From contract to settlement
Conveyancing is the legal work required to transfer property from one party to another. A transaction can involve contract preparation or review, title and planning enquiries, finance, duty, electronic settlement and the registration of the transfer.
Pezikian Legal assists buyers and sellers of residential and commercial property to understand the contract, satisfy the transaction requirements and move through each milestone with a clear record of what is required.
Buying property
A contract review before exchange can identify special conditions, title interests, easements, covenants, inclusions, settlement terms and issues that should be investigated or negotiated before the buyer becomes bound.
The scope of due diligence depends on the property. A house, strata lot, vacant land, commercial premises and off-the-plan purchase raise different questions. Building, pest, strata and other specialist reports may also be needed.
- Reviewing the contract for sale and prescribed documents
- Explaining cooling-off, deposit and settlement provisions
- Recommending searches, reports and enquiries
- Negotiating amendments and special conditions
- Advising on finance, occupation, inclusions and adjustments
- Calculating and arranging transfer duty and electronic settlement
Selling property
In NSW, a contract generally needs to be prepared before a property is advertised for sale. The contract must include prescribed documents and disclosures, and the proposed settlement and any property-specific conditions should be addressed before it is issued to buyers.
Pezikian Legal can prepare the contract, respond to buyer enquiries, negotiate amendments, manage exchange and coordinate the electronic settlement and discharge of any mortgage.
- Preparing the contract and obtaining title documents
- Drafting property-specific special conditions
- Reviewing disclosure, land tax and adjustment issues
- Responding to purchaser enquiries and proposed amendments
- Coordinating the agent, lender and settlement process
Strata, commercial and off-the-plan transactions
Strata purchases may require review of the by-laws, records, levies, financial position, building issues and planned works. Commercial transactions can involve leases, GST, land tax, due diligence and entity or finance considerations. Off-the-plan contracts usually contain longer timeframes, development rights and project-specific risks.
The legal work should be scoped to the transaction rather than treated as a standard form exercise.
Before transferring money
Property transactions are a target for payment-redirection fraud. Verify any bank account or settlement-funds request using a trusted contact method before transferring money. Do not rely only on an email that appears to come from the firm, agent or another party.
Documents to provide
- Full contract and all annexures
- Photo identification and current contact details
- Finance approval and lender details, if applicable
- Agent correspondence and negotiated terms
- Entity, trust or company details where the buyer or seller is not an individual
- Existing lease, strata material or other property records relevant to the transaction