What is a section 27 statement to sellers?

A section 27 statement is a method of obtaining your deposit release before settlement. Your real estate agent will generally recommend that you ask for one from your conveyancing lawyer. If you do require access to the buyer’s deposit prior to settlement, then you can request for this document to be prepared for you. If you do not need the deposit prior to then this is an optional step.

To get your deposit released early, you will need to satisfy the criteria for it:

• you will need to confirm that your mortgage over the property is less than 80% of the purchase price; and
• you do not have any caveats registered on the title of the property

If you are not able to satisfy the criteria, your buyer is not obligated to agree to the release of the deposit. In fact, they will probably be advised by their conveyancers not to agree to the release.