Do You Need a Conveyancer When Selling Your Home?

Reviewed by Brenda Gately, Licensed Conveyancer (NSW Licence No. 05006556, AIC member) — 36 years' experience.

You are not legally required to engage a conveyancer to sell property in NSW. But you are legally required to have a compliant contract of sale — including the prescribed vendor disclosure documents — in place before the property is advertised. Get that wrong and the buyer may have a right to rescind. That obligation, not the settlement paperwork, is the real reason most sellers use one.

Selling is often assumed to be the simpler side of a transaction. In terms of searches, it usually is. In terms of legal exposure, it is not: the disclosure risk sits with the seller.

The contract has to exist before you advertise

In NSW a residential property cannot be marketed for sale until a contract of sale has been prepared. So the first task in any sale is preparing that contract — and it must carry the prescribed documents, not just a description of the property.

These typically include the title documents and plan, the section 10.7 planning certificate from the council, a sewerage diagram, and, for a strata lot, the prescribed strata documents.

Why vendor disclosure matters

This is the part sellers underestimate. The disclosure requirements are not administrative box-ticking: if the contract omits a prescribed document, or discloses something inaccurately, the purchaser may have a right to rescind the contract — in some cases well after exchange.

A sale that falls over weeks in is not just a delay. It can mean a second round of marketing costs, a property that now looks stale to the market, and a purchase of your own that no longer lines up.

What a conveyancer does on a sale

• Prepares the contract of sale, including the prescribed disclosure documents, so the agent can begin marketing.
• Includes any special conditions you need — a delayed settlement, a leaseback, an inclusion or exclusion.
• Responds to the buyer's requisitions and amendments, and advises which proposed changes are ordinary and which are not.
• Manages exchange, including the deposit and any cooling-off arrangements.
• Calculates settlement adjustments — council rates, water and strata levies apportioned between you and the buyer as at settlement.
• Coordinates discharge of your mortgage with your lender so the title can transfer cleanly.
• Attends electronic settlement through PEXA and confirms the proceeds reach your account.

A note on scope: things like land surveys and building compliance checks are not part of ordinary vendor conveyancing. They are occasionally needed — an unapproved structure or a boundary question — and we will tell you when, but they are separate engagements, not standard inclusions.

Selling and buying at the same time

If you are selling one property and buying another, the settlement dates need to work together — and ideally be handled by the same person. Simultaneous settlements are routine but unforgiving: a delay on one side cascades into the other, and penalty interest can apply.

Tell your conveyancer early that both are happening, so the contracts can be negotiated to line up rather than patched afterwards.

Can you do it yourself?

Legally, yes. A seller with a straightforward, unencumbered property has a stronger case for it than a buyer does, because the search burden sits mostly with the purchaser.

The exposure is the disclosure obligation. If the contract is deficient, the consequence lands on you, and the saving is a few hundred dollars against a transaction worth six or seven figures. For most people that is the wrong trade.

What it costs

Sales generally sit at the lower end of the range because they involve fewer searches than purchases. See our guide to what conveyancing costs in NSW. Our fee for a sale is fixed and quoted upfront, and on a sale it is paid at settlement.

Selling an off-the-plan or strata property?

Strata sales carry additional prescribed documents. Off-the-plan sales are a different exercise again — see our guide to buying off the plan nsw sunset clause protections for what governs those contracts.

Getting help

Talk to us before your agent lists the property, not after — the contract has to be ready before marketing starts, and preparing it early avoids a delay at the front of your campaign. See our selling conveyancing service, or talk to conveyancers in Sydney who prepare these contracts every week.

Request a Free Quote or call (02) 8815 8148.

Frequently asked questions

Do I legally need a conveyancer to sell in NSW?

No. But you do need a compliant contract of sale, including the prescribed vendor disclosure documents, before the property can be advertised — and the consequences of getting that wrong fall on you as the seller.

What happens if the vendor disclosure is wrong?

Depending on what is missing or inaccurate, the purchaser may have a right to rescind the contract. That can mean re-marketing a property that has already been on the market, at your cost.

When should I engage a conveyancer when selling?

Before the agent lists the property. The contract must be prepared before marketing begins, so engaging early avoids holding up your own campaign.

How much does conveyancing cost when selling?

Sales usually sit at the lower end of the range because fewer searches are required. We quote a fixed fee upfront, payable at settlement.

Can the same conveyancer handle my sale and my purchase?

Yes, and it is usually better. Simultaneous settlements need the dates to line up, and one person holding both matters can negotiate them to fit rather than patching afterwards.