When selling privately, most vendors expect to take on a few extra responsibilities — but many don’t realise their lawyer does too.

In a traditional sale, the real estate agent handles key early steps like preparing the sales particulars and holding the buyer’s deposit in their trust account. But when you’re selling without an agent, these tasks often shift to your legal representative — and that means they need to be more than just a paperwork processor.

A good property lawyer will:

• Help draft or review your Contract of Sale

• Prepare or complete the sales particulars accurately

• Safely hold the buyer’s deposit in their trust account for disbursement at settlement

• Manage legal timelines and communications with the buyer’s solicitor

Because of this broader role, we strongly recommend engaging a qualified property lawyer rather than a conveyancer. While many conveyancers do a great job handling standard transactions, a private sale often requires the broader legal expertise and flexibility that a lawyer can provide — especially when there’s no agent involved to manage the process.

At The Owners Agency, we’re happy to refer you to trusted legal professionals who understand private sales and can help ensure everything runs smoothly from the moment you go live, through to settlement.