Conveyancing is simply the word used to describe the process involved in transferring the legal ownership of land or real estate from one person or entity to another.
The contract is the legal document which sets out the information about the property and the terms on which you are buying the property or selling.
Before buying make sure you obtain a strata report which should tell you:
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- The cost of being a member of an owner’s corporation
- Who manages the owners corporation
- Whether there are any proposed works, strata levy increases, potential or existing
legal claims affecting the property - Minutes of previous annual general meetings
- How much money is held by the strata manager on behalf of the owners
- What insurance is in place for the building
You should always do all of your investigations in relation to the strata building prior to signing a contract if possible. One of the issues that you should raise with your expert doing your strata report is whether or not the building was constructed with combustible cladding (flammable cladding that is now banned and will need to be replaced).
If you are buying at auction you must have all of your due diligence finished before the auction day. You should obtain a strata report and building reports if required. If you are the successful bidder on auction day you do not have a cooling off period and will need to sign the contract on the day and pay your deposit.
In terms of finance you should make sure that you have loan approval for the amount required because if you are the successful bidder and sign the contract on the day you cannot then change your mind and withdraw from the contract at a later date.
In terms of the contract you should always have a full written advice prepared by your solicitor at eConveyancing NSW and ensure you give your solicitor enough time to negotiate any changes to the contract prior to auction.
Buying off the plan means that the property is being advertised for sale before it is actually been built or before the land has been subdivided. As you cannot see the end product, the risks a considerations compared with other property purchases are much higher.
When you’re buying off the plan you enter into a contract with a developer on the basis that the developer would do its best to construct the building in a proper manner within the timeframe allowed in contract.
Always ensure you have a full written advice from your solicitor at eConveyancing NSW before you enter into any contract.
Please contact eConveyancing NSW directly if you are purchasing through your SMSF. You will need to provide us with a copy of the funds trust deed documents and you need to ensure your lender/bank advises you of the correct entity that is required to be named in the contract for sale.
In most matters the bank will require you to obtain certification with the solicitor about the documents that you sign where the bank requires you to guarantee the loan. The costs of obtaining this certification are additional to any conveyancing fees and can be anywhere up to $1100 given the complexity of the bank documents required to be reviewed by the solicitor and explained to you.
Properties sold with a pool must have one of: a ‘relevant occupation certificate’; a ‘certificate of compliance’; or a ‘certificate of non-compliance’, in the contract for sale.
This means that:
- Vendors are able to transfer the obligation of obtaining a ‘certificate of compliance’ to the purchaser. A ‘certificate of non-compliance’ can now be attached to the contract of sale.
- The buyer of a property with a non-compliant swimming pool has 90 days from the date of settlement to address any issues of pool barrier non-compliance and obtain a certificate of compliance.
- Properties with more than two (2) dwellings are exempt from the requirement to provide a compliant pool barrier on sale or lease, as they are already regulated through mandatory three (3)-yearly council inspections.
The owner of a property with two (2) or fewer dwellings and a pool must have a certificate of compliance before entering into a lease.
Settlement is the day on which the completion of the transaction is scheduled to occur.
You should negotiate a specific date for settlement before exchange if you need to make settlement more convenient to you
When you sign the contract you should pay attention to the date on which settlement is to complete. If you later need to change that date you can ask the other party to agree however in most cases it is unlikely that they would agree to vary the contract. Varying a contract should be undertaken in writing between the parties and extra legal fees will be incurred as a result.
eConveyancing NSW charges professional fees for the work they undertake in assisting you through the selling or buying process. Those fees for a standard conveyance are currently $1,600.00 plus GST and will vary from time to time. Fees for off the plan transactions and SMSF transactions are higher as there is more work required. eConveyancing NSW will provide you with a specific quote for your matter when requested.
On top of those fees eConveyancing NSW incurs costs for disbursements. A disbursement is the cost of searches, certificates, services which we pay on your behalf during the conveyance.
For example when you are selling your property, we pay for various contract documents which are required such as a zoning certificate from local council, water and sewerage diagrams from Sydney Water, title searches to show who owns the property and so on. eConveyancing NSW will provide you with an estimate of the disbursements as each matter is different depending on the property.
When you are buying the property, we are required to pay for various searches on your behalf such as a certificate from local council showing the rates payable and paid, a certificate from Sydney Water showing the rates payable and a certificate from the strata manager showing any levies outstanding. There are various other documents and outgoings paid for by eConveyancing NSW and they vary depending on the matter. We will provide you with an estimate of the disbursements when you instruct us to proceed on your behalf.
The major factors which will affect the fees are the amount of non-routine conveyancing work required, if any.
Examples of non-routine work (not covered by our fixed costs professional fees), include, but are not limited to: a variation in any of the terms of the contract including price, date or other variations; a caveat being registered on the title to the property; you being a cash buyer and requiring registration of the title; the vendor or you obtaining a licence agreement concerning occupation of the property after completion (in the case of the vendor) or before completion (in your case); the completion date being delayed: a delayed completion is not usual and therefore the legal work required between the completion date specified in the contract and the delayed date of completion is not routine conveyancing work; the vendor issuing a notice to complete; obtaining a GST ruling in relation to the transaction; a dispute about the amount of stamp duty payable; breach of the Contract for Sale of Land by you; breach of the Contract for Sale of Land by the vendor; you require Foreign Investment Review Board approval to purchase the property; extensive negotiations with the vendor or its representative concerning the draft contract submitted by the vendor. (A single letter to and from the vendor or its representative is not extensive negotiations and is the normal matter.); extensive work and liaison with the bank or lenders; Organising or advising on Government Grants, Stamp Duty concession applications and the like; you rescind the contract pursuant to cooling off rights or for other legitimate legal.
When two or more people purchase a property you must to decide whether or not to purchase that property as joint tenants or tenants in common:
Joint tenants possess a right of survivorship, that is, the interest of a deceased joint tenant passes to the surviving joint tenant(s). This means that a joint tenant does not have an interest in the land that can be passed to another through a will unless they become a sole owner because the other joint tenants have predeceased him or her.
Tenants in common do not possess a right of survivorship and on their death their interest passes according to the terms of their will. If a tenant in common dies intestate (without a will) their estate is distributed according to the Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898. It is not necessary for tenants in common to have a unity of interest, they can therefore hold unequal shares. For this reason the shares of tenants in common must always be shown on the transfer.
The agreement or transfer must be to acquire either a first home, or a vacant block of residential land intended to be the site of a first home.
For contracts that exchanged on or after 1 July 2017 and before 1 July 2023, you or one of the other eligible first home buyers must:
- move into the home within 12 months after buying the property, and
- live there for at least 6 continuous months which may mean no more than 2 weeks holiday in that 6 month.
For contracts that exchange on or after 1 July 2023, eligible first home buyers will receive an exemption from transfer duty for purchases of new and existing homes up to $800,000 and a concessional rate of duty for homes up to $1,000,000.
For contracts that exchange on or after 1 July 2023, You or one of the other eligible first home buyers must:
- move into the home within 12 months after buying the property, and
- live there for at least 12 continuous months – we assume which may mean no more than 4 weeks holiday per year away from the home however, this has not been confirmed by NSW Revenue.
Please see the following link for more information:
https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/grants-schemes/first-home-buyer/assistance-scheme#heading5