Houses, units and townhouses

Residential purchase

The contract you are asked to sign was written by the seller’s lawyer, for the seller. Our job is to find out what it does to you while you can still do something about it.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

Who this page is for

You have found a place, or you are close

Most people reach this page at one of two moments. Either an agent has handed over a contract and asked how soon you can sign, or an auction is on Saturday and you have realised nobody has read the paperwork. Both are fixable. Both are much easier to fix before you sign than after.

The single most useful thing you can do is send the contract early. A contract review is not a formality and it is not a rubber stamp. It is a search through a document that was drafted to protect somebody else, looking for the things that will cost you money: a special condition that shifts risk onto you, a shorter settlement than your lender can meet, a right of the vendor to keep your deposit in circumstances you did not expect, a notice on the planning certificate about the land.

If you are bidding at auction, the timetable is different and tighter. There is no cooling-off period when you buy at auction. If you are the successful bidder you sign and exchange on the spot, and you pay the deposit then. Everything — contract review, finance, inspections, searches — has to be finished before you raise your hand. Our guide to cooling off, and when there is none sets out why.

If you are buying a unit or a townhouse, there is a whole second layer: the scheme, its finances, its by-laws and its building. That is dealt with on our page about strata purchases, and it is worth reading alongside this one.

How we help

What the work actually is

Reading the contract before you are bound by it

The whole document, including the special conditions at the back, which is where the risk usually sits. Our guide to what a contract review actually checks lists what we look for and why each item matters.

Checking that the required documents are there

The Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) and its Regulation require prescribed documents to be attached before the contract is offered. We check what has been attached, what has not, and whether anything missing gives you a right to rescind.

Reading the planning certificate

The section 10.7 certificate tells you the zoning, the controls and the constraints on the land. A flood or bushfire notation, a road widening proposal or a heritage listing changes what the property is worth to you, and it will not be obvious from the inspection.

Negotiating the terms that matter

A settlement period your lender can actually meet. A condition making the purchase subject to finance, where the vendor will accept one. The removal or narrowing of a special condition that shifts an unreasonable risk onto you. Repairs or inclusions recorded in the contract rather than agreed verbally.

Advising on cooling off, waiver and auction

Whether a cooling-off period applies to your purchase at all, what it costs to use it, and what you are giving up if you are asked to sign a section 66W certificate. Vendors often ask for one. It is your decision, and it should be an informed one.

Exchange, then the run to settlement

Arranging exchange and the deposit, ordering the searches and certificates, dealing with your lender, checking the adjustments for rates and other outgoings, and completing settlement electronically so title and funds move together.

Questions

Questions people ask first

When should I send you the contract?

As soon as the agent gives it to you, and before you make an offer if you can. A review takes time, and things found early can still be negotiated. Things found after exchange usually cannot. If an auction is coming, send it as soon as you decide the property is one you might bid on.

Do I get a cooling-off period?

Often, on a residential purchase, but not always. It does not apply to a purchase at auction. It can be waived by a certificate under section 66W of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW), and vendors frequently ask for one. Using a cooling-off right also costs you a proportion of the purchase price. The exact period and the forfeiture are set by the legislation, so ask us about your contract rather than working from a figure on a website.

What happens if a required document was not attached?

It may give you a right to rescind the contract, exercisable within a period set by the legislation and calculated from exchange. That is a real remedy and it is also a short one. If you think something is missing, raise it immediately rather than waiting to see whether it matters.

Can I make the contract subject to finance?

Sometimes, if the vendor agrees. It is a negotiation, not a right, and in a competitive market a vendor may refuse. The alternative is to have your finance genuinely unconditional before you exchange. Pre-approval is not the same thing as approval, and a lender’s valuation can come in below the price you agreed.

What is the deposit and when do I pay it?

The deposit is paid at exchange and is usually held by the agent as stakeholder. The amount is set by the contract and can sometimes be negotiated, and a deposit bond is occasionally accepted in place of cash. If you fail to complete, the deposit is generally at risk and the vendor may have further claims.

Do I need a building and pest inspection as well?

They are separate from the legal work and they are worth having. A contract review tells you what the document does; an inspection tells you what the building is. Neither substitutes for the other. For a unit, add a strata report.

What actually happens at settlement?

Settlement in New South Wales is completed electronically. On the day, your lender’s funds and your own are applied, the balance is paid to the vendor and the party discharging any mortgage, the transfer is lodged and title passes. We check the adjustment figures beforehand, so rates and other outgoings are split at the right date.

Lawyer or licensed conveyancer?

Both can carry out conveyancing in New South Wales. A licensed conveyancer’s work is limited to the transaction. A lawyer can also advise where something sits outside it — a dispute with the vendor, a deceased estate, a trust, a family arrangement, a company or a caveat. If your purchase is straightforward, either may suit. If anything about it is unusual, the difference matters.

What to send us

Almost every early question is answered from the contract itself. Send it first and the rest can follow.

The contract for sale, in full, including the attached documents and the annexures at the back.
The address of the property, and whether it is a house, a unit, a townhouse or vacant land.
The agent's name and contact details.
Whether the sale is by private treaty or by auction, and the auction date if there is one.
The price you have agreed or the price you are prepared to pay.
Your lender, and whether your finance is pre-approved, approved or not yet applied for.
The full legal names of everybody who will be on the title, and how you intend to hold it.
Any building, pest or strata report you already have.
Anything the agent has told you that is not written in the contract.