Buying a property in South Australia: the complete step-by-step guide

Talk to your lender or mortgage broker early and get pre-approval, so you know how much you can borrow. Remember to budget for more than the price: stamp duty, lender’s fees, searches, inspections, insurance and our fees all add up.

If you’re a first home buyer buying a new home or vacant land, you may pay no stamp duty at all. See step 6.

Most properties are sold through an agent, by private treaty or at auction. You can negotiate the price, deposit, settlement date and conditions, but an accepted offer isn’t binding until the contract is signed.

If you’re buying at auction, there’s no cooling-off period, so do your checks and arrange your finance before auction day.

The seller must give you a vendor’s statement, called a Form 1. It sets out key information about the property, such as the title, encumbrances like easements, and council and other government notices affecting the land.

In practice, buyers often sign the contract first and receive the Form 1 a few days later, usually by email directly from the agent. Your cooling-off period only starts on the later of signing the contract and receiving the Form 1. So if it arrives after you sign, you have just 2 clear business days from receiving it to review it and decide whether to go ahead. Watch your email closely, including your junk folder, and send the Form 1 to us the moment it arrives. If you miss the email, you can lose your cooling-off right without realising it.

We review the contract before you sign wherever we can, and turn the Form 1 around quickly within the cooling-off period. We explain anything unusual and negotiate special conditions where they’re needed.

Our advice draws on years of acting for Australia’s major banks and lenders. We’ve seen where transactions go wrong and the things that are often missed, so we know what to look for before it becomes a problem. You get the benefit of that experience. In other words, the benefit of hindsight.

This is also when to decide how you’ll hold title if you’re buying with someone else, as joint tenants or tenants in common. We’ll explain the difference and help you choose.

For most private sales, you can cool off within 2 clear business days after the later of the day you sign the contract and the day you receive the Form 1. If the Form 1 arrives after you sign, the 2 days run from when you receive it. To cool off, you must give the seller or their agent written notice in time. If you cool off, the seller can keep no more than $100 of any deposit, and must refund the rest. Our guide to the Form 1 and cooling-off explains the timing in detail.

There’s no cooling-off if you buy at auction. You can also waive cooling-off, for example to secure a property before auction, but only with a certificate from a lawyer confirming you’ve been advised. In practice, sellers rarely ask for this. Cooling-off only protects the buyer. The seller has no cooling-off right.

The deposit is typically 5% to 10% of the price. It’s usually paid once the cooling-off period ends, and held in the selling agent’s trust account until settlement.

If your contract includes a finance condition, you must make reasonable efforts to get the loan and give notice by the deadline if it isn’t approved. A building inspection condition can let you end the contract if the report shows significant defects.

The Form 1 tells you a lot about the title and the land, but not much about the condition of the building, so a building and pest inspection is still important. Act within the dates in the contract, or you lose the right. We track those dates for you.

Stamp duty is calculated on the greater of the price and the market value of the property, using the general rates. Above $500,000, duty is $21,330 plus $5.50 for every $100 over $500,000, so a $600,000 home attracts duty of $26,830. You can check your figure with the RevenueSA calculator. Duty is normally paid at settlement.

For contracts from 6 June 2024, eligible first home buyers pay no stamp duty on a new home or vacant land to build on, with no value cap. There’s no first home buyer duty relief for established homes. Eligible first home buyers of a new home may also get the $15,000 First Home Owner Grant, again with no value cap. Foreign buyers pay an additional 7% foreign ownership surcharge on residential land.

Before settlement, we check the settlement adjustments for council rates, SA Water rates and the emergency services levy, plus strata or community corporation levies if they apply. We prepare your settlement statement and confirm the figures with your lender. About 7 days before settlement, we’ll email you a pre-settlement summary. It includes the statement of adjustments, what you need to do before settlement and exactly how much you need to have available to settle.

Book a final inspection to check the condition of the property and the inclusions.

Settlement takes place electronically, usually through PEXA, Australia’s main digital property settlement platform. The balance of the price is paid by your lender and by you, depending on how much you’re borrowing. At the same time, stamp duty is paid, the transfer and your mortgage are lodged, and the seller’s loan is paid out. Once we confirm settlement, the agent releases the keys.

After settlement, we send you a final letter confirming the purchase.