Buying or selling real property is one of the most important transactions a person or business will perform so you need the best team to act for you. What you require as part of the settlement transaction depends on the kind of property being purchased.
If you are selling or buying residential property, the transaction is very likely to use the REIWA offer and acceptance form which incorporates the joint form of general conditions for the sale of land.
If you are purchasing an industrial or agricultural property, then you will likely need or tailored agreement to take into account the unique features of the property and its intended use.
If problems arise during the settlement process, you may also require legal advise to get things back on track, which is why using our property lawyers can give you greater peace of mind.
What is a Settlement?
The settlement or conveyancing process is the name for taking you property sale or purchase from contract negotiation through to registration of the legal transfer of the property.
The first step is to find your ideal property and put it under conditional contract. Many people do this without much consideration of the special conditions. The special conditions are what protects the parties during the due diligence stage as failure to satisfy a special condition allows a party to terminate the contract without penalty. In addition to the standard “subject to finance clause”, common special conditions deal with:
terminate and pest inspection;
building structural report;
local Authority and State Authority approval of renovations and improvements; and
swimming pools.
By the time the contract is signed, the parties should appoint or have already appointed a conveyancer. The real estate agent will usually arrange for copies of the contract to be sent to our office to give us the details required to put a settlement plan in place and ensure the special conditions have been or will be satisfied in time.
Once all the conditions of the contract have been satisfied, the contract becomes unconditional and binding. At this stage, the buyer’s agent will arrange for various searches to be performed, including an Electronic Advice Statement so that the seller can prepare a draft settlement statement.
The buyer will perform a final inspection of the property and the conveyancers will liaise with a financial institute to ensure the documentation is correct and ready for settlement and that arrangements have been made for duty to be paid before or at settlement.
On the day of settlement, all parties meet, either in person or online using the PEXA system, to exchange documents and funds.
Once all is complete the conveyancer will notify the real estate agent to arrange for delivery of the keys to the buyer.
Settlement Complications & Disputes
Not every property transfer is simple, which is the benefit of using Laird Lawyers. For example, sometimes there are caveats registered which need to be removed (either through the issuance of a 21 day notice or court proceedings), there may be issues regarding the boundary (such as the location of the fence) or deceased estate sales, which can be handled by our private client lawyers.
If the other party delays settlement by more than 3 business days, we can attend to issuing a notice to the other party preserving you position with respect to costs and accrued interest.
Any other potential issues which arise can be handled by our lawyers without the need to refer to another professional who will need to spend time learning what has happened and working out the contentious ground between the parties.