Selling a Property in NSW: The Conveyancer's Checklist

Selling property in NSW is straightforward when it's done in the right order. It's expensive and slow when it isn't.

Most of the delays I see — listings sitting on the market longer than they should, settlements pushed back, buyers walking away in cooling-off — come from a contract that wasn't ready or wasn't accurate when it was first put in front of buyers. The fix is doing the conveyancing groundwork before the property goes on the market, not as a frantic catch-up after the first offer comes in.

Here's the checklist we work through for every sale we handle.

Before you list: get the contract ready

Under NSW law (Section 52A of the Conveyancing Act and the Sale of Land Regulation), you can't market a residential property for sale until your conveyancer has prepared a Contract for Sale and attached the prescribed documents. Marketing without a complete contract breaches that obligation and gives the buyer the right to rescind within 14 days of exchange with a full deposit refund.

The prescribed documents your conveyancer needs to attach:

1. Title search. Confirms you're the registered owner and shows any encumbrances — mortgages, easements, caveats, covenants.

2. Section 10.7 Planning Certificate. Issued by the local council. Shows the property's zoning, any planning controls, hazard overlays (flood, bushfire), and outstanding council orders or notices.

3. Sewerage diagram / drainage diagram. Issued by Sydney Water or the relevant local water authority. Shows where the sewer mains run on your property — relevant because building over a sewer main has restrictions.

4. Deposited plan or strata plan. Shows the boundaries of your title (for free-standing properties) or the unit and common property layout (for strata).

5. Any other prescribed documents depending on the property type — for example, swimming pool compliance certificates if there's a pool, or smoke alarm compliance information.

If any of these are missing when the contract goes out, the buyer has a 14-day rescission right. We've had clients who almost lost a sale this way — buyer's conveyancer spotted the missing document and the buyer used it as leverage to negotiate the price down.

Timing: start contract preparation 2–3 weeks before you want to list. Council certificates can take 5–10 business days to issue. Some sellers leave this to the last minute and then can't list when they wanted to.

Decide on the contract terms

Most of the contract is standard. Some of it is negotiable, and you should think about it before the buyer's solicitor does.

Decisions to make:

• Settlement period. Standard is 42 days (six weeks). You can negotiate longer or shorter — and in the current Sydney market, shorter periods (30–35 days) are increasingly common.
• Deposit amount. Standard is 10%. Some buyers ask for 5% — this is a negotiation. A lower deposit favours the buyer; a higher one favours the vendor (more skin in the game, more painful to walk away).
• Cooling-off period. Buyers get 5 business days under residential private treaty (10 business days for off-the-plan). Auction sales have no cooling-off. You can require a Section 66W certificate from buyers wanting to commit immediately.
• Special conditions. Anything unusual — leaseback to vendor, exclusions of fixtures, conditions on finance — needs to be drafted in.
• Inclusions and exclusions. What stays and what goes. Be specific: the dishwasher, the curtains, the garden shed, the spa, the basketball hoop. Disputes about inclusions on settlement day are common and avoidable.

Coordinate with your agent

The agent and the conveyancer should be talking to each other from day one. The most common breakdown I see is when the agent says one thing in the marketing campaign and the contract says another.

Things to align on:

• The advertised price guide
• The marketing dates (open homes, deadline, auction date if applicable)
• Inclusions in marketing photos that are actually being excluded from the sale
• Whether offers are being received via the agent and forwarded to the conveyancer, or directly

If the agent is collecting holding deposits, those need to be held in the agent's trust account and accounted for on settlement.

When an offer comes in

For private treaty sales:

1. Agent presents the offer to you with any conditions (subject to finance, building and pest, etc.).
2. You accept, counter, or reject. Negotiation can take a few rounds.
3. Agent issues a sales advice to both parties' conveyancers when terms are agreed.
4. Both conveyancers exchange contracts. Your conveyancer holds your signed contract; the buyer's conveyancer holds the buyer's signed contract. They swap and date.
5. Deposit is paid to the agent's or vendor's solicitor's trust account.
6. Cooling-off period begins (5 business days, unless the buyer signs a 66W waiver).

For auctions:

• The contract is binding the moment the hammer falls.
• No cooling-off period.
• Deposit (usually 10%) is paid on the day.

During the contract period

Between exchange and settlement, your conveyancer is doing:

• Stamp duty arrangement for the buyer (we coordinate, even though they pay)
• Mortgage discharge — we contact your bank to discharge your mortgage at settlement. Banks need 14+ days' notice for discharges through PEXA.
• Settlement statement preparation — itemising all the figures: purchase price, deposit already paid, council rates and water adjustments, strata levy adjustments, any other adjustments.
• Buyer's enquiries — responding to any further requisitions, surveyor visits, or final inspection requests.

This is also where things can go wrong if they're going to:

• Buyer's finance falls through. If the contract is subject to finance, the buyer can rescind. If not, the buyer is in breach if they can't settle — and the vendor can keep the deposit and chase damages.
• Pest or building issues emerge post-exchange. Usually too late — the buyer should have done this pre-exchange. But disputes can arise.
• Title issues surface. Caveats, undisclosed easements, or estate issues if the property is being sold from a deceased estate.

The fewer surprises in the contract, the smoother this period runs.

Pre-settlement (the week before)

Your conveyancer is finalising:

• Discharge of mortgage confirmation from your bank
• Final settlement figures — including last-minute adjustments for water bills, council rates, strata levies
• PEXA workspace — the electronic settlement platform where the actual settlement happens
• Title documents ready to transfer

You should be:

• Cancelling utilities at the property (effective settlement date)
• Booking the move — most settlements happen during business hours, so plan for an afternoon move
• Confirming with the agent about keys hand-over and final inspection access for the buyer

Settlement day

Most settlements now happen through PEXA — electronically. No more meeting at the buyer's solicitor's office to swap cheques. The parties' conveyancers and banks log into the PEXA workspace; funds and titles transfer simultaneously.

What happens on the day:

1. Final inspection by the buyer that morning — they're allowed to check the property is in the condition agreed and that included items are still there.
2. Settlement runs through PEXA — usually completes within an hour once it starts, though delays from banks or the registry happen.
3. Funds land in your nominated account — net of mortgage discharge, agent's commission, our fee, and any other settlement-day amounts.
4. Keys are released by the agent to the buyer.

By 5pm, you're no longer the owner. The buyer can move in.

After settlement

A few things still need to happen:

• Council and water authority notification — your conveyancer notifies them you're no longer the owner.
• Land tax adjustments if applicable.
• Final accounting — we send you a settlement statement showing exactly where every dollar went.
• Keep your records — settlement statements, the contract, and any adjustment receipts. You'll need them for tax (capital gains, if applicable).

A note for agents

The cleanest sales for everyone — vendor, buyer, agent, conveyancer — are the ones where the contract was ready before the campaign began. Properties that go on the market with incomplete contracts get challenged by buyers' conveyancers, slow down at exchange, and sometimes lose deals.

If you've got a vendor who hasn't engaged a conveyancer yet, send them our way. We aim to turn around contract preparation within 5–7 business days from receipt of council certificates. We don't drag our feet on questions from buyers' conveyancers either — fast responses keep the deal moving.

How we handle sales at Malko Conveyancing

For every sale we act on:

• Contract preparation turned around promptly once council certificates are in
• Coordinated communication with your agent
• Mortgage discharge handled with your bank
• PEXA settlement
• Final settlement statement and clear post-settlement handover

Fixed fee, quoted upfront. No surprises on settlement day.

If you're thinking about selling and want to understand what's involved before you commit to an agent — book a free 15-minute call. We'll walk you through the timeline and what your specific property will need.