Congratulations. Here is what happens between now and settlement, what we handle, and the few things only you can do.
Until contracts are exchanged, your property is still on the market and we keep marketing it. That is deliberate. It protects you if this buyer falls over, and it keeps a second buyer warm.
A deposit landing does not mean sold either. Please do not make an unconditional offer on your next home, book removalists, or give notice anywhere until we confirm exchange has happened.
Most of this happens without you. The steps marked in gold are the ones that need something from you.
We send the sales advice to your solicitor and to the buyer's broker. This is what formally starts everything.
Check the details we send you are right, particularly your name, the price and the settlement period.
Agent TeamYour solicitor adds the sale price and the buyer's details to the front page of the contract and issues it to the buyer's solicitor.
Answer your solicitor the same day they contact you. A contract sitting unissued while everyone waits on you is the most avoidable delay there is.
You · Your solicitorTheir broker starts formal loan approval, which usually includes a bank valuation.
The valuer contacts us, not you, and we arrange access. Keep the home presentable for a few more days, as the valuation is a real assessment of what the bank will lend against.
Buyer's broker · Agent TeamTheir solicitor goes through the contract with them and may come back with requests, usually on the settlement date, inclusions or a minor amendment.
If anything comes back to you, decide quickly. We will tell you which requests are normal and which are worth pushing back on.
You · Both solicitorsWe send the buyer instructions to pay the deposit to Agency Settlements, an independent deposit holder. It can take a few days to clear, so we push them to start early.
We will tell you the moment it is paid and again when it clears. It is a strong signal of commitment, but remember it is fully refundable to them if the sale does not exchange.
Buyer · Agency SettlementsWe walk the buyer through the home to confirm everything is working as it should.
This is where a dead oven element or a leaking tap turns into a last-minute negotiation. If something has stopped working since they first inspected, tell us now rather than letting them find it. Small things fixed early cost far less than they do at this point.
Buyer · Agent TeamWith formal approval through and the contract agreed, the buyer instructs their solicitor to exchange unconditionally.
Buyer · Their solicitorThe solicitors swap contracts, usually by email, and your home is sold unconditionally.
Marketing stops, the property comes off the market, and the buyer can no longer walk away. This is the moment you can commit to your next move with confidence.
Settlement is the agreed period, usually a set number of days, from exchange to the day the property changes hands and your funds are released.
Settlements happen on or before the agreed date, so they can be brought forward if everyone is ready, but not pushed back without penalty. As an example only, an agreed 60 days can settle at 29 if all parties can.
Before then: keep the property insured until settlement, leave everything listed as an inclusion, remove everything that is not, and hand your keys to us. The buyer is entitled to a final inspection before settlement, and the home should be in the same condition it was when they bought it.
You · Both solicitorsYour buyer has a long list of things to do in a short window. You have a handful, and every one of them is about not being the reason this slows down.
Every day between accepted offer and exchange is a day another buyer can still take your sale. These are the delays we see most.
The contract cannot go out until you confirm the details. This is the single most common seller-side delay.
A valuer who cannot get in this week is a loan approval that lands next week.
Faults found at the pre-exchange inspection become price conversations at the worst possible moment.
Changing terms after the contract is issued restarts work on both sides and gives a nervous buyer a reason to pause.
Confirm details to your solicitor, allow access, deal with any faults, keep the property insured and stay off the market for your next home until exchange.
Issues the contract, negotiates amendments and exchanges on your instruction.
Their broker gets formal approval, their solicitor reviews and exchanges, and they pay the deposit.
Issues the sales advice, chases the buyer's broker and solicitor daily, arranges access and inspections, and keeps you updated at every step.
How an auction campaign works from your side, what a pre-auction offer really means, and how to decide whether to take one.
Whether the property sells before auction day or on it, the buyer signs an unconditional contract with no cooling off and no finance clause. That certainty is the single biggest advantage of selling this way.
It also means a pre-auction offer is a real decision, not a conversation. Once you accept and contracts are exchanged, the auction is over and the sale is done.
Steps 1 and 2 are the campaign. Everything from step 3 happens fast, so decide in advance what number would make you say yes.
Your solicitor prepares the contract with everything an ACT sale requires attached to it, before the property goes live.
This matters more at auction than anywhere else. A buyer cannot bid, or make a pre-auction offer, on a contract that is not finished.
You · Your solicitorWe market the property, run inspections and report to you every week on buyer numbers, contract requests and where the interest is sitting.
Contract requests are the number to watch. They are the buyers capable of acting before auction day.
Agent TeamA buyer submits an offer in writing before auction day. To be worth considering it should be unconditional, with the deposit ready and a section 17 certificate available.
We present every offer to you with our honest read on what auction day is likely to deliver instead.
Buyer · Agent TeamBefore you accept anything, we go back to every buyer who has shown interest and tell them there is an offer on the table.
That does two things. It protects you from selling under value, and it often produces a second or third offer. A pre-auction offer should only ever be accepted after the market has had its chance to beat it.
Agent TeamAccept and it is sold, usually within a day. Decline and the campaign continues to auction. Both are legitimate, and we will give you a straight recommendation either way.
The question is simple: is this offer at or above what auction day is realistically going to produce? If it is, taking it removes weeks of uncertainty. If it is not, the auction is exactly the tool for finding out what the property is worth.
You · Agent TeamThe buyer's solicitor signs a section 17 certificate, which waives their five day cooling off period, and the deposit is paid, usually 10% and sometimes 5%.
Without the certificate the buyer could still walk away during cooling off, so it is the piece that makes a pre-auction sale real. Have your solicitor on standby to move the same day.
Buyer · Both solicitorsContracts are signed, in our office or by DocuSign, and exchanged. Your home is sold unconditionally, before auction day.
The auction comes off the calendar and marketing stops. There is no cooling off, so from this moment it is simply a countdown to settlement.
The property is offered to the market and, if it sells, contracts are exchanged there and then, unconditionally, with the deposit paid on the day and no cooling off period.
If it does not reach your reserve and is passed in, we negotiate immediately with the highest bidder, who has first right to buy at your reserve.
Either way you find out exactly what the market thinks the property is worth, which is the whole point of running an auction campaign.
You · Agent TeamSettlement runs the same as on any sale. It is the agreed number of days from exchange to the day the property changes hands and your funds are released.
Settlements happen on or before the agreed date, so they can be brought forward if everyone is ready, but generally cannot be extended without penalty.
Keep the property insured until settlement, leave everything listed as an inclusion, and hand your keys to us.
You · Both solicitorsThere is no wrong answer here, only a trade. This is how we frame it with every seller.
Pre-auction offers arrive with no warning and die if they sit. If you are contactable and decisive, you will always have the option. If you are not, the buyer moves on.
Get the contract prepared early, stay reachable, decide quickly on offers and keep the property inspection ready.
Prepares the auction contract before launch and exchanges on your instruction, often at short notice.
Does all their due diligence before offering, provides a section 17 certificate and pays the deposit.
Runs the campaign, presents and tests every offer, advises you on the trade, and drives the exchange.
The document we send that tells both solicitors and your broker the sale has been agreed. It starts the clock.
The solicitors swap signed contracts, usually by email. This is the moment the property is sold and off the market.
No get-out clauses left. Your finance is approved and you are committed, which is why exchange comes after approval.
The agreed number of days after exchange when the money changes hands, the title transfers and you collect the keys.
Agency Settlements, an independent company that holds your deposit. It is not held by us or by the seller.
A quick identity check every buyer completes by law. Your deposit holder and your solicitor each run one.