Where you may be now
The contract matters more than the open home.
Most people spend weeks looking at homes and minutes looking at the contract. Yet the contract is what decides what you are really buying: the boundaries, the easements, the special conditions, the strata rules, and what happens if something goes wrong before settlement.
Whether you are buying your first home, selling the family home, or moving property between you and a former partner, we make sure you understand exactly what you are signing, and we handle the steps that follow so settlement day is simple.
How it works
Buying and selling property in NSW
In NSW, the seller must attach certain documents to the contract before it is offered for sale, including the title search, a planning certificate from the council and a drainage diagram. The buyer's lawyer checks these, raises any questions, and arranges further searches where needed.
- Exchange
The sale becomes binding when both parties have signed and the contracts are exchanged. The buyer usually pays a deposit at this point. - Cooling-off
For most residential purchases, buyers have five business days to change their mind after exchange, usually at the cost of a small part of the price. There is no cooling-off period at auction. - Before settlement
Finance is finalised, stamp duty is paid, and council rates, water and strata levies are adjusted between buyer and seller. - Settlement
Settlement now takes place electronically. The purchase money is paid, ownership is transferred, and the keys are released.
Send us these before you sign or bid
- The contract for sale, including all attachments
- The strata report or strata records, for an apartment or townhouse
- Your finance approval, or details of your lender
- Whether you are a first home buyer
- How you plan to own the property, and with whom
Where family law meets property
Separating? The home needs careful handling.
After a separation, the family home is often sold or transferred from one partner to the other. Done properly, as part of a family law settlement, a transfer between former partners can usually avoid NSW transfer duty, and capital gains tax may be deferred. Done informally, it can cost thousands of dollars more than it should.
Because we handle both the property settlement and the conveyancing, the orders, the transfer and the refinance all line up: without two firms passing documents back and forth.
Buying with a new partner, or buying a home before marriage? It is worth thinking about how you will own it, and whether a financial agreement makes sense. And once you have bought, make sure your will reflects it.
How we help
Clear advice, and no surprises at settlement
You will know our fee before we start, and we will explain each step. We keep you updated, we answer your questions promptly, and we make sure settlement day happens on time.
If anything in the contract worries us, we will tell you plainly, before you are committed.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026 · General information only, not legal advice