1. You decide the price you can afford to pay. You may want to discuss this with your bank or other lender.
2. You find a property that you like and agree to a certain price. By law a draft "Contract for Sale of Land" must be immediately available for prospective purchasers to inspect.
3. You and the seller (called the ‘vendor’) may be asked by the agent to sign a sale contract with a ‘cooling-off’ period. If you agree, you only pay a part deposit of .25% of the purchase price and will then have 5 business days after the agent exchanges contracts to ‘cool off’ and cancel your purchase (on condition that you lose the part deposit paid) . During the ‘cooling-off’ period the vendor cannot sell the property to someone else and is the time in which you have property inspections done, have the contract reviewed (and if necessary amendments to it negotiated by your solicitor) and wait for unconditional written finance approval from your lender.
4. If the vendor wants you to waive the ‘cooling-off’ period then you should not sign anything until you obtain legal advice on the sale contract. Any changes to the contract are now negotiated by your solicitor and at this stage it is also important to obtain any necessary searches such as a survey, a pest & building report (if the property you wish to buy is a house) and a strata inspection report (if the property you wish to buy is a unit).
5. When the terms of the contract are finally agreed upon, any searches and enquiries are satisfactory and your loan is approved and you have already exchanged contracts with a ‘cooling-off’ period you can allow the ‘cooling-off ‘ period to expire and pay the balance of the deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) to the agent. If the ‘cooling-off’ period is to be waived then your solicitor will provide the necessary certificate to do this and attach it the contract signed by you. Contracts are then unconditionally exchanged and, at the same time, you pay the deposit for the purchase by way a cash or cheque or is not available to you then a deposit bond (an alternative to a cash deposit) is usually agreed to. The sale then becomes binding on both parties.
6. After exchange of contracts, further searches and enquiries are made by your solicitor to ensure that you will be getting good title to the property free of fraud or unknown title defects. If you are borrowing money for the purchase your solicitor will also correspond with your bank and satisfy the its mortgage requirements for settlement.
7. Your solicitor will report to you about exchange of contracts, ask you for stamp duty money and estimate the date of settlement (also known as ‘completion’).
8. You arrange household insurance (buildings) in the exact names of yourself and the lending body. The insurance risks pass to you from the date you are entitled to occupy the property however it is recommended that you start your insurance cover from the date contracts are exchanged (but only if you are purchasing a house). Your bank will normally expect to have possession of the insurance policy before it settles the loan.
9. About 2-3 weeks after exchange of contracts you sign your mortgage documents.
10. About 4-5 weeks after exchange of contracts:
    1. You will be advised of the estimated date for "settlement" more accurately and advised of the final amount (usually BANK CHEQUES) to complete the purchase, less the amount being provided by your lender;
    2. You should apply for connection of the electricity, telephone and gas and book a removalist, if required.
11. On the completion date (usually 6 weeks after exchange of contracts) your solicitor meets the vendor's solicitors and your lender for the "settlement" to complete the transaction. There is no need for you to attend. Usually this settlement entitles you to take possession of the property and your solicitor ensures that the keys are made available to you as soon as possible - usually through the real estate agent - within an hour of settlement.
12. Shortly before the settlement you should arrange an inspection of the property to ensure that the agreed inclusions are there, no rubbish has been left on the site and the property has not been damaged since your last inspection. If there are any major issues you should immediately consult your solicitor.
13. After settlement the Land Titles Office, local council, Water Board and Valuer General (and the strata manager if the property is a unit) are notified that you are the new owner of the property and all future rate notices will be issued to you in your name.

You don’t have to get formal court orders made about the arrangements for the children - you can organise informal agreements. Many separated parents have informal agreements in place about the parenting of their children.

Agreement is usually reached through negotiation between the parents with or without the help of mediation or counselling services. Neither parent can make the other stick to an informal agreement.

It will often be important to get some legal advice because the agreements you make about where children live and where they spend their time can also affect your property matters and child support.

Parenting Plans – Parents are able to enter into agreements about the arrangements for their children, known as parenting plans. A lawyer, family counsellor, family dispute resolution practitioner or family consultant (“an adviser”) can help you and your ex make a parenting plan.

A parenting plan must be in writing, signed and dated. It can be changed by another signed written agreement.

Parenting plans create no legal obligations on either parent. However, the Court can consider what has been agreed in a parenting plan if you have later court proceedings dealing with parenting issues.

Consent Orders – This is an agreement which can bemade after negotiating with the other parent, usually with the help of a lawyer or dispute resolution service. Aconsent order is filed at, and approved by the Courts and is binding because the Courts can be asked to enforce it.

Family dispute resolution (also known as mediation) is required before you can start court proceedings about children, unless your case is urgent or involves some exceptional factors such as family violence. The Court usually requires a certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner before a case about children can go ahead.

Try dispute resolution.

Before you go to court about your children, you must:

• make a genuine effort to resolve the dispute through counselling or mediation; and

• make reasonable efforts to communicate with the other party.

There are many services that help with counselling and family dispute

resolution including Legal Aid NSW, the Family Relationship

Advice Line and the Family Relationship Centres.