Legal information for selling privately in Queensland

For Your Information

If you wish to sell your home yourself, rather than engage a licensed real estate agent, do some homework so you understand what is involved. You still have to meet certain legal requirements when you market your property to potential buyers. Also, as with all other States, every home owner has the right to sell their property privately and the most important issue to cover for any private home seller is seeking legal advice from a solicitor or conveyance prior to listing your home or property for sale. The knowing of your legal and contractual requirements from the beginning is highly advisable for any for sale by owner and we also recommend that you use a solicitor to prepare the contract of sale for your property.

The buyer must read and sign it before they enter into the contract. You must also provide a five day cooling-off period. Consider getting an independent valuation to set a realistic price. Also research the market by visiting open houses and checking the recent sale prices for similar properties. Get a building and pest inspection report so that you can carry out any necessary repairs before the sale.

Some private treaty sales are marketed to buyers with an ‘offers over’ price tag.

If you use an ‘offers over’ price tag, it is the Office of Fair Trading’s view that it should carry the minimum amount the vendor is willing to accept to sell the property.

One point to be careful of, if your property is listed for sale at a specified price, while knowing you will not sell the property for that price, it is bait advertising.

The following form we feel may also be of interest to you, the vendor: