January 2017

For personal, financial or other reasons, at some time in your life you may face the perplexing decision of asking yourself should I sell my house or rent it out?

Life changes; the state of the economy and, by extension, the real estate market; revised taxation legislation; and changes to your neighbourhood are all examples of factors that can affect your plans with respect your property holdings.

Reflecting changes in Australian society, the property market today operates less rigidly than it did a generation or two ago, with entrepreneurial property owners developing strategies to maximise their returns on investment and minimise their tax obligations.

For example, some property owners find it advantageous to rent the homes they live in.

The circumstances that have caused you to consider selling your house or renting it out make a difference as to which choice is best for you.

Imagine that the rumours that have been circulating for months have finally been proven to have substance — a property developer has begun negotiating to buy properties in your block, but what do property developers look for?

If you can sufficiently overcome your emotional attachment to your home to endure it being razed and replaced by a different style of residence, then you may benefit financially from selling your house to a developer.

Here’s what you need to know if such an opportunity arises and you are interested in taking advantage of it.

If you’ve lived in one house for some years you’ve probably made some much-appreciated improvements to your property, like building a pergola, shed or carport, so time to sell means time to ask, can I sell my house without complete building approvals?

To save money and because you’re handy you might have built the new structure yourself, or had your chippie mate do the tricky stuff before you finished off the job.

Did you ever stop to think that you might require council building approvals to carry out the work?

Probably not and, so long as no-one was injured while using the structure, that may not have been an issue, but it does represent a problem now that you want to sell up.

Most of us don’t sell our homes frequently and the laws and regulations that govern real estate transactions do change periodically, so it is crucial to ask, what documents are needed to sell my house, when talking to your agent.

Once you’ve taken the big decision to sell what is likely your biggest asset you’ll want the sale process through to settlement to run smoothly and to schedule.

Here is a rundown for beginners or a refresher for old hands on the paperwork required to enable the legal transfer of your home to its new owner and the discharge of your mortgage.

We’ll cover the following elements:

• Contract of Sale
• Form 1
• Certificate of Title
• Verification of Identity (VOI).

Your expert team of real estate agent, conveyancer and finance provider will help you through the process, but it is ultimately your responsibility and in your best interests to ensure that all your documentation is complete and correct.