When you’re selling a property, whether it’s your home, an investment property, or even a deceased estate, the contract is at the heart of the process.
A good, clear contract, which reflects the property and its present state, makes everything clearer, smoother and far less stressful.
At Contract Conveyancing, we invest time right at the start to get the contract right.
We have a long list of questions we ask you at the beginning. It may seem like a lot of work, but being thorough early on is the best way to keep things on track later. It’s also a far less stressful time for you, since you haven’t started on the whole process of packing up and moving yet.
What does our checklist cover? Every detail including:
· Inclusions. It’s not just whether you’re taking the dishwasher or not, for rural properties there may be machinery, stock or so on.
· Any alterations to the property, whether done by you or a previous owner, whether approved by Councilor not. Relevant builder’s warranties
· Any reports, including pool inspection reports, pest inspections and more
· Service connections, including any gas connection and/or solar panels
· Any court actions or neighbour disputes
· Outstanding council requirements
· Desired settlement date or time period
Many of the questions aren’t applicable to most sales, but by asking, we find out early if there are any issues. Nothing should come back to haunt you later.
Once we have all your information, your contract could be ready in as little as 24 hours, or it could take a week. It depends on your council and how long they take to respond. We can advise on this once we know the address of the property you’re selling.
There are occasions when it takes longer. One example is unapproved works. Imagine you had council approval for renovations, but once they were completed you didn’t get the certificate of compliance. You may decide that completing the approval process with council will add value to your home. That’s going to cause a delay, but it’s for a clear reason.
The ideal scenario when you’re selling a property is that all price and date negotiation takes place prior to exchange. At the time of exchange, you and the purchaser have settled the deal – you both want it to proceed smoothly. But issues arise.
When the contract reflects the property you’re selling, there are no surprises or uncertainties. Trust between the parties remains high. On the other hand, missing information can damage that trust. The purchaser may feel you’re hiding information. Based on that, they’re going to do more intense due diligence in every aspect of the contract. It doesn’t matter that it was a genuine mistake not to include the information, it can still change the way the purchaser acts. (We act for purchasers too, so we know how it raises red flags!)
That’s why we’re as thorough as possible with every single contract we create.
Unfortunately, the legal industry has a bit of a reputation for not responding promptly to enquiries. We don’t operate that way.
We can’t promise to be available instantly when you call or email, but if we’re not, we call back or reply to emails promptly. We’re flexible about how we meet with you too. If you want a Zoom call in your lunch time or a 15 minute phone call during your break or while you’re driving, that’s fine. We know you’re busy and finding time to come into the office may be hard. (Although we love meeting you face-to-face if you have the time!)
As conveyancers we specialise in buying and selling property. We understand the importance of deadlines like the end of the cooling off period. Also, we don’t go to court, so we’re not away from the office on another matter.
Even if we don’t hear from you with a query, we’ll touch base every week or two between exchange and settlement to make sure everything is still on track from your perspective.
Contract Conveyancing is a relatively young business, but our founder Judy Hogarth has been a licensed Conveyancer since 2008. Her experience includes
· Strata apartments, including off-the-plan sales
· Residential homes,
· Vacant residential land blocks, including new subdivisions
· Rural and large acreage properties
· Commercial properties
Whatever your situation, we’ve got the experience to cover it! So if you’re selling a property, in the Hills District or anywhere across Sydney and NSW, we’d love to assist and make everything as smooth and seamless as possible.
