Selling

1. Negotiating a Contract

If you are selling your property you will either engage a real estate agent to market and negotiate the sale on your behalf or you will deal directly with the buyer. There is no requirement that you use a real estate agent. You may advertise your property yourself. Many people prefer to employ an agent to avoid having to negotiate directly with a prospective buyer.

2. Commission

If you engage a real estate agent you will be liable to pay commission to the agent on the sale of your property. This is usually in addition to marketing expenses. The maximum commission that can be charged by an agent is set by the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania. For details of the recommended commission go to Helpful Links.

Commission is negotiable so you can agree to a commission less that the recommended scale. The commission is paid on completion of your sale from your sale proceeds.

3. Contract

When you find an interested buyer you will need to arrange a written contract setting out all agreed terms. All agreements for the sale of land (vacant or developed land) must be in writing and signed by all parties. Verbal agreements are not enforceable. For this reason it is important that a contract is signed as soon as possible. We appreciate this. If you are selling privately we can provide a contract immediately. If you are selling through an agent the agent will usually prepare the contract and have it signed by the buyer.

We recommend that before you sign the contract you or your agent forward the contract to us to check and ensure that the terms and conditions reflect your intentions and are reasonable. Once signed by all parties a contract is binding and cannot be altered without all parties agreeing.

4. Deposit

The contract should provide for the payment of a deposit by the buyer on signing. It is in the interest of the seller that a substantial deposit is paid. The amount of the deposit should be 10% of the sale price but is negotiable. The deposit is held until completion of your sale or is refunded to the buyer if any conditions are not satisfied and the contract is terminated.

5. Conditions

The contract may contain conditions which need to be satisfied by the buyer within specified times. If the conditions are not satisfied within the specified time either party may terminate the contract. In that case the deposit is released to the buyer.

6.Bank

Once all conditions have been satisfied we will contact your bank in order to arrange a discharge of any mortgage you have over the property.

7. Settlement

We arrange settlement or completion with you, your bank and the buyer. On settlement we will repay your loan to your bank and obtain a discharge of your mortgage. The title deed to your property together with a transfer signed by you and a discharge of mortgage are handed to the buyer’s conveyancer in exchange for a bank cheque for the balance of the sale price.

Summary

When selling we can:

Prepare your contract or advise you on a contract prepared by your agent
Deal with your bank. - Deal with the buyer. - Check amounts outstanding to the Council and Land Tax branch
Check transfer documents and arrange signing
Deal with any issues raised by the buyer
Arrange and attend settlement
Pay outstanding rates and land tax
Pay agents commission
Account to you for the proceeds of sale