What is Conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the process of transferring the legal title of ownership in real property from one person (or entity) to another.
When looking to buy a property the first thing you should do is contact us! We will guide you through the processes involved in buying real estate. You should be aware of the steps involved in dealing with
a Real Estate Agent and have the Contract reviewed by us before paying a deposit or signing the Contract.
You should be aware of your cooling off rights before entering into any Contract as well as the searches that will need to be performed (which we can organise for you on your behalf).
You should also be aware of all of the costs involved before you commit yourself to purchasing a property so that you know exactly what you can afford before you start to negotiate a price with your Real Estate Agent.
We will be happy to clarify with you any matters that you are not completely aware of and help you with all aspects of the purchase of the property.
Steps Involved in Buying Real
Property:
1. Contact New Skies
We will help you navigate the process and equip you with all you need to know as you start your house hunting!
2. Organise Your Financing
We can help you organise your home loan with competitive rates.
3. Title Insurance
When purchasing a property it can sometimes be advantageous to obtain title insurance to prevent against any title issues that may arise in the future. We can organise this insurance for you on your behalf.
4. Contract Review
When you have found a property that you are interested in purchasing we will obtain a copy of the Contract from the Real Estate Agent and we will review it and advise you accordingly. The Real Estate Agent is required by law to have a copy of the Contract available at all times for prospective Purchasers to review.
5. Exchange of Contracts
When your offer has been accepted by the Seller, or you have been successful at auction, then ‘exchange of Contracts’ will take place. This is where you and the Seller both sign identical copies of the Contract, and then swap or ‘exchange’ the Contracts with each other. Upon exchange the Contract will be binding on both parties.
6. Deposit
Upon exchange you will be required to pay the deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price but a 5% deposit can sometime be negotiated). The deposit will be held in trust until Settlement of the property when the funds will then be released to the Seller (unless otherwise stated in the Contract). If you do not have sufficient savings for the deposit, a deposit bond or bank guarantee may be obtained from your lender.
7. Cooling Off Period
Most Contracts for the sale of residential property have a cooling off period of 5 business days. During this cooling off period the Seller is legally obliged to sell the property only to you (ie you cannot be guzumped by other interested Purchasers during this time). However, you can withdraw from the Contract during the cooling off period but you will forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price. Some Sellers will insist on you waiving the cooling off period by signing a section 66W certificate. There is no cooling off period if the property is purchased at public auction.
8. Building and Pest Inspections
Either before you sign the Contract or during the cooling off period, you should obtain building and pest inspections. A building inspection will report on the structural soundness or integrity of the building and if there are any obvious drainage problems. A pest inspection will report on any structural pests (eg termites) that may affect the property.
9. Strata Inspection
When buying a unit, townhouse or villa it is likely that you are buying into a strata scheme. In this case, you may also want to obtain a strata inspection of the books and records of the owners' corporation. This will reveal what insurances are in place, the financial position of the scheme, if there are any ongoing maintenance problems and if there are have been any special levies struck. We can arrange for any of these inspections to be performed for you on your behalf.
10. Stamp duty
Stamp duty is payable on the Contract after exchange but before Settlement. See our Stamp Duty section.
11. Searches
After exchange we will carry out searches on the Council, the relevant water authority and any owners corporation to determine what rates are outstanding on the property. The rates will be adjusted and paid by the Seller up to the Settlement Date, so that you take on the property free of any outstanding encumbrances. From the Settlement Date onwards, the payment of these rates are your responsibility. New Skies will also carry out a search on the Office of State Revenue to determine whether the property is subject to Land Tax. The costs of these searches are included in our fixed fee.
12. Final Inspection
The day before Settlement you are entitled to carry out a final inspection of the property. This final inspection is important as following Settlement it is extremely difficult to have repairs done by the Seller or inclusions returned.
13. Settlement
We will prepare the final settlement figures for the property in conjunction with the Seller's solicitor and the financiers. We will inform you what cheques you will need to provide for Settlement. We will attend Settlement on your behalf and will call you when it is completed and you can collect the keys to the property from the Real Estate Agent.
