Our aim is to keep the legal process for your purchase as simple as possible for you!
Our experienced Conveyancers are waiting to assist you now.
We have over 30 years experience in all facets of residential and commercial conveyancing.
We will endeavour to take the weight off your shoulders and make your purchase as easy and stress free for you as possible.
We have set out below Conveyancing Information that will assist you to understand the Process.
Pre-contract advice:
Why would you need to see a Solicitor before you sign a contract? Well to be honest, we can save you a lot of grief if the contract conditions do not suit your needs.
We will work with your Real Estate Agent to ensure that the contract will contain all of the conditions you require to enable you to receive all of the information you require prior to settlement.
Contracts are not subject to satisfactory searches. In Queensland, once a contract is signed by both the buyer and the seller, then you have a contract.
There are many things you need to consider before signing a contract. For example: Has the house had a Final Building Department Certificate issued by the Local Council? You could be inheriting big problems if the structures are not all Council approved.
We can help you by drafting Special Conditions for your contract that will tailor it to your specific needs. You may like to make the contract subject to a satisfactory flood search, or subject to satisfactory Council searches. Therefore, we strongly suggest you contact us before you sign a contract so we can protect your interests from the start.
Titles Office Calculator:
See the below link to calculate your Titles Office Registration fees for your Transfer, Mortgage or Release of Mortgage documents when they are lodged for registration. These are all expenses of your purchase or refinance transaction.
Post Contract advice:
Once we receive your contract we will advise you of the specific dates and time frames, your obligations under the contract and what we can do for you. We will also point out the things that you must do prior to settlement. We will write to you in clear terms and keep you fully informed at every step through to settlement.
Government Duty (Stamp Duty):
Duty (previously known as Stamp Duty) is payable on your purchase transaction. Duty is payable on the purchase price and is easily calculated using the Office of State Revenue calculator link on our Calculator & Links Page. We will assess the amount of duty which is payable prior to settlement and we will advise you of the exact amount to assist with your budgeting.
Cooling Off Period:
The standard REIQ Contract provides for a cooling off period of 5 business days from the date of receipt by the buyer of the fully executed Contract. You will need to let us know when you receive a copy of the fully executed Contract so we can determine the dates for your cooling-off period.
If you elect to terminate the contract within the cooling-off period please be aware that you will have to pay .25% of the purchase price to the seller by way of termination penalty.
The Form 30(c) Warning Statement which you sign before signing the contract clearly outlines this obligation. Call us to discuss your needs before you sign a contract, so you can avoid unnecessary expense.
Finance Condition:
You will arrange your finance through your Bank or Broker. We can assist you by providing your Bank with a copy of your Contract upon request. You will need to provide us with your written instructions once you have received satisfactory finance approval upon terms and conditions suitable to you. We will not confirm finance under a contract until you instruct us to do so.
Special Conditions
Special Conditions are conditions which are unique to you and your requirements. We will note all of the special conditions that your contract is subject to and will advise you of those dates in our first letter to you. We will work together to ensure that all of the conditions are complied with so you can make informed decisions throughout the transaction.
Pest and Building Condition:
We suggest that your contract be subject to a pest and building inspection. You will need to engage inspectors to carry out these inspections for you. Once the inspections have been done and you have received the Inspector’s report, please provide us with a copy and your instructions if you are satisfied with the outcome. If you are not satisfied and there are problems, please contact us urgently so we can protect your interests within the time constraints of the contract.
Property Searches:
Once we receive your Contract from the Agent then we will provide you with information which will explain a lot of the legal “jargon” to you. We will ask you for your further instructions regarding the Government Department searches you would like us to undertake on your behalf on the property.
The searches will ascertain as much information as possible about the property. Depending on the type of searches you request, the results may or may not give you right of termination. It is important that you discuss your search requirements with us so you can make informed decisions about which searches are important for your property.
Our “Search instructions form” outlines a description of all searches and the current cost of each search.
Your Identification:
It is a legal requirement that we identify each of the buyers so we will ask you for a copy of your Drivers Licence and/or Passport or some other form of photo identification.
Plan Certification:
We will send you a copy of the Registered Plan once we have carried out that search with the property you are purchasing outlined for you to certify. This is an important step because it is critical that the property you have inspected is the same property listed on the contract. We do not physically see the property and sometimes an error can be made in the description of the property at the time of contract. By you identifying the property on the registered plan and comparing it with your physical inspection of the property costly mistakes can be avoided before settlement.
Swimming Pools:
Legislation now requires Pool owners to provide the buyer with a Pool Compliance Certificate either prior to contract or prior to settlement. If there is no Pool Compliance Certificate then the seller must provide you with a Form 36 Notice of No Pool Compliance. As the buyer you must then have the pool inspected by a qualified inspector for compliance purposes and if you are not satisfied with the inspection report, then you have right of termination. You must notify the seller of termination within the contract time frame for the termination to be effective.
It is critical that you discuss this with us so we can protect your interests.
Home or Building Insurance:
The buyer is liable to insure the property (Home Insurance), referred to in the contract as “Risk” from 5.00pm on the next day after the contract date. The buyer must take out Home Insurance on the property from that time even if the contract is subject to finance, pest and building conditions and other special conditions.
Prior to you signing the contract, we can arrange for a special condition to vary the Home Insurance Risk, but remember this can only be done before you sign the contract. Come and see us before you sign a contract so we can make it easier for you.
Pre-settlement inspection:
We strongly suggest that you contact the agent to arrange a pre-settlement inspection of the property to ensure that all is in order prior to settlement. We ask that you let us know when you have carried out the inspection so we can then proceed to settlement. Let us know immediately if there are any problems with the property prior to settlement.
Council Planning & Development Online (PD Online):
We have included below the Moreton Bay Regional Council PD Online website link for your assistance.
You can type in the address of the property you are thinking of buying and can access some valuable information from Council Records about the property. We encourage all buyers to do this before they sign a contract because it may provide information that will affect your purchase.
Council Flood Maps:
We have also included a link below to the Moreton Bay Regional Council Flood Maps. Once again you can type in the address of the property you are thinking of buying and Council provides information that may show whether or not the property is subject to flooding.
You should really take the time to carry out this procedure prior to signing a contract because most contracts are not subject to satisfactory search results (unless you include a special condition) and therefore you would have no right of termination even if the property is 100% flood prone. Information like this is incredibly important for the overall suitability of the property you are thinking of buying.
Property Settlement:
We will attend the property settlement on your behalf. We liaise with your Bank and arrange a suitable settlement time and place with the other party’s Solicitors and Bank. We will calculate the amount required for your property settlement and the various adjustments applicable.
We will also provide you with a copy of our settlement statement prior to settlement to assist you with budgeting. Please let us know if you are contributing funds from your own account apart from your Home loan. Quite often now the bank will not access your personal bank accounts to provide the balance of settlement monies and you may need to deposit clear funds into our Trust Account prior to settlement.
We will assist you at every stage of your conveyance so please talk to us if you are experiencing any difficulties so we can help you.
Post Settlement:
If you have paid Cash, we will then register the Transfer documents with the Titles Office into your name. If you have a Bank loan, the Bank will attend to the registration of the Transfer and your Mortgage.
We will write to you and provide you with copies of the searches for your records. We will provide you with a settlement statement and a trust account statement to finalise our file. Please let us know if you require any other information at this time before our file is archived.