Conveyancing
The main purpose of the conveyancing process is to transfer the legal title or ownership of land and any improvements on that land, from one owner to another.
In most cases, your conveyance will start from the time you enter into your Contract (date of Contract) and continue through to settlement of the purchase or sale.
There may be various conditions included in your Contract such as finance approval and/or pest and building inspections and your Contract will remain conditional until such time as these are satisfied.
Once the Contract is unconditional settlement is booked with all parties to the Contract and then on the appointed day the parties or their agent attends settlement where important legal documents are exchanged along with the payment of the purchase price. Occasionally, there may also be terms in your Contract, which may require you or other parties to perform certain requirements even after settlement. This could include matters which have been dealt with by way of special condition in the contract i.e. completion of repairs to the property, removal of items/equipment left at or in the property etc.
Each contract is drawn to suit personal circumstances and, in some cases, where any of the parties may not comply with their obligations either during the Contract or following settlement, it may be necessary to enforce their rights through the court system. Once the Buyer and Seller have both agreed to all the terms of the contract and signed then the Contract is dated.
In NSW this is known as “exchange”. The amount of the deposit is negotiated between the parties through the agent and paid to the agent as stakeholder on signing. If agreed, a deposit bond may be used in lieu of a cash payment. It is usually 30 days between contract date and Settlement, however this time frame can be shortened or lengthened by mutual agreement. During the period of the contract your solicitor will undertake searches and enquiries of various Government and non-Government authorities to ensure that there are no outstanding interests or problems with the property.
Stamp duty must be paid to the government. A buyer’s loan must be processed, and a seller’s loan must be discharged ready for settlement. Just prior to settlement the buyer should carry out a final inspection on the property to ensure that there is no damage or unidentified issues and that they are happy and ready to settle.
On the day of settlement, the buyer will pay the balance of the purchase price for the property to the seller and the keys and title deed are made available to the buyer. A title deed is only available in NSW on every settlement.
We will attend to settlement on your behalf and ensure that all documents have been prepared and executed correctly; settlement figures have been adjusted accurately and that everything is in order to proceed. We will then telephone or email you to advise that settlement has been completed successfully. Settlement is not however the end of the conveyancing process. Shortly following settlement, the agent is notified so that commission can be taken, and the Seller receives payment of the balance of the deposit. If a bank is incoming, it will attend to registration of the transfer at the Land Titles Office. If the property is being purchased with cash, then the Solicitor for the Buyer will attend to registration of the documents.
Once registration has occurred the Buyer will receive legal title and the Seller will be released from any further obligations for payment of rates, land tax etc. The conveyancing process is determined upon the successful registration of the transfer of ownership of the property.
For a confidential discussion relating to your conveyancing process, please do not hesitate to contact Roser Lawyers