The process
What the downsizing transition process looks like if you're still yet to sell your current home and buy in the same market.
As a buyer's agent for downsizers, here's exactly what working with me looks like, eight stages, from the first conversation through to settlement and the move.
- 1
Discovery
- A no-pressure conversation to understand your situation and what you're hoping to achieve.
- This is exploratory only. Nothing is signed and you're not engaged in my services yet.
- Off the back of this call, I'll send you the Downsizer Transition Assessment.
- This tells us whether your move is viable and whether it's worth taking the next step together.
- If you haven't already completed a Downsizer Transition Assessment, I'll send that through after our call. It covers the markets you're selling in and buying into, your budget, and your property type of choice.
- From there, I can put together your Downsizing Cost Summary.
- After our call, I'll recommend you invite two or three listing agents to independently appraise your property.
- Once you have a price range, campaign outlook, and sense of current market conditions, you can relay that back to me directly or I can speak with the agent independently.
- This gives us both a clear picture of what's realistic on the sell side before we take the next step.
- 2
Selling Agent In-Home Consultation
- By this point, you'll have met with one or more listing agents independently and appointed the one you want to work with.
- Once you let me know who you've chosen, I'll contact your listing agent directly to discuss your situation, timing, and whether an in-home strategy session makes sense.
- If we're all aligned, the three of us meet at your property. This is about sequencing, timing, campaign strategy, and what the market is telling us right now.
- After the agent leaves, I walk you through your Downsizing Cost Summary. A personalised breakdown of what engaging me will cost for your specific move.
- If you'd like to proceed, you sign a Form 6 and a liaison retainer becomes payable. This is a separate agreement to my full service fee. It keeps me actively working alongside your listing agent throughout the campaign. Campaign length varies, which is why this is structured as a standalone retainer rather than part of the broader engagement.
- 3
List and Campaign Launch
- Your property goes to market.
- I liaise directly with your listing agent to track campaign performance and buyer interest.
- This can run anywhere from the first week through to several weeks, depending on the market and what you're selling.
- 4
Sale Under Contract
- An offer is accepted and your sale goes under contract.
- What happens next depends on your situation, whether you need funds from your sale or you're using bridging finance.
- In most cases, we'll wait for your sale to go unconditional before starting the active search.
- During this period, your liaison retainer keeps me actively working alongside your agent, not just checking in.
- This includes bringing my own network to the campaign and drawing on my broader connections to widen the pool of genuine buyers for your property.
- If your property hasn't sold within four weeks, we'll sit down with the agent and reassess price expectations and campaign approach together.
- 5
Active Buying Search
- Once your sale reaches unconditional, we sign a new 90-day agreement for the active search and buying phase.
- Your fee at this stage is paid in two parts. A monthly retainer becomes payable from the start of the active search. This is a portion of your overall agreed fee, and every retainer payment is deducted from your success fee. The success fee only becomes payable once we go unconditional on the buy side. Until that point, you are only paying the monthly retainer.
- I actively target specific properties: off-market, pre-market, through listing agents, property managers, and wherever else we've agreed in your property brief.
- Every property goes through a two-stage due diligence process before it reaches you.
- Stage one: a desktop check covering council portals, flood searches, and other due diligence sources before anything reaches your shortlist.
- Stage two: once a suitable property is identified, I arrange inspections including midweek and weekend. I'm on the road most days to make sure nothing suitable gets missed.
- For updates and shortlisted properties, we'll use whatever works best for you: email, text, or an online tool I use for sharing and reviewing properties.
- 6
Offer, Negotiation and Buy-Side Contract
- I find a property and negotiate terms on both sides.
- I make sure the purchase goes under contract with the right conditions in place to protect you.
- 7
Working Toward Unconditional
- Your situation determines the order here. Your family home might go unconditional first, or the reverse. There's no fixed sequence.
- Once we have a property under offer, I liaise directly with your conveyancer.
- I handle communications with your mortgage broker and any other third parties, so you're not chasing separate people.
- I organise and personally attend building and pest inspections.
- Where useful, I'll liaise with both conveyancers to see whether settlement dates can be brought closer together. This only happens if it actually benefits you.
- 8
Unconditional to Settlement
- Once both sides go unconditional, your success fee becomes payable, less any retainer payments already made. The success fee is agreed at the in-home strategy session and reflects the full complexity of your move.
- Between unconditional and settlement, I'm still actively working on your behalf.
- I liaise with the agent on settlement-day logistics and any last-minute details.
- I stay on top of your conveyancers and broker to make sure no timelines or deadlines are missed.
- I arrange any other services you need around the move: removalists, connecting utilities, practical handover support.
- I organise a pre-settlement inspection, typically carried out the morning of settlement, to confirm everything is as it should be before keys change hands.
That's the full picture, no surprises, no guesswork.
Ready to talk?
Request a discovery call and we'll work through your specific situation together.
Not quite ready?
Complete a complimentary Downsizer Transition Assessment. I'll put together a personalised ten-page report covering your markets, your timing, and your options. No call required.