WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING CONVEYANCING AND PROPERTY LAW SERVICES:

• Sale and purchase of property anywhere in Victoria;
• Preparation of Section 32 Statement and Contract of Sale for the sale of property through to settlement;
• Conducting settlements electronically on PEXA (Property Exchange Australia);
• Reviewing contracts before purchase through to settlement;
• Off-the-Plan sale and purchase;
• Property subdivision/consolidation;
• Retirement Village sale and purchase and advice;
• Loan and mortgage advice and preparation;
• Lodging Caveats/Withdrawal of Caveats;
• Adverse possession claims;
• Stamp duty advice;
• Commercial and Retail Lease advice and preparation;
• Lost title applications;
• Transfers pursuant to deceased estates;
• Transfer between spouses;
• Transfer due to breakdown of marriage/relationship.

PURCHASING PROPERTY IN VICTORIA

PROPERTY DEFECTS

We recommend that a building and pest inspection be conducted by an independent professional inspection. These inspections will verify the severity of defects (if any) and may even reveal unreported problems.  Depending on how the Contract of Sale is worded, the Contract can be rescinded if the building/pest inspection report shows major structural defects or that there is an active pest infestation.

MAKING AN OFFER ON A PROPERTY

It is very important to have a complete understanding of the Contract prior to making an offer. Once the offer is communicated and the vendor accepts the offer, the Contract is made, and it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get out of the purchase by rescinding the Contract without penalty unless Special Conditions are included.

It is very important that you have the correct wording on Special Conditions relating to your offer prior to making the offer. It is highly recommended that you seek your Conveyancer’s assistance in the drafting of your offer and the conditions of purchase.

THE CONTRACT OF SALE

Once all Special Conditions are satisfactorily completed, and your finance has been formally approved in writing, you are bound by the terms of the Contract and must continue to settlement.

If you have not already done so, you will now need to contact a Conveyancer or Solicitor to assist you with the paperwork and settlement.

Your representative will liaise with the vendor’s conveyancer or solicitor and your lender to arrange settlement.

SELLING A PROPERTY IN VICTORIA

To sell a property, your real estate agent will require a Section 32 Statement and a Contract of Sale.

PREPARING YOUR SECTION 32 STATEMENT

The Section 32 Statement provides prospective purchasers with information about the property. The Sale of Land Act sets out what information must be provided, and any relevant warnings that must be given to potential buyers. For example, the statement must include:

• Details as to the rates and other outgoings affecting the property such as council rates, water rates, land tax and Owners Corporation fees;
• Whether any building approvals have been granted in the past 7 years and if so, provide that information;
• Whether the vendor has received any notices affecting the property (eg. any neighbours intending on building townhouses which a potential purchaser is entitled to know).

Your Conveyancer will prepare the Section 32 Statement on your behalf.  Ideally the Statement should be prepared prior to advertising the property as your agent will be unable to sell your property without it. You should review the Statement very carefully after it has been prepared by your Conveyancer.  False, incorrect or misleading information in the Statement causes it to be defective and can result in the purchaser having the right to terminate the Contract.

LOCATING YOUR CERTIFICATE OF TITLE

In most circumstances your Certificate of Title is held by your bank, the lawyer who acted on your behalf when you purchased the property or by yourself.

If you are unable to locate your original Certificate of Title, you will need to inform your Conveyancer immediately to make arrangements to have the Title replaced. To replace a lost Title is time consuming and expensive.  If you do not give your Conveyancer sufficient time to replace the lost Title, settlement of the sale may be delayed. Therefore, the original Certificate of Title to your property is a very important document and you should be fully aware where the document is at all times. We advise our clients to store their original important documents with us to avoid such documents being misplaced. We do not charge any fees to store documents in our Deed Safes.

SETTLING THE PROPERTY

The majority of settlements and property transactions are now on Property Exchange Australia (PEXA).  Very few transactions now occur manually.  The advantages of settling on PEXA are:

OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES TO CONSIDER

If you are buying and selling a property at the same time, it is possible to coordinate the settlements to coincide. This process is much simpler if the same Conveyancer is managing both transactions.

In some cases the buyer may wish to move into the property before settlement under a Licence Agreement. A Licence Agreement must be prepared detailing the arrangement, which needs to be signed both by yourself and the purchaser.