The Contract process as a Seller
Congratulations you have just signed a contract.
What happens now?
You should always be guided by your Solicitor. They are the ones who will guide you through this process. They normally mail or email you a big letter with some questionnaires and information. You should work through that letter as best you can and if you have any questions make an appointment to go in a see your Solicitor and work your way through with your Solicitor.
If you have a mortgage on the property you should contact your bank and sign any necessary documents to release the mortgage and give them a copy of the contract so that they can be ready for settlement. You may also need to sign an authority for your Solicitor to deal directly with the bank for settlement.
Some people think that it is now a good time to cancel your insurance as the Buyer should have insurance. However, I would recommend that you maintain your insurance until after settlement. This gives you peace of mind in case the buyer doesn’t have insurance or if something happens that is not covered by the Buyer’s insurance.
If you are moving into a new house, then you should contact your removalist and make a tentative booking for them to move you out. You generally need to hand over vacant possession at settlement so that means that you need to be out prior to settlement and have the property clean and tidy for the new buyers for settlement.
Then it is waiting time for any conditions of the contract to be satisfied. You should keep in touch with your Solicitor as they will be the ones who receive the news from the Buyer’s Solicitor.
It is always preferable to proactive in terms of conditions then reactive. Sometimes, there may be some negotiation with either finance or building and pest conditions and it is best to sort these out sooner rather than later. Being proactive can sometimes take some the angst out the situation and not leave everything until the day it is due and then there is a mad rush between Solicitors to get the issue resolved.
Once all the conditions are satisfied, congratulations your contract is unconditional. This means that the buyer is locked in to complete the contract.
You should also speak with your Solicitor and your Bank to make sure that all documents necessary for settlement are signed and ready to go.
This is probably where the Seller’s hard work begins. You need to prepare to move and prepare the property for settlement. You need to make arrangements so that you are out of the property before settlement. You need to make arrangements to have the property clean and tidy, inside and out. The way I explain it is, that the property should be in the condition that if you were moving into the property that you would be happy with the condition of the property.
You should also get together all the keys and remote controls that you have for the property and make sure that they are all working. You should also get together any paperwork that you want to leave the Buyer in relation to the property.
Even though the contract is unconditional sometimes issues arise and settlement may be extended. You should speak with your Solicitor as soon as possible if you do require an extension of settlement so that they can sort the issue out with the Buyer’s Solicitor.
A lot of times the issues that arise are no ones fault and they are frustrating, however, if both parties work together, then these issues can be resolved and settlement can be achieved as soon as possible.
It is the day of settlement. The Buyer will be attending the morning of settlement for a pre-settlement inspection. You need to ensure that everything is completed before this inspection. You should discuss with your real estate agent when you will be finished with the property so that the pre settlement inspection can occur after that, but before settlement.
You will leave the keys for the property with the real estate agent, to be handed to the Buyer after settlement. Then you are waiting for the phone calls to confirm that settlement has occurred. Then you might want to take a picture of your bank account as it might be the most money you have ever had in there!
