Questions Sellers Must Answer Before a Buyer Signs the Contract
None of these questions are hard. What holds sales up is hunting for the answers after the buyer has already asked. Get them together before you list.
What will a buyer want to know before they sign the contract?
Mostly five things: what you’ve built or altered and whether it was approved, what’s staying with the property, whether everything works, whether there’s a dispute with a neighbour, and who owns the solar. Have the answers and the paperwork ready before you list, and exchange happens quickly. Go looking for them after the buyer asks, and every day of delay gives them time to get nervous.
At a glance
- When do these questions come? After the buyer’s conveyancer reviews the contract, which is usually the point where everyone is trying to get to exchange fast.
- Why does it matter? Until contracts are exchanged, the buyer can walk away without penalty. Every day spent chasing a certificate is another day for the buyer to think “there’s something wrong” and get cold feet.
- What trips sellers up most? Unapproved structures, a missing pool certificate, and money still owing on solar panels.
- Anything new in the 2026 contract? Yes. There’s now a separate tick box for a home battery, and “TV antenna” has been replaced with “internet/TV receiver”.
What sellers think
“The agent and the conveyancer will sort all the paperwork out between them.”
What actually happens
We can order the certificates that exist. We can’t invent the ones that don’t. If council never approved that pergola, nobody can produce an approval for it at short notice, and the buyer will find out.
1. Improvements, extra structures and approvals
Write out every structural alteration or improvement made while you’ve owned the place, with rough dates and the contractor who did it.
The buyer’s legal team may ask you to produce documents for any of it:
- Council approvals
- Home Warranty Insurance
- Final Occupation Certificate
- Survey report
- Council Building Certificate
- Owner Builder Permit
- Pool compliance or non-compliance certificate
Then the question nobody enjoys: are there any unapproved structures? If the answer is yes, say so early and tell us which ones. There are ways to deal with it. Being surprised by it two days before exchange is not one of them.
2. Insurance claims
Have you made any insurance claims on the property while you’ve owned it? If yes, we need to know what the issue was.
3. Smoke alarms
- How many smoke alarms are there?
- Where are they located?
- Are they hard wired or battery powered?
4. Inclusions and fixtures
This is where most of the arguments at settlement start, and all of them are avoidable.
Air conditioning. If the property has split systems, how many?
Pool equipment. Which items are included in the sale? Vacuum, robot vacuum, scoop, brush attachments, anything else.
Remote controls. How many are staying for the ceiling fans, the air conditioner and the garage roller door? Count them now, not on settlement day.
Does everything work? Air conditioner, stove, rangehood, hot water service, fans. If something doesn’t, say so.
TV brackets. Staying or being removed? If they’re being removed, when are the wall repairs happening?
Anything else fixed being taken? If you’re taking it, it needs to be excluded in writing.
If it’s screwed, bolted or plumbed in, the buyer assumes it stays. If you want it, exclude it in the contract.
5. Legal and boundary matters
Are there any current disputes or negotiations about the fence? If yes, we need the details, including anything you’ve agreed with the neighbour verbally.
6. Solar panels and battery
- When were the panels installed?
- Do you have the warranties?
- Is there any money still owing on the panels or the installation?
- Are there contracts attached to a buy-back scheme?
A buyer may also want a recent usage bill or proof the system is connected to the grid.
The 2026 edition of the contract has a separate tick box for a solar power battery, so whether a home battery stays with the property is now a deliberate decision rather than an assumption. The same edition replaced “TV antenna” with “internet/TV receiver”, which covers satellite dishes and similar equipment.
“Nothing on this list is difficult. It only becomes difficult when a buyer is waiting on it.”
The short version
There’s a fair bit a buyer may ask for, and none of it is unreasonable. Work through these five areas before you list, dig out the documents you already have, and tell us about anything that’s missing or unapproved. It’s the cheapest thing you can do to keep the buyer committed through to exchange.
If you’re unsure how to answer any of it, ask us. That’s what we’re here for.
Fill it in online and send it straight to us
Work through the same checklist below. It takes about ten minutes, the pool and solar questions only appear if they apply to you, and you can upload your certificates at the end. Answer what you can and leave the rest blank. We’ll pick up the gaps with you.
Thinking about selling?
Send us a message before you list. Justin, Julie, Amanda or Nicole will tell you exactly what to gather for your property.
