Property developers who sell property
Property developers can be registered as real estate salespeople to sell property—they don't need a special licence.
Mandatory disclosure of benefits to third parties
If you're selling a property that you have at least a 15% interest in you must disclose to the buyer any benefits you'll pay to a third party. This includes fees, commissions or other benefits (money or otherwise).
You need to tell the buyer:
- the full name of the third party
- their relationship to you
- the benefit they'll get from the sale.
Third party agencies might be:
- mortgage brokers
- building or pest inspectors
- marketing agencies
- real estate agents.
If you sell house-and-land packages this will apply to both the building contract and the land sale contract.
Download and complete the Disclosure to potential buyer form.
Find out more about disclosing interests and benefits in property transactions.
Where to deposit payment from buyers
Any payment from a buyer must be deposited directly into a trust account. This includes part-payments and deposits.
As a property developer you'll need to use a trust account managed by:
Extra rules for large-scale subdivisions
Extra rules apply to large-scale subdivisions—such as subdividing land into 6 or more parcels—including rules about:
- buying and selling property off the plan
- disclosing information to potential buyers
- terminating a contract
- handling trust monies.
These rules apply to building, house-and-land package and land sales contracts. Similar rules apply if you're developing a community titled complex such as a block of units.