Selling a home,
clause by clause.

Fix the obvious problems and clear out the clutter before any photos are taken. Then decide whether paying a stylist will lift the price enough to be worth it. Agents will usually walk through the place with you and tell you what's worth doing.

• Small repairs — anything a buyer's inspection would pick up, like leaks, cracked tiles or broken fittings.
• Styling — hired furniture for the photos and open homes, usually for 4–6 weeks.
• Building and pest report (optional) — some sellers pay for one upfront and show it to buyers, which saves questions later.

You don't have to ring around and negotiate one-on-one. On BestOffer, you list your property with your identity kept private, then choose up to three local agents — plus a backup — based on their experience, recent sales, and vendor ratings. They compete for your business in a live online commission auction: you see every bid and who placed it, agents only see the current lowest offer. Whoever wins gets your full contact details and the listing.

• Commission — competing for your business in the open pushes agents to offer their best rate upfront. Bids typically land in the ~2%–2.5% of sale price plus GST range seen across SA, but you see exactly what each agent bid before you decide, rather than negotiating blind with one agent at a time.
• Who to invite — set preferences such as minimum years of experience, highest sales in the area, or top vendor ratings, and agents matching your suburb are ranked accordingly. You pick up to 3 primary agents plus 1 backup, who's only invited if a primary declines.
• Licence — every agent still has to hold a current licence. It's worth a quick independent check with Consumer and Business Services (CBS), the SA regulator, even for an agent you found through the auction.
• The agency agreement — winning the auction sets the commission rate, but you'll still sign a normal agency agreement with that agent directly afterwards. Read it before you sign — it should spell out the marketing costs and how long you're locked in. Most are exclusive for a set period; an open agreement lets other agents keep selling too, but usually gets less marketing spend since no one agent is guaranteed to be paid.
• Price estimates — if an agent's estimate looks high just to win your business, ask which recent sales it's based on. CBS investigates agents who mislead people on price.

Your agent will often refer someone if you don't already have a conveyancer in mind. Most sellers don't shop around for this separately.

In South Australia you have to give the buyer a document called a Form 1, sometimes called a Vendor's Statement. It sets out what the buyer needs to know about the property before they're locked in.

What the Form 1 tells the buyer:

• Any mortgage or other debt secured against the property.
• Anything that limits what can be done with the land — a shared driveway, a heritage listing, a council notice.
• Their cooling-off rights.

Who does what:

• Your agent usually prepares the Form 1, by searching the title and council records. You need to give them accurate information to work from.
• Your conveyancer or solicitor checks the Form 1 and the contract, then handles everything through to settlement.
• A conveyancer covers a normal sale. Use a solicitor instead if anything is unusual — a deceased estate, a divorce, a disputed title, or an off-the-plan sale.

You can give the Form 1 to the buyer before or after they sign the contract, but it has to reach them at least 10 clear days before settlement.

This is one of the biggest decisions you'll make. Selling privately is the more common route across South Australia, though auctions suit competitive inner-Adelaide suburbs and some types of property. Ask your agent what's working in your street right now rather than assuming one way is standard.

Underquoting is when an agent advertises a price lower than what they really expect, to pull in more buyers. It's against the law, and Consumer and Business Services (CBS) has investigated SA agencies over it.

• If you're going to auction, you and your agent usually set the reserve — the lowest price you'll accept — a few days beforehand, once you can see how much interest there's been.
• Price it too high and it sits on the market looking stale. Price it too low and you may sell for less than you could have.

You pay for marketing separately from the agent's commission, and usually upfront. It's often called Vendor Paid Advertising, or VPA. Ask for a quote that breaks down each item, rather than one lump sum, so you can see what you're actually paying for.

• Photography — daytime shots, and often dusk photos too.
• Floorplan — most buyers expect one now.
• Listing description — the written blurb for the ad.
• Listing sites — realestate.com.au and Domain. Paid upgrades push your listing further up the search results.
• Signboard — the board out the front.
• Extras — drone shots, video walkthroughs, print ads, social media.

Most campaigns run 4–6 weeks, with open homes once or twice a week. Your agent should tell you how many people came through, what they said, and whether any early offers have come in — every week, not just at the end.

• Decide whether you'll be there at opens. Most agents would rather you weren't, because buyers speak more freely without the owner in the room.
• Keep the place tidy for the whole campaign, not just the first weekend.
• Ask for the feedback in writing, so you can decide whether the price or the presentation needs changing partway through.

At auction: if bidding reaches your reserve, the property sells the moment the hammer falls. The buyer signs the contract and pays a deposit (usually 10%) on the spot, and can't back out. If bidding stops below your reserve, the property "passes in" and your agent normally negotiates with the highest bidder straight afterwards.

Private sale: you go through the offer with your agent and conveyancer, then both sides sign. The buyer then gets 2 clear business days to change their mind. That clock starts once they've received both the signed contract and a valid Form 1 — whichever arrives last. If they already had the Form 1 before signing, the clock starts straight away.

You and the buyer agree the settlement period as part of the contract. In South Australia it's commonly 30, 42 or 60 days, though you can agree on something shorter or longer. In between, your conveyancer or solicitor:

• Answers questions and requests from the buyer's conveyancer.
• Arranges for your bank to close out your home loan, if you still have one on the property.
• Splits the bills. Council rates, SA Water and any strata fees get divided between you and the buyer — you cover them up to settlement day, they cover them after.
• Handles the final swap of money and title, usually done online through PEXA.

• The place needs to be empty by settlement day, unless you've agreed otherwise, and in the condition the contract promised.
• Keys are handed over once your conveyancer confirms the money has landed.
• Redirect your mail, close or move your utility accounts, and update your home insurance from settlement day.
• If the property wasn't your main home the whole time you owned it, you may owe capital gains tax. Ask your accountant — this isn't something your conveyancer handles.