rates and any Strata Levies.