The conveyancing process in New South Wales is different to the conveyancing process in Queensland. In New South Wales, the seller’s solicitor is required to prepare the contract for sale (not the seller’s real estate agent). In fact, a seller is not permitted to list his/her property for sale until the seller’s solicitor has provided the seller’ agent with a draft contract.

The contract must have attached to it certain prescribed documents that form part of the contract. These include copies of certain title documents and certain council documents which are designed to disclose relevant information to the buyer before the buyer signs the contract.

Buyers should be aware that there is no standard building inspection or finance clause in the New South Wales form of contract. Buyers should therefore consider whether they should have special conditions inserted in the contract to cover these issues. Other special conditions may be required depending on the circumstances.

When both parties are happy with the terms of the contract and the buyer has completed his/her searches and enquiries then the contracts are exchanged. The process of the exchange of contracts involves the buyer receiving the contract signed by the seller and the seller receiving the contract signed by the buyer. The exchange of contracts is the point at which the contract becomes into effect and is binding on the parties.

After contracts have been exchanged, the parties solicitors need to make settlement arrangements with the respective banks, arrange for the transfer to be executed, attend to final searches, calculate and agree settlement figures and get ready for the settlement date (known as the completion date in New South Wales). The contract normally provides for the completion date to be set at 45 days after the contracts are exchanged. However, the parties can agree a shorter or longer completion period during the contract negotiation stage.

Buyers should be aware that New South Wales has different rates of stamp duty than in Queensland and should check the amount of stamp duty payable early in the process and certainly before exchanging contracts.

This is a basic overview of the New South Wales conveyancing system.

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Checklists

Planning to buy or sell property can often be a stressful experience with many considerations that need to be made. Ryan Murdoch O’Regan Lawyers have prepared checklists to assist buyers and sellers minimise stress levels in the lead up to the sale or purchase of a property.

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