Your Offer Has Been Accepted

What will my lawyer do?

Your real estate agent will send a copy of the signed sale and purchase agreement to your lawyer. It doesn't hurt to ring your lawyer to confirm.




If they haven't done so already, your lawyer will search the title and check that there is nothing that could affect your decision to buy the house. A standard sale and purchase contract contains provisions allowing a purchaser to object to title if there are problems with it.

Once these checks are completed to the satisfaction of everyone and all conditions in your offer are met, it is the job of your lawyer to advise the vendor's lawyer that the sale is unconditional.

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Going unconditional

Now that your offer has been accepted you need to work through your conditions. You will probably need to organise a property valuation, a building inspection and a LIM to begin with and your finance will need to be confirmed.

Building inspections and valuations usually take 3-4 days, but can take longer. Allow yourself at least a week to work through these types of conditions. A LIM takes 10 working days for a council to complete. You should allow yourself at least this to obtain your LIM but 15 days is better. This gives you plenty of time to put together the application, and for you and your lawyer to go over the LIM when it is delivered. These things can not be rushed. There is a lot of important information in all of these documents that needs to be carefully considered.

Contact your bank - they will require you to send them a copy of the sale and purchase agreement. From this your finance (home loan) can be processed and finalised. If your bank or lender needs a valuation, they can only prepare the paperwork and set the wheels in motion. Finance will not be confirmed until a satisfactory valuation is sighted.

Once you have satisfied all your conditions, notify your lawyer of your findings and let him or her know whether you want to proceed with the sale or withdraw. If you proceed, you are 'going unconditional'. Your lawyer informs the vendor's lawyer of this in writing. You are now committed to the sale!

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Paying your deposit

This is usually paid into the company trust account of the real estate agent and is held in this trust account until settlement date. If it is a private sale, the deposit is held by the vendor's lawyer. It is paid once the contract goes unconditional.

The deposit paid is recorded by your lawyer on a settlement statement when they conduct the settlement. Real estate agents often ask for the deposit to be a bank cheque, but personal cheques are usually accepted. Make sure your cheque is crossed 'non transferable' and made out in the name of a 'trust' account. Never make the cheque out for cash, to a personal or a company account. Make sure you receive a receipt.

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