16/09/2026
Buying a house? Don't sign that contract yet. 🏠✍️
Every year, we see Victorian buyers try to save a few hundred dollars by skipping a licensed conveyancer — and end up losing thousands (sometimes their entire deposit) further down the track. It's one of the most common and most avoidable mistakes in the home-buying process, and it usually happens because buyers don't realise how much a contract of sale actually hides until it's too late to fix.
Here are 5 of the costliest mistakes we see buyers make when they go it alone — and exactly how a conveyancer prevents each one:
1. Signing before the contract is reviewed
Once you sign, you're legally bound — subject only to a short cooling-off period, and even that doesn't apply to every sale. An unfavourable special condition or a vendor disclosure issue can leave you with very limited options to renegotiate or walk away.
2. Misreading (or skipping) the Section 32 Vendor Statement
This legally required disclosure document covers title details, zoning, easements, and outgoings — but it's dense, technical, and easy to skim past. A missed easement can restrict what you're allowed to build. An unnoticed zoning overlay can limit future renovations. These issues are often only discovered after settlement, when they're far more expensive to fix.
3. Assuming the cooling-off period always applies
The standard cooling-off period for private sales is just three clear business days — and it does not apply to properties bought at auction. Buyers who assume they have a safety net are often shocked to learn they don't.
4. Overlooking settlement adjustments
Pre-settlement adjustments for rates, water, and owners corporation fees need to be apportioned fairly. Get this wrong, and you could be significantly out of pocket on settlement day — or facing delays that trigger penalty interest.
5. Missing off-the-plan sunset clauses
Off-the-plan contracts include sunset dates, developer variation rights, and staged deposit terms that don't exist in established property purchases. Miss a sunset date, and you could lose important rights — or find a developer using it against you.
Every one of these mistakes is entirely avoidable — and every one of them is more expensive to fix after settlement than it would have been to prevent before signing.
That's exactly why WestGate Conveyancing exists.
✅ Free contract review before you sign — no cost, no obligation
✅ Flat-fee conveyancing with no hidden costs
✅ 900+ five-star Google reviews from buyers and sellers across Victoria
✅ A team that's here when you need us
✅ Multilingual support, so you can discuss your contract in the language you're most comfortable with
If you've got a contract sitting in your inbox right now — or you're about to make an offer — the single most valuable thing you can do is have it reviewed before you sign, not after.
📞 Claim your FREE Contract Review and get clarity before you commit.
Dhaliwal Ajay – 0449 605 079
Peter Pannu – 0421 076 035
Deep Dhaliwal Pannu - Office: 03 9917 8496
🌐 www.westgateconveyancing.com.au
📍 Serving all of Victoria — Melbourne · Geelong · Ballarat · Bendigo · Shepparton and beyond
🌐 Westgate Conveyancing — Professional. Reliable. Local.
No obligation. No jargon. Just clarity.
Don’t let legal jargon stand between you and a confident property decision.
