There is so much out there written about what conveyancing is and what it involves. Well in a nutshell it is the transfer of property from one entity to another. When we say entity, we mean, an individual, company and or trust.
What really happens in conveyancing? Well, there is always that intention of someone wishing to transfer property to another, through a contract of sale, by way of a gift, the death of a landowner or due to relationship breakdown. In any way, they would need to appoint a conveyancer or lawyer as their legal representative to complete the transfer through PEXA.
First let’s clarify some common terminology used in a standard conveyancing transaction.
Vendor– The term vendor is referred to the entity selling the property. Usually the person, company or trust named also on the certificate of title and would be referred to as the Transferor on transfer documents.
Purchaser- this term refers to the entity acquiring the land, who would also be referred to as the transferee in the transfer forms.
Special Conditions- clauses in the contract that either are existing vendor clauses of which you can amend them or add additional clauses.
General Advice for conveyancing
In a standard conveyancing matter, where you are planning or have signed the contract to purchase the property, your legal representative would review the contract for you, advise on any major issues about the contract and the property you are purchasing. This usually is step one of the conveyancing processes and it is always highly advisable and important to have the contract and section 32 statement reviewed before you sign. This is general advice number one.
The contract of sale is the main document that records your whole agreement between you and the vendor. The contract should record all the terms and conditions you have negotiated with the vendor or its agents. You should never ever rely on any future promises or statements made by the vendor or its agents. Everything must be recorded in the contract of sale. This is general advice number two.
Next, if you are obtaining finance form a lender, which in most cases it is, you must have the contract subject to finance. This special clause will protect you if your lender does not approve your finance for your purchase. In some events you may be granted a fully approve finance letter with a condition that the lender is to complete a valuation of the property. Hint, your lender may de-value the property and provide you only 80 or 90% of borrowing on the valuation of the property. This would mean that you would have to come up with the difference. General advice number three.
Please be aware that auction contracts are unconditional. This means that they are not subject to any conditions. It is important to have your finance and any building or pest inspections completed earlier before the auction day.
Once a fully executed contract is in place and it is unconditional, your legal representative will organise all the transfer of land forms on PEXA, attend to completing the duties online form, invite your lender to the PEXA workspace, prepare adjustments, provide you a statement of account, complete settlement on the settlement date and notify all authorities of change of ownership.
Ghothane Lawyers can assist you in this process. They provide free contract review and will explain each step of the process of your matter to you, so email them at property@ghothane.com.au (Most Preferred) or call them today on 1800 886 886.