Buying tips

Understand your rights
Download a copy of the Office of Fair Trading:  factsheet to understand your legal rights as a buyer.

If you’re planning on bidding at auction, we recommend you read the Office of Fair Trading: , or download their Factsheet before you attend the auction too.

To understand more of how the Auction process will work, we recommend you read the Office of Fair Trading: , and we also have Bidding Tips from our preferred Auctioneer, Cooley’s Auction

Refer the contract of sale to a professional

When you find a property that suits your requirements, ask your agent to send a copy of the sale contract to your solicitor or conveyancer to review.

Choosing the right solicitor or conveyancer is important to ensure that your transaction goes smoothly. To obtain information regarding this process, we recommend that you read the Office of Fair Trading:

Arrange building and pest inspections
Arrange a building and pest inspection to ensure you are aware of any major defects and pest concerns, e.g. structural defects or termite activity within the property.

At Harwood Property Agents all our properties are inspected prior to going on the market. If you wish to obtain a copy of a report done for a property of interest we can send you a link.

Need an inspection report for a property we are selling? We can help!

Submit a proposal
Provided that you are happy with your solicitor’s or conveyancer’s advice on the contract of sale, and taking into consideration the building and pest reports, you are now able to make an informed decision to proceed with a proposal to purchase the property.

Exchange
Once negotiations have been finalised, you will be required to sign the contract of sale and pay a 10% deposit (or agreed amount) which will be held in trust until settlement. The vendor will sign their copy of the sale contract and the solicitor, conveyancer or agent will ‘exchange’ the contracts. We recommend that you read the Office of Fair Trading:

Note: It’s important to be aware that up until the ‘exchange’ has taken place, agents are legally obliged to submit all proposals from other buyers to the vendor and there is a risk that the property could be sold to someone else.

Settlement
On settlement day, your solicitor or conveyancer may request that you have a pre-settlement inspection before settlement takes place. This is to ensure that the property is in the same condition as it was when you last inspected it and that all the inclusions are as per the contract of sale that you signed.