Buying property or venturing into the real estate market can be a daunting experience, whether you’re buying an investment property or your own home (always, but especially if you’re a first home buyer). We take the stress, the hassle, and the uncertainty out of the process.
What are some of the things that we cover in our conveyancing services for property buyers?
- Pre-Contract Assistance. Before you sign the Contract for Sale of Land, we can review it and provide you with both legal advice (ie, what is the legal position) and practical advice (ie, what you should do next). If you’re concerned about the contract’s terms and conditions, we can negotiate those terms and conditions with the seller’s lawyer for you. If you’re concerned about the nature of the property, we can arrange pre-contract professional inspections such as building and pest inspections, strata title inspections reports or surveys.
- Contract Review. By law, the contract must contain certain information about the property and include specific documents relating to the property. The insight is invaluable because these are things wouldn’t be able to obtain from your own physical inspection of the property. We can review the information and documents in the contract in order to provide you with a simple explanation and advice.
- Contract Exchange. Entering into the contract generally means you sign your version of the contract, the seller signs their own version of the contract. The two versions of the contract (known as ‘counterparts’) becomes the legally binding contract when we swap your version with the seller’s version (ie, the exchange). You could exchange the contract through the real estate agent directly, but it also could happen through us and the seller’s lawyers.
- Cooling Off Period. There’s a statutory ‘cooling off period’ of 5 business days if you’re buying residential property in New South Wales. It doesn’t apply if you’re buying at auction, on the day of an auction, or if we provide a certificate to the seller confirming that you’re aware of your cooling off rights, but you’ve agreed to waive them. Beware that some real estate agents demand buyers to waive their cooling off rights as though it’s an expectation, but it’s not – it’s your statutory right.
- Post-Contract Assistance. After you’ve entered into the Contract for Sale of Land, we make arrangements to complete the due diligence necessary for settlement, we process your stamp duty liability and/or any government benefits, and we communicate with your bank or lender if you’re relying on finance to fund your purchase. The time before entering the contract and settlement should also give you time to make arrangements with your finance.
- Stamp Duty Assessment. Stamp duty can sometimes be complicated, depending on the nature of your transaction. Normally, if you acquire property in New South Wales, you’re liable to pay stamp duty. We assess your stamp duty liability and can process any applications for stamp duty exemptions or concessions on behalf of Revenue NSW.
- Tax Complicance Obligations. Depending on the property that you’re buying, there can be a number of obligations imposed on you by law – namely, withholding GST and CGT on behalf of the seller. Sounds complicated? It is. That’s why we handle that for you as part of your settlement as well.
- Pre-Settlement Finance Calculations. Of course money is the most important part of your transaction. We ensure that the settlement calculations are correct and reflect your financial obligations under the contract. We communicate with your bank or lender to check that your loan amount is correct and that you’re able to properly budget to meet the shortfall.
- Settlement and Registration. Whether your transaction will be settled electronically through PEXA or traditionally with a physical settlement, we look after everything for you. We coordinate with the seller and the seller’s lawyer as well as your bank (if you have one) to complete the settlement and the registration of ownership in your name.
Quote for Buying Property
We offer fixed-fee conveyancing services in most transactions. The information that you provide here will assist us in accurately understand your requirements and scope the work necessary to achieve your intended goals and to satisfy your expectations.