Peter Desmond Wee
Managing Partner
From offer to keys, a property purchase passes through several legal stages. Here is what to expect — and where buyers most often get caught out.
Buying property is, for most people, the largest transaction of their lives. Conveyancing is the legal process that transfers ownership safely — from the moment you agree to buy to the day the title is registered in your name.
1. Offer and booking
The buyer typically pays an earnest deposit and signs a letter of offer or booking form. Read it carefully — it may already commit you to terms, including forfeiture of the deposit if you withdraw.
2. Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA)
The SPA is the heart of the transaction. It sets the price, the deposit (usually 10%), completion timelines, and the parties' obligations. For new developments, a statutory form of SPA applies under the Housing Development legislation.
3. Financing and the loan documents
If you are borrowing, the bank's solicitors prepare a facility agreement and a charge or assignment over the property. Coordinating the SPA and loan timelines is essential to avoid late-payment interest.
4. Consents, stamping and completion
- State authority consent to transfer, where the title requires it.
- Stamp duty on the transfer and the loan.
- Payment of the balance purchase price and delivery of vacant possession.
5. Registration of title
The transfer is presented for registration so that you become the registered proprietor. Until that happens, your interest is contractual — which is why competent conveyancing matters at every step.
In conveyancing, the risks hide in the timelines. Miss a completion date and the cost is real and immediate.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please speak to our team.
Have a question on real estate & conveyancing?
Our specialists are a message away.