Conveyancing & Property Law

Buying or selling a property represents a significant milestone for most people. Whether your conveyancing transaction involves residential, rural, strata, or commercial property, we can help. We are experienced conveyancing and property law professionals and will help you navigate the entire process from start to finish. We will explain your legal position, protect your rights, and keep you informed every step of the way.

Buying residential property

Signing a contract to buy property creates binding legal obligations. Accordingly, you need to understand exactly what you are buying, the terms and conditions of sale, and your legal position before you sign and exchange contracts. We can review the contract, negotiate any special conditions to protect your interests, and recommend additional investigations that could flag issues about the property that are not obvious by looking at the contract.

If you decide that the investment is right for you, we will liaise with the vendor’s legal representative to organise exchange of contracts. We will communicate with your lender (if relevant) to coordinate settlement and carry out a range of tasks to ensure that you receive clear title to the property and your purchase is completed in accordance with the contract.

Selling residential property

You will need a written contract prepared before offering residential property for sale. The contract must include specific disclosure documents. Vendors must also provide certain warranties about the property they are selling. We can explain your obligations as a seller and prepare a compliant contract that is also tailored to your needs. Once a buyer is found, we will liaise with their lawyer, your agent, and your financial institution, if relevant, to ensure a smooth settlement.

Electronic settlement of your conveyancing matter

Completing a conveyancing transaction used to require the physical meeting of lawyers and financial institutions to check and swap documents and bank cheques. Documents would then need to be lodged by mail or in person with the relevant government authorities to transfer ownership of the title. An error as simple as a misspelt middle name could cause settlement to fail and all parties would need to reschedule.

E-conveyancing has revolutionised this process through a national electronic platform known as PEXA. E-conveyancing enables lawyers, conveyancers, and lenders to transact online, improving efficiency and streamlining old manual processes and paperwork. Online settlements remove the location and time barriers of physical settlements, visually track the progress of each stage of a transaction and facilitate online lodgement of documents and faster access to sales funds.

We are fully conversant with the e-conveyancing process providing our clients greater convenience and certainty regarding their conveyancing transaction.

Ownership interests in property

The way in which a legal interest is held in property is an important consideration when dealing with real estate. If you are purchasing property with somebody else, you will need to choose whether your interest is to be held as a joint tenant or tenant in common.

If you own property as a joint tenant, then the arrangement is subject to the rules of survivorship. This means that when one co-owner dies, their share automatically passes to the surviving tenant or tenants. The survivorship provisions prevail irrespective of any terms in a Will that state otherwise.

Property held as tenants in common can specify the individual shares held by each owner (for example 50/50 or 30/70). In such cases a co-owner can transfer or sell his or her share in the property or leave it as he or she wishes to a beneficiary by Will.

Joint tenancies are often considered suitable for spouses and domestic partners however this may not always be the case. It is important to obtain legal advice regarding property co-ownership to prevent unintended outcomes in estate planning, protect interests and minimise potential disputes down the track.

Subdivision and property development

If you are subdividing and/or developing land you will need consent from local council and, typically, various other government bodies.

A subdivision involves the partition of land into smaller parcels and can range from the division of a single lot into two, to the creation of numerous lots in a large residential or mixed-use development. Once subdivided, a title is created for each new lot which can be separately sold and transferred.

The development process can be complex and is governed by a matrix of legislation, regulations, and planning policies administered by local councils and other bodies.

Collaborating with an experienced property lawyer and other professionals to conduct due diligence, liaise with authorities, prepare documents and explain titling and legal concepts is invaluable throughout this process.

We provide advice for all property transactions in New South Wales including:

• Buying and selling residential, commercial, and rural property
• Off-the-plan and strata title sales and purchases
• Auction sales and purchases
• Preparing, reviewing and negotiating contracts for the sale of land
• Preparing sale of business contracts
• Commercial and retail leases
• Property developments and subdivisions
• Caveats and easements
• Advising on loan and mortgage documents
• Refinancing documents
• First Home-Owners Grant assistance

If you need any assistance, contact one of our lawyers at [email protected] or call (02) 4369 6975 for expert legal advice.