Buying a Home

Buying a home is exciting, stressful and one of the most expensive commercial transactions you will make. It’s vital that you seek legal advice from someone experienced in property law and who knows the area.

You will need to obtain finance, obtain pre-purchase legal advice and arrange pest, building and possibly strata reports. It is a good idea to negotiate the terms of the contract prior to making any offers as this will give you more power to make any necessary changes without losing any holding deposit.

There may be several things that can be negotiated in your favour, and you need to be absolutely clear on your rights and responsibilities before signing. We are then responsible for a number of tasks to perform including;

• Arranging payment of stamp duty;
• Advising you on your legal obligations under a purchase;
• Conducting Verification of Identity;
• Liaising with the lender in regard to the mortgage;
• Checking with various government authorities to see if they have a vested interest in the property;
• Checking to see if there are any outstanding debts on the property;
• Calculating adjustments for council, water and strata rates;
• Making final checks on the title;

Selling your Property

Once you’ve made the decision to sell your property, one of the first tasks is to have the Contract for Sale of Land drawn up.

The contract will include not only the legal terms and conditions of sale, but will also specify what items are included or excluded from the sale, and any other special requirements you might have like a longer or shorter settlement than usual, or perhaps that the contract be conditional upon another contract for you to buy your next property.

There are a lot of ways that a contract can be varied, so it’s important to discuss your situation in detail with our lawyers.

You may have additional legal responsibilities under the Swimming Pools Act 1992 if your property includes a pool. You also need to know your disclosure responsibilities and disclose “Prescribed documents” in the contract, as failing to disclose certain things can lead to litigation or termination of contract with possible financial implications.

Mortgage Advice

If you are obtaining a loan and require legal advice in relation to mortgage documents or the entire process, our experienced solicitors can assist you with this. We can assist you with:

• Drafting mortgages and caveats for arrangements between lenders and borrowers;
• Document loans within families;
• Advising on, witnessing mortgage documents and supplying certificates;
• Attending to guarantors for advice and witnessing of documentation;
• Arranging and attending settlements;
• Property searches and reports;
• Discharging paid out mortgages;

We will normally charged a fixed fee for property and mortgage services. Contact us to discuss your needs.