Buying a house in the ACT: a 7-step guide from offer to settlement
Buying a home in the ACT has its own rhythm, set by the required documents a seller must already have ready and by whether you buy through private treaty, auction or tender. This guide walks through the whole purchase in seven steps, from working out what you can afford to getting the keys, and links to the detailed ACT guides on cost, duty and cooling-off rather than repeating them.
Step 1: Work out your budget and check your HBCS eligibility
Before inspecting, get a realistic picture of what a purchase costs beyond the price. The largest added cost for most buyers is conveyance duty (the ACT's conveyance duty, its name for stamp duty): on a $700,000 home the standard duty is $20,040. If you have not owned property, in the ACT or elsewhere, in the last 5 years, check your eligibility for the Home Buyer Concession Scheme first: an eligible buyer at $700,000 pays $0 in duty, with no price cap at all. On top of duty, budget for your solicitor's fee, the $496 land title registration fee, and loan costs. The full breakdown at several prices is in the conveyancing cost ACT guide, and the scheme's eligibility rules are in the first home buyer ACT guide.
Step 2: Review the required documents
In the ACT, the seller must already have a full set of required documents ready before the property is advertised: a copy of the Crown lease, title and encumbrance details, a building and compliance inspection report, a pest inspection report (if the home has been occupied), and an energy efficiency rating statement. Ask the agent for these as soon as you are interested, and have your solicitor review them before you offer, bid or tender. Because they are ready earlier than in most other states, you can do a genuinely thorough review before committing any money. Every category is explained in the required documents ACT guide, and the full sequence is in the ACT conveyancing process guide.
Step 3: Make an offer, bid at auction, or submit a tender
ACT property sells three ways, and how you commit depends on which one you are in:
- Private treaty: you negotiate through the agent. Nothing is binding until you sign, and this path carries a cooling-off period.
- Auction: the successful bidder signs on the spot with no cooling-off period, so your review, finance and inspections must all be finished before you bid.
- Tender: you submit a written offer by a set date; an accepted tender also carries no cooling-off period.
Step 4: Sign the contract and pay the deposit
When terms are agreed, or your bid or tender is accepted, you sign the contract and pay the deposit, commonly up to 10% of the price, usually held in trust until settlement. The required documents automatically form part of the contract, and certain warranties, such as the property being free of undisclosed encumbrances, are automatically included by law.
Step 5: Use your cooling-off period
On a private treaty sale you then have 5 working days to change your mind, running from the day the contract is made. If you withdraw within the period, the seller keeps 0.25% of the purchase price, forfeited to the seller, and the rest of any money paid is returned. There is no cooling-off period at auction or under a tender contract. The mechanics and the full list of exceptions are in the cooling-off period ACT guide.
Step 6: Prepare for settlement
Once the cooling-off period passes, your solicitor works through the run-up to settlement:
- Assessing conveyance duty and lodging any Home Buyer Concession Scheme exemption, within 14 days of the contract.
- Running a final title search to confirm nothing new is registered against the property or the Crown lease.
- Coordinating your lender so loan funds are ready, and calculating rates adjustments.
- Booking the settlement date and time in the electronic settlement workspace.
Step 7: Settlement day and the keys
Settlement is the day ownership of the Crown lease passes to you. Most ACT settlements complete electronically through the PEXA platform: the solicitors transfer the price to the seller after discharging their mortgage, the conveyance duty is paid, and the transfer is lodged with Access Canberra. When settlement confirms, the agent releases the keys. Afterwards, the title updates to your name, your lender registers its mortgage if you borrowed, and you transfer utility and rates accounts across.
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Conveyancing Explained provides general information about property transactions in Australia. It is not legal advice and does not create a client relationship. For advice on your situation, engage a licensed conveyancer, settlement agent, or property solicitor in your state or territory.