Planning for settlement day
Coordinate your own move alongside the settlement date, especially if you’re buying another property at the same time. Arrange final meter readings, confirm what chattels are staying (matching what’s in the agreement), and give the property a final clean before handover.
What happens on the day itself
Your lawyer and the buyer’s lawyer exchange the purchase funds and transfer of title through their trust accounts. Once your lawyer confirms the funds have been received, the buyer is generally cleared to collect the keys, often through the agent. You’re expected to have vacated and left the property in the agreed condition by this point.
If something goes wrong
If a dispute comes up, over chattels, condition of the property, or anything else, your lawyer is the first point of contact, since many issues are resolvable directly between the lawyers, sometimes through the settlement funds. If your concern is specifically about how your agent handled the sale, the Real Estate Authority and its Complaints Assessment Committees are the relevant body to contact.