Bruce Graham Lawyers
DOMESTIC CONVEYANCING
Conveyancing -
Sale of Property
WHY DO I NEED
A SOLICITOR?
There is peace of mind in getting expert help. Buying a house is the
single most expensive investment that most people make. Why risk your
life's savings by cutting corners?
It is against
the law for someone who is not a Solicitor to charge for a conveyancing
service. The law is to provide everyday people with protection from
"entrepreneurs" who may know how to prepare the documents but
do not understand the legal process or what to do if problems arise.
"Backyard" conveyancers cannot hold professional indemnity
insurance, so a Buyer who uses a cheap but unqualified conveyancer can
lose everything if there is a mistake.
Even if you
are capable of doing a conveyance yourself, it is very time consuming
to do it on a "one-off' basis, and of course it is much harder to
be objective about your own matter.
At Bruce Graham Lawyers we are
confident that we can make the transaction run as smoothly as possible.
We save you the bother and stress by ensuring all your obligations (and
the other party's obligations) under the Contract are carried out on
time.
WHAT CAN BRUCE GRAHAM LAWYERS DO TO
HELP?
For Buyers
For Sellers
WHAT KIND OF
PROBLEMS CAN ARISE?
It is impossible to tell what might go wrong in the period after you
sign the Contract. Some problems are minor but frustrating, like
response delays from the banks, the other party or the Council. You can
never feel totally at ease until settlement is over but most problems
have been identified by the time we have received the search results.
Here are some fairly common problems:
1.
Delays in
obtaining a particular search in time for settlement.
2.
A search result
is unsatisfactory. What does it really mean? What does the Contract say
you can do, if anything? Can this be fixed? Can I get compensation? How
much is all of this going to cost?
3.
Special
Conditions of the Contract have not been complied with.
4.
The other party
has not done everything they are obliged to do under the contract. What
can you do about it? Should you settle the matter without getting the
problem fixed? How much is all of this going to cost?
5.
The Sellers did
not sign the transfer documents properly.
6.
The bank, the
other party, the Council or some State Authority makes a mistake.
7.
The address or
the real property description of the property is wrong.
8.
The person who
signs the Contract does not own the land.
9.
The person who
signs the Contract, although the registered owner, is not entitled to
sign the Contract because he or she is bankrupt or their mortgagee is
in possession of the property.
10.
One of the
parties needs an extension of time for something. Unless this is done
properly, the contract can lose "time of the essence" so that
it becomes a complicated procedure to force the other side to settle.
Appointing Us
as Your Solicitors
As you can see, we take the protection of your interests very seriously.
To appoint us as your solicitor, simply tell the real estate agent, who
will then fill in our details in the Contract. Once the Contract is
properly signed, the real estate agent will post it to us. We will then
contact you as outlined above. We look forward to being of service and
helping you to "get it right the first time."
Why not contact us for an appointment.
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For the Buyer
The Contract
Please bring us the contract before you sign it. We do not charge
anything extra for perusing the contract before you sign it. This is
because it is much easier to avoid a problem than to fix a problem
after the contract is signed. We may consider that you need special
rights in your contract and will recommend appropriate clauses.
Sometimes
clients request us to negotiate the terms of a contract rather than to
simply peruse and advise. Of course in those circumstances we charge
extra.
If you have
not seen us before signing the contract we will explain to you the
relevant law and the standard conditions of sale.
The Conveyance
In our first letter to you we confirm in writing our costs and the
amount of stamp duty so that you can budget for these expenses prior to
settlement. We then keep you advised of progress throughout the
conveyance.
We conduct
searches of government departments and organisations to find out as
much about the property as we can. Searches are essential to any
conveyance because the results will reveal any problems about the
property of which you may not be aware.
We then
prepare the necessary documentation ensuring that the property will be
correctly registered in your name after settlement. As you can imagine,
there is no room for mistakes when this is done. We will arrange to
have the Sellers sign all of the documentation and ensure that it is
done properly.
We remain in
contact with the Sellers to ensure they comply with their obligations
under the Contract and tell you immediately if a problem is discovered.
It is also our duty to tell you what a problem could mean, what options
you have and provide advice as to what we think is best in the
circumstances.
We will liaise
with the banks involved and the Sellers Solicitors. It is always
necessary to arrange a time and a place for settlement to occur and to
make adjustments on the exact purchase price. In our search results, it
is almost always discovered that an adjustment of rates, water and/or
land tax is required.
At settlement
we ensure the Seller is providing the correct title documents and that
your bank is providing the right cheques. If you do not have a bank we
also attend to the property being registered in your name at the
Department of Natural Resources after settlement. Registration fees are
additional to the search fees and, because they vary, we will contact
you directly regarding same.
Mortgages
Not everybody will need a Solicitor to help them with their Mortgage.
However, if you are not absolutely certain that you understand what you
are signing you should definitely seek our assistance. Reading a
mortgage and advising on it can take more than an hour so there is an
extra charge for doing so.
Your
obligations under a Mortgage are very different from your obligations
under the contract. Typically, there is a pile of documentation an inch
high to be signed. We consider that to properly advise you about the
obligations you are taking on, it necessarily means your making a
special attendance at our office to have the documentation explained
and properly signed.
Banks
sometimes require you to see a Solicitor regarding a guarantee. Again,
this work is not covered in the standard conveyance charge.
Banks
sometimes insist that Buyers obtain particular searches, sometimes over
and above what we may think is necessary in your situation. We can
arrange to have these done.
Why not contact us for an appointment.
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________________________________________
For Sellers
The Contract
Please bring us the contract before you sign it. We do not charge
anything extra for perusing the contract before you sign it. This is
because it is much easier to avoid a problem than to fix a problem
after the contract is signed. We may consider that you need special
rights in your contract and will recommend appropriate clauses.
Sometimes
clients request us to negotiate the terms of a contract rather than to
simply peruse and advise. Of course in those circumstances we charge
extra.
If you have
not seen us before signing the contract we will explain to you the
relevant law and the standard conditions of sale.
The Conveyance
In our first
letter to you we confirm in writing our costs so that you can budget
for these expenses prior to settlement. We then keep you advised of
progress throughout the conveyance.
Even though it
is a sale, we still conduct a title search. You would be surprised at
how many times we discover that the name used by the vendor is slightly
different (either by mistake or by design) than the vendor's name on
the contract.
Similarly, it
is not uncommon to find a mortgage that the vendor paid out years ago
but the release was never registered. Before amendments to the
legislation, it was also common for finance companies to register a
consent caveat when someone purchased a motor vehicle. The vendor often
did not realise that such a document had even been signed, let alone
had been registered over their property.
When we
receive the transfer documents, we check the description to make sure
that the correct property is being transferred and the names are
correct so that there will be no delay at settlement. We also explain
to you your obligations regarding the safety switch legislation.
We remain in
contact with the Buyers to ensure they comply with their obligations
under the Contract and tell you immediately if a problem is discovered.
It is also our duty to tell you what a problem could mean, what options
you have and provide advice as to what we think is best in the
circumstances.
We will liaise
with the banks involved and the Buyers Solicitors. It is always
necessary to arrange a time and a place for settlement to occur and to
make adjustments on the exact purchase price. In our search results, it
is almost always discovered that an adjustment of rates, water and/or
land tax is required.
At settlement
we ensure the correct title documents are available.
Why not contact us for an appointment.
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