Buying an existing home or unit
Houses, townhouses and units — know what you are buying before you sign.
Once you sign a Queensland contract you are bound by its terms, with only a short cooling-off period. The seller must give you a disclosure statement and certificates before you sign; reading them properly, checking the special conditions and running the right searches is what protects you.
It tells you about the title, easements, council and government notices, zoning, pools and body corporate. If something is missing or inaccurate, you may have rights — but only if you raise it in time.
Finance, building and pest, subject-to-sale and other conditions set your protection. The wording and the dates matter more than anything else in the contract.
Buying in your own name, jointly, through a company, a trust or an SMSF changes duty, tax and lending. It is hard to change after signing.
Cooling-off can be waived or shortened — for example at auction. Get advice before you give up that right.
Title and survey
- Registered owner and mortgages
- Easements and covenants
- Boundaries and encroachments
Council
- Zoning and overlays: flood, bushfire, koala habitat
- Rates and water arrears
- Building approvals and unapproved work
State and other
- Contaminated land and heritage registers
- Transport and resumption proposals
- Land tax position on the land
Pool and safety
- Pool safety certificate or the required notice
- Smoke alarm compliance
- Building and pest report findings
Duty and grants
- First home and home concessions
- Foreign acquirer duty
- Duty assessed and paid through settlement
Foreign buyers
- Ban on buying established homes until 30 June 2029
- Limited exceptions
- FIRB approval where required
Body corporate checks
- Body corporate certificate: levies, arrears and special levies
- Sinking fund balance and 10-year forecast
- By-laws: pets, renovations, short-term letting, parking
- Exclusive use areas and car parks
- Insurance and building valuation
From the records search
- Disputes, adjudication and legal action
- Defects, water leaks and major works planned
- Cladding, waterproofing and structural reports
- Caretaking and letting agreements
- Minutes that point to future special levies
- Signing before a lawyer reads the contract
- Finance or building and pest dates missed
- Disclosure statement not read until after signing
- Unapproved extensions, decks or granny flats
- Flood or other overlays that affect insurance
- Special levies voted just after you buy
- Wrong buyer name or trustee capacity
- First home concession claimed in error
- Damage to the property before settlement
- Deposit or settlement funds sent to a scammer
How we help — our difference
We review the contract and disclosure before you sign wherever possible, and tell you plainly what the risks are. Your matter is handled personally by an experienced solicitor — not passed to a clerk — from contract to settlement.
- Contract and disclosure reviewed before signing
- Searches chosen for the property, not a fixed bundle
- All conditions and deadlines tracked
- Duty concessions checked before you sign
- Clear, fixed quoted fees
- Bank details confirmed by phone, never by email alone
Found a property? Talk to us before you sign.
A short first phone call is free. Detailed advice on your situation is given at a paid consultation, by appointment.
General information only, current as at October 2026 — not legal advice for your situation. Laws, fees and duty rates change, so we confirm the current position before advising you. Official information: Queensland seller disclosure · Queensland Revenue Office.