You have signed, exchanged and paid the deposit. Then six weeks of near-silence, while the largest transaction of your life happens somewhere out of sight. Here is what is actually going on, week by week — and the two or three points where it is worth paying attention.
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Almost every buyer we act for asks the same question a fortnight after exchange: is something meant to be happening?
It feels like nothing is. You have signed the biggest contract of your life, handed over a deposit, and then the phone stops ringing. The truth is that a good deal is happening — it is simply happening between solicitors, banks and a government registry, none of whom think to keep you updated.
This is what that period actually contains, and where your attention is genuinely needed.
Up until exchange, the agreement generally is not binding and either you or the vendor can change your mind. That surprises people who have had an offer accepted and assume the property is theirs. It is not, and until exchange happens another buyer can still come over the top.
Exchange itself is unglamorous. There are two copies of the contract, one for each side. You each sign your copy, and the copies are swapped — by hand or by post, usually arranged by your solicitor, conveyancer or the agent. You pay the deposit at the same time.
From that moment, you are committed, subject only to the cooling-off period.
When you buy residential property in NSW you generally get a 5 business day cooling-off period after exchange. It starts as soon as you exchange and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day after the day of exchange.
Fair Trading's own worked example is the clearest way to see it: exchange at 10am on a Tuesday, and the cooling-off period ends at 5pm on the Tuesday of the following week. During that window you can get out of the contract by giving written notice.
Three important variations:
If you use your cooling-off rights and withdraw, you forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price to the vendor. Fair Trading puts it plainly: $250 for every $100,000.
On a Hills District house at $1.6 million, that is $4,000 to change your mind. Not ruinous, but not nothing — and it is a far better outcome than discovering a problem after the cooling-off period has closed, when the exposure is the whole deposit and potentially more.
Settlement usually takes place around six weeks after exchange. That is a convention rather than a rule — the period is negotiated and written into the contract before you exchange, so if you need longer because you are selling first, that conversation happens beforehand, not afterwards.
Meanwhile the vendor's outgoing mortgage is being prepared for discharge. Their bank has to be ready to release the title at the same moment your bank is ready to hand over the money. When settlement slips by a day, this is very often why.
This is the part that has changed most, and that older articles still describe wrongly. There is no longer a room in the city where clerks swap cheques across a table.
Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer must be a subscriber to an Electronic Lodgment Network. They prepare the documents and the financial information in an electronic workspace, entering EFT or BPAY details along with any mortgagee or other authorised party. Cheques and paper documents are no longer required for settlements in NSW.
In the lead-up, and again on the day, your solicitor checks the accuracy of every document and figure. On settlement day they electronically sign the documents and the financial settlement schedule on your behalf.
Then, at the scheduled time, if everything is in place, settlement occurs automatically: funds are disbursed as authorised, and the documents are lodged electronically with NSW Land Registry Services for examination and registration. Your solicitor confirms when settlement has occurred and when title has passed into your name.
The practical consequence is worth understanding. Because settlement now fires automatically when all parties are ready, being ready early matters more than it used to. A missing signature at 3pm is no longer something that can be fixed by a courier.
You are entitled to inspect the property before settlement, and the right time is the morning of settlement day.
The purpose is to confirm the property is in the same condition as when contracts were exchanged. In practice you are checking three things: that nothing has been damaged, that anything included in the sale is still there, and that anything not included has actually gone.
People routinely do this inspection two days early to fit their schedule. That is a mistake. Inspect early and you lose the ability to raise a problem at the only moment you still have leverage — before the money moves. If something is wrong, call your solicitor immediately, not after settlement.
Most delays are short, and most are a bank not being ready. A day or two either way is common enough that experienced solicitors barely blink.
What matters is what the contract says happens next. Depending on the terms, a delay can trigger interest, and either side can serve a notice to complete requiring settlement by a specified date. Strict time limits apply once a notice is served, and the consequences of failing to meet one can be serious — including loss of the deposit.
The practical advice is simple: the moment a delay looks likely, tell your solicitor. A delay flagged three days early is a scheduling problem. The same delay reported the morning after is a legal one.
Around Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Kellyville, Bella Vista, Norwest and Rouse Hill, most of the friction we see falls into a few familiar patterns: buyers trying to align the settlement of a sale and a purchase on the same day, lenders slow to value newer builds in the growth corridor, and strata levies in the newer Norwest and Bella Vista buildings that need careful adjustment.
None of those are unusual, and all of them are far easier to manage before exchange than after. If you are buying and selling at once, that is a conversation to have while the settlement dates are still negotiable.
Michael Campbell Law acts for buyers and sellers across the Hills District and greater Sydney on property and conveyancing matters — contract reviews before you sign, exchange, and settlement from start to finish.
Before qualifying as a solicitor, Michael worked as an engineer on NSW infrastructure projects, which is a useful background when a contract review turns on what has actually been built rather than only on what the paperwork says.
The first step is a free 15-minute phone call to work out whether we can assist. If we go further, you receive a written costs agreement before any work begins, and fixed fees are offered where applicable.
Related reading: The 2026 Contract for Sale: what buyers and sellers need to know · Why your conveyancer suddenly needs your ID · Buying off the plan in the Hills District
This article is general information only and is current as at 12 August 2026. It is not legal advice and does not take account of your circumstances. Contracts differ, and the terms of your particular contract govern your transaction. Please obtain advice about your own situation before acting, and contact Michael Campbell Law if we can assist.
Settlement usually takes place around six weeks after contracts are exchanged. That is the common default rather than a legal requirement, and a different period can be negotiated and written into the contract before you exchange. Longer settlements are often used where a buyer needs to sell first, and shorter ones where both sides are ready.
When you buy a residential property in NSW you generally have a 5 business day cooling-off period after exchange. It starts as soon as you exchange and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day after the day of exchange. For properties sold off the plan a longer 10 business day cooling-off period applies. There is no cooling-off period if you buy at auction, or if you exchange contracts on the same day as an auction at which the property was passed in.
During the cooling-off period you can withdraw by giving written notice, but it is not free: you forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price to the vendor, which works out at $250 for every $100,000. After the cooling-off period ends, exchange is binding and walking away is a serious matter that can cost you the full deposit and expose you to further claims. Get advice before you do anything.
A 66W certificate is a certificate given to the vendor that waives your cooling-off period, so the contract becomes binding immediately on exchange. Vendors often ask for one in a competitive market. It removes your ability to withdraw and forfeit only 0.25%, so you should always seek advice, and complete your inspections and finance checks, before signing one. It is also possible to reduce or extend the cooling-off period by written agreement with the vendor instead.
No. Settlement in NSW is now done electronically. Cheques and paper documents are no longer required. Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer must be a subscriber to an Electronic Lodgment Network, and the transfer of funds and lodgment of documents happen through an electronic workspace at the scheduled settlement time.
On the morning of settlement day. The purpose is to confirm the property is in the same condition as when contracts were exchanged, that anything included in the sale is still there, and that anything excluded has been removed. Doing it the day before defeats the point, because you lose the ability to raise an issue while there is still leverage to have it dealt with at settlement.
Delays are common and most are resolved within a day or two, usually because a bank is not ready. The contract sets out what happens, which can include interest and the service of a notice to complete requiring the other side to settle by a set date. Strict time limits apply once a notice is served, and the consequences of failing to meet one can be severe, so contact your solicitor as soon as a delay looks likely rather than after the date has passed.
A free 15-minute phone call is the quickest way to find out whether we can help — whether you have a contract in front of you, an auction on Saturday, or a settlement that is starting to wobble.
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