Tag Archives: Conveyancing

Things to look for when buying Investment Property

Over the years we’ve fielded many questions about property. While we try our best to answer with all questions in relation to the legal process of conveyancing, we get a lot of questions sometimes about things like price, location, and whether the property’s a good investment.

Unfortunately we can’t tell you whether your purpose will be a good investment or not – that’s something that you or your financial planner should figure out – but we can tell you what to consider when you are thinking about purchasing investment property, such as:

  • Consider your alternatives. While we’ve noticed that property investment is really popular lately, there’s always other ways how you may invest your money.
  • Consider the type of property. Property investment isn’t just limited to residential property. There’s also offices, retail property, and other commercial properties available.
  • Consider what the initial costs would be. These include conveyancing costs, stamp duty, as well as other lending or broking costs.
  • Consider what the on-going costs would be. These would be things like land tax, council rates, water rates, strata levies, maintenance costs, insurance, as well as mortgage repayments. Be realistic and don’t skimp out, especially with maintenance costs.
  • Compare these on-going costs with what you would likely yield in rental. Take into account that you might not always have the property tenanted, and you may not always get the rental yield you want.
  • Take into account likely changes in the interest rates.
  • Consider the rate of capital growth of the property by comparing it to the rates in the suburb that the property is in.
  • Get tax advice about your proposed investment.
  • Always have an exit strategy. An investment is just that – an investment. It’s not an investment if you hold on to it and not sell it. It’s not an investment if you plan to have it as a second home. Always consider that you’ll end up selling it when the time is right. Plan for when that timing is – or plan for how to dispose of it if it’s not working out.

Ern, our principal, has previously written on this subject, and given some very valuable insight into this. That being said, good luck, and happy hunting!

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Kenneth Ti

Kenneth Ti
Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. Kenneth Ti is an associate solicitor with Phang Legal.

What property should I buy?

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve been asked by clients questions like:

  • What property should I buy?
  • Should I buy an apartment of a house?
  • How much should I pay?
  • Is this a good price?
  • Is this a good area?

Having provided conveyancing services as part of my legal practice for over a decade, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the property market through my clients as well as my own activities. I’ve ‘bought’ and ‘sold’ hundreds of property vicariously and those experiences have influenced some of my thinking. Of course I’m more than happy to lend a personal opinion, and even though it’s a personal opinion that has evolved over time, it’s still far from a professional opinion.

After all, from a professional perspective, I’m just a lawyer (and still practicing/practising – pun intended). I’m able to advise clients on the process and procedures, as well as the legal rights with respect to the property transaction or property ownership – but questions that go beyond that are not with my professional expertise, and I make that very clear to my clients.

Often, if I’m pressed for more than a personal opinion and clients want a definitive answer, I answer their question with a question. WHAT DO YOU WANT? Sounds annoying, but it’s a legitimate question to a question.

At the end of the day, that’s the key question that needs to be answered, isn’t it? If you don’t know what you want, no one else can nor should tell you – or at least that’s what I think.

What you buy and whether it’s suitable to you depends largely on your dreams or desires, your motivation or your plan, or even your stage in life. Everyone’s different, so what might be right for someone else won’t necessarily be right for you. If you’re buying for investment, you might be looking at a totally different property to what you’d look at if you’re buying your home. You might be looking at one kind of property if you’re single or a couple without kids, and another kind of property if you’ve got a family.

For anyone who’s not familiar with the property market or the property industry, there’s always the danger that you’ll sign a contract for something you don’t really want (perhaps because you were persuaded or influenced by an accomplished real estate agent). I guess that’s why in New South Wales, the law provides that a cooling off period applies to residential property purchased under private treaty. The cooling off period minimises the consequences of buyer’s regret. For more information regarding the cooling off period, have a look at some previous/related articles listed below.

On the other hand, if you really feel you need professional assistance there are professionals like some financial planners, or maybe real estate agents or more appropriately buyers-agents who can provide advice or at least help you clarify your property goals. Perhaps they’re the most appropriate professionals to be speaking to regarding property – especially if you don’t know and you need someone to help you work through those questions yourself (after all, you don’t know what you don’t know, right?).

So there you have it – as many of my clients would testify, I’m more than happy to share my personal views on buying or selling property. I haven’t done poorly through property, but I’m certainly no property tycoon (far from it). I’ve just got a modest property holding which I hope/plan to continue to grow over the years. My strategies are based on my personal and professional experiences but not formulated on anything too formal or complex.

If you’re still hungry like me, then the best advice is to really speak to as many people as you can. There are so many people involved in or ancillary to the property market. Aside from real estate agents, you have bankers and finance brokers, other lawyer and licenced conveyancers, accountants and tax agents, as well as builders and developers. I don’t think it matters how experienced or inexperienced you might think you are in buying or selling property, be open to learning something new and you never know what will come of it. I know I’m constantly learning from all the people around me and enjoying every moment. I’m sure you will too – and then maybe I’ll come and ask you ‘what property should I buy?’

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Ern Phang

Ern Phang
Director - Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. is the solicitor director of Phang Legal.

Lawyers and Licenced Conveyancers

Would you use a lawyer or a licenced conveyancer?

Many of the older generation of lawyers complain about the introduction of licenced conveyancers to assist people with their property transactions. Obviously, they remember the times (ie,’ the good ole days’) when the conveyancing services market was only for lawyers. It was also the time when legal fees for conveyancing services were according to a scale rather than subject to market forces as they are today.

For me, I can’t provide any personal comparisons. Even though I’ve been in the legal industry since the late 1990s, the changes to the conveyancing services market took place before my time. For me, licenced conveyancers are an accepted part of the market in which I operate. I know a fair few licenced conveyancers and I think they have their place along side lawyers and offer clients a valuable alternative to using a lawyer for buying or selling property.

Without overly stereotyping the market, some clients only want conveyancing services and don’t want other information/advice regarding other areas of law, even if it’s relates in some way to their property transaction (yes, this is true). Sometimes that’s because clients make an informed choice but sometimes it’s because they’re not fully aware of how all areas of law and life are interrelated. For clients who can and do make an informed decision, then of course this is in their best interest. Those clients need and want a licenced conveyancer – and that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? A competent professional is a competent professional regardless of whether they’re a lawyer or a licenced conveyancer. But for the purpose of the clients’ property transactions a licenced conveyancer might not only be suitable but might also be the most appropriate professional.

HOWEVER, if clients only ask after licenced conveyancers because of a misunderstanding or lack of understanding of what a lawyer does or how their property transaction might give rise to other issues in other areas of law, that’s a real shame! I think there’s an opportunity and an important responsibility to educate and increase awareness about the differences between lawyers and licenced conveyancers and the different types of services that they provide.

For example, while the buying or selling of a property may be the key objective, many clients forget that this could have further reaching consequences on other areas in their lives, such as their estate and their estate planning or may their personal liabilities, arising from such things as taxation or duties. Couples who buy or sell property may also find themselves in more complex situations arising from relationship issues, which of course are rarely considered in the midst of their property transaction, but arise at a time when it is most convenient only to be compounded by not having considered it in the first place. A licenced conveyancer may assist them with their property transaction, but then who provides the right advice regarding how that property transaction affects other parts of their lives? Of course I’m not saying that in providing conveyancing services every lawyer takes a more holistic approach and provides advice to a clients that is beyond the property transaction. But this is what I do.

I think one of the biggest disservice a lawyer could provide would be to not advice their client about certain issues that the lawyer knows affects or will affect their client just because it was outside of the scope of their current retainer. The law is much more than just the immediate here and now.

A pessimistic outlook from an optimistic lawyer could save you a lot of cost and heartache in the future.

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Ern Phang

Ern Phang
Director - Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. is the solicitor director of Phang Legal.

Conveyancing services leading up to Christmas

Avoid unexpected delays and nasty surprises with forward planning

The Christmas and New Year period every year presents a challenge for anyone buying or selling property. In New South Wales, the standard settlement period for conveyancing transactions is 42 days, or 6 weeks, which means that any contracts dated around the middle of November, the standard completion date will fall around the holiday period.

Aside from the actual public holidays, the Christmas and New Year period is traditionally the time of year that many business will close or be operating with reduced staff. It is the the holiday season after all.

So what does the holiday season mean when it comes to buying or selling your property? The main concern is delay – especially if it is unexpected delay. It is quite normal for the contract for sale of land to include a term addressing the issue of delay. Usually, it is a penalty interest rate, but if there is extensive delay then it may also give rights for termination and forfeiture of the deposit. Basically, what this means is that failing to properly address the issue of delay because of the holiday season could result in serious consequences.

What can you do? If you are buying or selling property during this period, and the standard completion date falls within the holiday season, you should consider whether it is possible to adjust the settlement period so that the completion date falls before or after the holiday season. Unnecessary complications and unwanted consequences can be quickly avoided if you recognise that they can arise from attempting to settle during the holiday season and you take steps to negotiate your contract (especially the settlement period).

Before you sign the contract for sale of land, speak to your lawyer or licenced conveyancer and to your bank to ensure that the completion date is practical and achievable – on a worst case scenario assessment. Most experienced operators will be able to factor likely holiday season delays into ‘normal’ operating conditions to give you a realistic assessment of what is probably against what is possible. Taking this simple step will be well worth the effort.

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Ern Phang

Ern Phang
Director - Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. is the solicitor director of Phang Legal.

Auction or Private Treaty? What are the Benefits of a sale by Private Treaty?

Last month we discussed briefly in relation to what’s the best way to sell property. As mentioned, this is a question that a lot of people – particularly real estate agents – have a lot of opinions on! No doubt you wish to get the best price possible for your property. So what is the right way?

This month we’ll focus on the benefits and drawbacks of a sale by Private Treaty.

Benefits of Private Treaty

  • Higher control of the conveyancing process.
  • Control of what you ask for and what you can negotiate.
  • Take the time to find a suitable purchaser for the home that is willing to pay the price you are asking for.
  • Less stressful as there is no time limit for the sale of the property.
  • Purchasers may be more comfortable as their offers for the property are not disclosed to anyone else.

Drawbacks of Private Treaty

  • Take longer to find a suitable purchaser.
  • Dependent on your real estate agent’s negotiation skills.
  • Purchasers may not be final about their decision and may exercise their cooling off rights.
  • Vendors should be careful about initial asking price, as too high

    in the beginning might scare off potential purchasers.

  • Stigma may attach to a property that has been on the market for far too long

As you can see there are both advantages and disadvantages of a sale by way of private treaty. At the end of the day however you should consider what’s most suitable for your purposes.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or drop us an e-mail through the quick enquiry form!

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Kenneth Ti

Kenneth Ti
Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. Kenneth Ti is an associate solicitor with Phang Legal.

Contract for Sale of Land – Review for Buyers

Legal advice BEFORE signing a contract

It’s simple, yet probably the best advice you could get – and it’s free!

Buying property is a big financial commitment for most people, yet many people sign a contract to buy property without fully understanding or considering the legal consequences – often while they’re in the real estate agent’s office. For residential properties under private treaty, there can be some protection under the statutory cooling off period, however this doesn’t always apply (ie, buying at auction). See my previous posts regarding “What are my Cooling Off right? and “Why do I need a Cooling Off period?”.

But why would you need to rely on a cooling off period in the first place if you’re fully aware (or at least think you are) and appreciate the consequences of signing a contract to buy property in the first place? Knowing what you’re doing is important regardless of whether you’re a first home buyer or an experienced property investor, and one way to get that knowledge is through professional legal advice.

Lawyers or conveyancers may be able to assist you because of their ‘legal expertise’, the reality is that the value these professionals (my team of property lawyers and myself included) can provide is through their experience in handling many different transactions over many years. The last thing you’d probably want is to be frustrated and bogged down in legal technicalities when all you want to do is ‘buy that property’. Therefore, it’s necessary for your professional adviser to be able to provide you with advice and guidance that’s not only legally sound, but practical and has the best chance of achieving your goals while minimising the costs and the risks. Wow – sounds like an impossible task?

But, that’s what we do. Providing advice in relation to contracts, especially a contracts to buy property is what we do best as property lawyers. That advice is available to you, and BEFORE you sign a contract is the best time to get that advice. Once you’ve signed a contract, it’s presumed that you accept the terms and conditions of that contract. As mentioned previously, you might have an opportunity to pull out under a cooling off period, but even then you’ll be forfeiting 0.25% of the purchase price. There’s always a cost.

The best way to save is to get the right advice at the right time, and make an informed and advised decision when you’ve got the opportunity to do so.

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Ern Phang

Ern Phang
Director - Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. is the solicitor director of Phang Legal.

Auction or Private Treaty? What are the Benefits of a sale by Auction?

We often get questions in relation to what’s the best way to sell property. This is a question that a lot of people – particularly real estate agents – have a lot of opinions on! Some real estate agents swear by auctions. Others prefer to be patient and to sell the property through private treaty.

Selling your property can be stressful and no doubt you wish to get the best price possible for your property. So what is the right way? Generally, we think that this isn’t a question with clear answers and it will depend on what you intend to achieve and how you want to achieve it. There are benefits and there are drawbacks of both methods.

This month we’ll focus on the benefits of a sale by auction.

Benefits of Auctions

  • Potential to sell the property at above market value due to competition by the auction attendees.
  • Time limit for auction means that property is likely to be sold within the time limit or at auction.
  • Suitable for situations where the value of the property is in dispute.
  • Suitable for situations where

    the value of the property cannot be determined due to unique aspects of the property.

  • A sale at an auction does not allow the purchaser to exercise any cooling off rights.

Drawbacks of Auctions

  • Loss of control of what the sale price is.
  • Dependent on interest of attendees and the turnout at the auction.
  • Potential to sell the property for less than market value if not much interest in the property or if attendees are not competitive.
  • Failure to sell property at auction could attach negative stigma to property.
  • Purchasers may be put off by competitiveness and the disclosure of how much they are paying for the property.

As you can see there are both advantages and disadvantages of a sale by way of auction. At the end of the day however you should consider what’s most suitable for your purposes. Tune in next month, where we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a sale by way of private treaty.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or drop us an e-mail through the quick enquiry form!

Conveyancing Enquiry

For more information on our conveyancing services and quotes on our professional fees, please request a Conveyancing Fees quote. One of our experienced property lawyers will contact you to explore how we can assist you with your property transaction.

Kenneth Ti

Kenneth Ti
Property Lawyer

This website is supported by Phang Legal, an incorporated legal practice based in Parramatta CBD providing conveyancing services across Sydney and New South Wales. Kenneth Ti is an associate solicitor with Phang Legal.