So let’s presume that all the conditions of the contract are fulfilled. You have now done everything that you would have otherwise paid a real estate agency to do and saved yourself several thousands of dollars. From here on, the solicitors take over. They handle the exchange of money, the exchange of ownership titles and a number of other things, such as apportioning the share of rates and insurance to be paid as well as handing the keys over to the new owners.

It’s all really very simple. As I said, it’s simply a matter of using basic common sense. There are only two things that you need to be extra careful about. One is estimating the market value, which I’ve already told you how to go about, and the other is to carefully read the contract before you sign it. This is something you should do with your lawyer even if you decide to call on the services of a real estate agency.

Sales people are always keener to see contracts signed and sealed quicker than lawyers are because if any offers they bring you are not accepted, they may lose out all together. Therefore there is a danger that they might advise you to sign the contract before your chances of getting a better deal have been fully exploited. Whereas lawyers assume that if you don’t sell to one buyer, you will probably sell to another, and that you will get him or her to handle the conveyance anyway. So they will still get their fee even if it is a little later coming.