Buy and sell property
One commercial guide, written for Western Australia, deals with selling a property and sets out a route for owners who would rather not pay real estate commission. The business behind it offers packages for owners to advertise their own home. Its steps run from the contract of sale to settlement, and along the way the owner arranges the inspections and signs the contract. The guide adds a Landgate address for anyone who wants more detail.
The steps a private seller takes
The guide puts the contract first. Before the property is advertised, it says, a solicitor draws up the contract of sale. The next step is settling on the figure the owner will ask, and the guide says it is important to look at what has sold nearby before choosing one. It names two ways to research that figure: checking sold and listed homes on a property website, or getting a valuation from an independent property valuer.
Then come the inspections. Buyers who make contact may view the property, and the guide suggests the owner can also run open homes at weekends, each lasting about an hour. That is the point at which a buyer may make an offer.
Offers and settlement
The guide says offers are submitted as a signed 'O and A'. Both the buyer and the seller sign the contract of sale, and each keeps a copy. A seller may take a holding deposit at that point, either the whole amount or a nominated part of it. The guide says that money should sit in a trust account, such as a solicitor's, until settlement.
Once the contract is unconditional, the seller's remaining job is to wait for the settlement date. The guide gives four to eight weeks between signing and settlement, generally.
Words a seller meets
The guide uses these terms. The contract of sale is the agreement a solicitor prepares before the property is advertised. The list figure is the amount the owner puts on it. A holding deposit is money taken when a buyer makes an offer, and the guide says it is held in trust until settlement. Settlement is the date the seller waits for once the contract has gone unconditional.