Victoria’s property sale rules are changing. The familiar Section 27 deposit release process is proposed to disappear, while new rules will affect early deposit releases, agent commissions and when Section 32 Vendor Statements must be available. Here is what Victorian real estate agents need to know and what they should start preparing for now.

A Section 32 prepared months ago may no longer reflect current Owners Corporation fees, insurance, levies, notices or other property information. Here is what Victorian agents should check before reusing an old contract pack.

Has your vendor’s property been rezoned? Learn when Victoria’s Windfall Gains Tax may apply, what agents should ask before listing, and why it needs to be checked before the contract is signed.

A painted apartment number does not prove ownership. Here is what Victorian agents should check before advertising car parks, storage cages and other strata property features.

Most contract problems do not begin with complicated property law.

They begin because something basic was never properly settled before the purchaser signed.

Before asking for a Contract of Sale, check the Five Ps:

People
Who is actually selling and who is purchasing?

Property
What exactly is included in the sale?

Price
What is being paid, when is the deposit payable and how is the balance being dealt with?

Performance
What has somebody promised to repair, remove, provide, allow or complete?

Preconditions
What must happen before the transaction becomes unconditional?

If one of the Five Ps is unclear, sort it out before the contract is signed rather than trying to repair the problem afterwards.

Collecting a purchaser’s name, mobile number and email address at an open home may seem routine, but that information should not simply become part of an agent’s unrestricted marketing database. Agents need to understand why the information was collected, how it will be used and what happens to it afterwards.

A property selling well above its advertised range does not automatically mean underquoting has occurred. The real question is whether the agency file can explain the advertised price, comparable sales, rejected offers and changes throughout the campaign.