purchasing a property

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When you buy a residential property in New South Wales, you have a five (5) business-day cooling-off period (ten business-day for off-the-plan properties) after the exchange of contracts. The cooling-off period starts from exchange of Contracts and ends at 5 pm on the fifth business day after the exchange (ten (10) business day for off-the-plan properties). If you withdraw from the Contract during the cooling-off period, you will have to pay to the Vendor 0.25% of the Purchase Price. 

There is no cooling-off period if the property is sold at auction. You can also decide to waive the cooling-off period by giving the vendor a ‘66W certificate’. It is also possible to reduce or extend the cooling-off period by written agreement with the vendor.  

The cooling-off period will generally enable you to seek legal advice from a solicitor in relation to the contract, obtain financial approval from financial institutions, and to obtain any reports if required. We recommend that you always obtain independent legal advice prior to signing any Contract.

The Contract for the sale of an existing property normally requires that the property be purchased in its current condition as at the date of the Contract. Therefore, we recommend you obtain reports to ascertain the condition of the property. The reports that we usually recommend are as follows:

1. A Building and Pest Report; 

2. Survey Report; and

3. Building Certificate. 

We will be able to provide further legal advice in relation to the above.

The deposit will be payable at the exchange of Contracts. The standard deposit is 10% of the full purchase price. However, a 5% deposit payable at the exchange is often negotiable.

You must pay stamp duty the earlier of settlement/completion or within three months of signing a contract for sale or transfer, except in the case of off-the-plan purchases.

If you buy off-the-plan and you intend to live in the property as your principal place of residence, you may be able to defer your transfer duty liability for up to 12 months (subject to your residency status). 

If you are a first home buyer, you may be eligible for an exemption or concession of stamp duty and we can apply for the eligible scheme on your behalf at a fixed fee.

The standard provisions of the Contract provide that Council, water rates and in some case, land tax will be adjusted on completion. We will be able to explain this in detail during our consultation.

When you are buying the Property or Vacant Land for the purpose of redeveloping, the zoning of the land will be important. This information and other important information will be contained in the section 10.7 Planning Certificate that is attached to the Contract. We will convey the contents of this certificate to you to ensure that you are buying the right property. 

If required, other searches and inquiries may also be conducted (eg. Jemena Gas Networks Certificate, Rail Corporation NSW Certificate, NSW Heritage Register Certificate) to assist with your decision.

If you are purchasing a Property for investment purposes, you may consider the tax implications of your purchase (e.g income tax or capital gain tax). You should contact your accountant in this regard.

Under the Contract, you are entitled to make one pre-settlement inspection of the property. You can inspect the property to confirm that the property has not been damaged during the period after exchange and between settlement. You should arrange this inspection through your agent. 

We will assist with all your queries and ensure that you purchase the right property. Please do not hesitate to contact us to answer any of your queries.