Steps Involved in Selling Real
Property:
1. Contact New Skies
When you want to sell your property the first thing you should do is contact us! You may have already contacted a Real Estate Agent but they cannot start advertising your property for sale until they have a Contract available to show prospective Purchasers. We will prepare the Contract for Sale in a timely and efficient manner so you can instruct your Real Estate Agent to proceed with the sale of the property without delay.
2. Estate Agents and Agency Agreements
A Real Estate Agent must have any agency agreement signed before he can list your property for sale. There are several types of agency agreements, and if you’re not sure of the terms of the agency agreement, we will be happy to explain the terms to you.
3. Exchange
When you have accepted an offer from a Purchaser, or the property has been sold at auction, then ‘exchange of Contracts’ will take place. This is where you and the Purchaser both sign identical copies of the Contract, and then swap or ‘exchange’ the Contracts with each other. At exchange the deposit is paid by the Purchaser and the Contract is binding on both parties.
4. Cooling Off Period
Most Contracts for the sale of residential property have a cooling off period of 5 business days. During the cooling off period you are bound by the Contract to sell the property solely to the Purchaser. The Purchaser is entitled to withdraw from the sale for any reason within this cooling off period but they will forfeit to the Seller 0.25% of the sale price. The cooling off period can be waived by having the Purchaser’s solicitor sign a section 66W certificate. There is no cooling off period if the property is sold at public auction.
5. Discharge of Mortgage
If the property to be sold is subject to a mortgage, we will arrange for that mortgage to be discharged at Settlement. We will obtain a final pay-out figure from your bank which will be paid from the proceeds of your sale.
6. Building Insurance
The property remains the Seller’s responsibility and risk until Settlement occurs. As a result, you should maintain your insurances in relation to the property until Settlement has occurred.
7. Sold with vacant possession or subject to existing tenancies
A property can be sold in two ways: either with vacant possession or with a tenant in situ. If the property is sold with vacant possession but is currently tenanted, then you must ensure that the tenant vacates the property before Settlement.
A tenant is not bound to move out of the property until:
(a) the term of the lease has expired; and
(b) a notice to vacate has been served.
If the tenant’s lease is to expire after the Settlement Date, then you must sell the property subject to the existing tenancy.
8. Council, Water and Strata Rates
You will be responsible for the payment of rates relating to the property up to and including the Settlement Date. You will be reimbursed by the Purchaser for any rates you have paid past this date. We will ensure the Settlement figures are accurate.
9. Settlement
At Settlement the Purchaser will pay the remainder of the purchase price, and you will provide the legal title of the property to the Purchaser.
(i) Sold with vacant possession - If the property is being sold with vacant possession, you are required to vacate the property by the Settlement Date.
(ii) Sold with existing tenant – If the property is being sold subject to an existing tenancy, then the tenant is entitled to remain in the property at Settlement and the Purchaser becomes the new landlord of the property and will receive all rent from this date forward.
