Our Services

Buying a house or any residential property is one of the most important undertakings that anyone can get involved in. It is therefore imperative that proper documentation and the legal process is followed to ensure that both the seller and the buyer are protected from any legal issues that may arise from the transaction.

At Albury Conveyancing Service we provide assistance with the residential conveyancing process as we are highly trained on the legal aspects of all residential conveyancing.

• We review your contract and negotiate any amendments.
• We search and investigate the title of the property (and bring any relevant matters to your attention before you proceed with the purchase). We can ascertain whether you’re due any stamp duty concessions.
• We’ll finalise settlement for you and answer any queries you may have throughout the process.

Unfortunately sometimes things don’t go as planned.  For instance:

• What you think you’re buying may not be the same as what you are actually buying. For instance, you might find out that YOUR new driveway is a shared driveway… that an owners corporation or neighbourhood association owns YOUR new front yard… or that you cannot extend your new house due to council restrictions.
• Extensions and additions you think are part of the house may actually be illegal! (The former owner may never have got council permission to build them. And you may have to pay a fine or tear it down.)
• Are there any restrictions that burden or benefit the property? For instance, if it’s heritage listed, you may not be able to renovate or repaint… How will these affect your use of the property and will they affect my ability to resell the property?

It’s best to address most of these issues before you exchange contracts, but sometimes this is not possible. At Albury Conveyancing Service we will provide you with sensible, practical guidance as to your rights and obligations and how to best resolve issues if and when they arise.

We communicate with you, your agent and your lender promptly and regularly throughout the transaction to make the process as smooth as possible.

We aim to make the process as stress free for you as it can be.

The process:

Before you exchange contracts with the vendor

• Speak to your lender and work out how much you can borrow and what you can pay for a property.
• Ask your lender for a loan pre-approval. This pre-approval will usually be conditional on two things.
  • That the lender is satisfied with the value of the property you decide to buy.
  • That your situation has not changed since the pre-approval was given.
• Once you have found your property and negotiated the price contact Albury Conveyancing Service so we can arrange to review the contract for you and negotiate any amendments.
• Let your lender know that you have found a property and ask for an unconditional loan approval.
• Organise a pest and building report (if you’re a buying a house) or a strata report (if you’re buying a unit, apartment, villa or townhouse). We can assist you with this if you need.
• Once you are ready to proceed you will need to organise the deposit, which is paid on exchange, and sign the contract. We will guide you through this process and arrange for contracts to be exchanged.

After you exchange contracts with the vendor

• Arrange to sign the loan and mortgage documents with your lender
• We will help you satisfy the requirements of your lender.
• If you are a first home buyer you may be eligible for the benefits under the FHB regime.
  Check your eligibility here: NSW www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/grants-schemes/first-home-buyer & VIC www.sro.vic.gov.au
• We will order and check remaining searches and let you know if your lender requires any additional searches.
• We will liaise with you prior to the settlement date to arrange for you to let us have funds for the payment of stamp duty and the balance of the settlement monies (i.e the difference between the sale price (plus all usual settlement adjustments and less the deposit already paid) and the amount being provided by your lender.
• We will arrange for the Contract and transfer to be stamped in readiness for settlement.
• We will liaise with your lender and the vendor’s solicitor or conveyance to co-ordinate settlement. This includes the preparation of settlement figures and the calculation of all usual settlement adjustments.
• Arrange a final inspection of the property with the real estate agent for the day of settlement.

Settling your property purchase

• We will prepare the electronic workspace and electronic documents via the PEXA platform.
• We will let you and the real estate agent know that settlement has taken place

After settlement

• We will send you a letter reporting on the settlement.
• We will arrange payment of all outstanding council rates, water rates and strata levies (if appropriate) to the relevant authority.

If you’d like to know more about buying a residential property contact us. Or request a free no-obligation quote now.

• Do you know the names of all the documents that you have to include in a Contract for sale of land? (And where to find them?)
• Do you know what information you are legally required to disclose to prospective buyers?
• How about what items are usually included in a sale?
• How to make amendments to the Contract so that they are legally binding?
• What your responsibilities are at “exchange” and “settlement”?
• Without professional help, not many property owners are able to answer all these questions… Which means they may not be able to ensure that the legal requirements of preparing a Contract are satisfied.
• In fact, property owners need a licensed conveyancer or solicitor to prepare a Contract for them.

At Albury Conveyancing Service we know how to address all the issues that commonly affect sellers.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, right now there could be any number of issues that may cause a delay in settling your sale.

How we assist our clients in selling their home:

Contract preparation and marketing phase:

• Before you put your property on the market, we’ll prepare the contract for sale of your property
• We will order all the searches required to be included in the contract for sale and prepare the contract based on your instructions.
• We will provide the contract to your real estate agent so that they can commence marketing the property for sale.
• We will promptly respond to any legal enquiries received from prospective purchasers or their legal representative.
• We will assist in negotiating any amendments requested by prospective purchasers or their solicitors in relation to the contract for sale.
• We will organise for you to sign the contract and for an exchange of contracts after your agent has negotiated the terms of sale of the property. Sometimes the agent will arrange for contracts to exchange.

After Exchange and Settlement

• We will assist you with letting your lender know that you have sold the property and arrange to complete, sign and return to the lender the lender’s form of discharge authority.
• We will assist you with preparing replies to the purchaser’s requisitions on title.
• We will arrange for you to sign the transfer in readiness for settlement.
• We will coordinate settlement with your discharging lender and the purchaser’s solicitor.
• We will finalise settlement figures and the calculation of settlement adjustments, as well as obtain a payout amount from your lender.
• We will arrange settlement via the PEXA platform, including distribution of settlement money, and payout amount owing to your lender.
• Arrange for any surplus funds to be deposited into your bank account if required.
• After settlement we will report to you regarding the settlement.
• We will notify the agent that settlement has taken place.

And that’s it

If you’d like to know more about Albury Conveyancing Service contact us now. Or go to our contact page and email us for a quote.

If the property that you are purchasing is part of a set of units, flats, high rise apartments or other grouped dwellings or other forms of collective title, it is likely to have a strata title.

When you buy a strata title property, there are a number of additional obligations that you have. Albury Conveyancing Service can advise you on all aspects of strata title property, including:

• Owners Corporations
• By-laws
• Common Insurance

For more information on strata titles there is a brochure available for download from NSW Fair Trading at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au.

Albury Conveyancing Service shall assist you through the process of buying and/or selling your strata property and ensure that all your legal requirements are attended to in a quick and efficient manner.  Below is an overview of the points listed above:

Owners Corporations (OC)

An owners corporation is a special entity that is created on registration of the strata plan. The body corporate owns and administers all of the common property, and has other statutory responsibilities in relation to the strata title property as a whole. Each owner in a strata title property is a member of the body corporate, and must contribute to the costs of running and maintaining the common property.

By-Laws

The OC administers the by-laws that govern ownership and tenancy of a strata title property. The Strata Titles Act provides a minimum set of “model” by-laws, but these are often extended and amended by individual OC. Breaches of the by-laws are enforceable under the Act. The by-laws can be changed by the owners from time to time, as required.

Common Property

All of the parts of a strata title property that do not form the individual dwelling units are called the common property. These can include driveways, car parks, foyers, lobbies, stairwells, lifts, hallways, and utility areas. It also includes the spaces and contents of those spaces, for example plumbing and wiring between adjoining apartments, both horizontally and vertically. The common property is controlled by the OC. As a minimum the OC must insure the common property, but it has the power to control it fully, including making resolutions to designate exclusive use rights over certain parts of the common property. This is most commonly done over car parking spaces.

Insurance

The minimum statutory obligation of an OC is to insure the common property of a strata title property, although this is often not done because the OC is not active. In large OC often the whole property and all improvements are insured and the owners pay a contribution to that cost through the OC levy. In every case, a prudent property owner should ensure that their strata title property is adequately insured, including for a share of the common property if the OC is not active.

DISCLAIMER

This information is provided as a broad overview and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice.  If you require further advice in relation to the above or property transfers, conveyancing, rural, commercial please contact us.

Certain aspects of an agricultural/farming lifestyle are distinct and need to be clearly understood in their own right.

Given the importance of the land to generating income, prospective buyers and vendors cannot be too careful when contemplating or undertaking a transaction.

The important features of rural conveyancing are as follows:

Disclosure and Pre-Contractual Negotiations:

Largely the onus is upon the purchaser to look out for their interests when undertaking a land transaction. While there are some obligations on behalf of the vendor that must be fulfilled, the purchaser must take care.

Pre-contractual enquiries largely concern the quality of the land that is the subject of the sale.

General information regarding a property can be acquired from Rural Lands Protection Boards and Agriculture NSW. This might include adverse matters and other notices. However in terms of more specific information, prospective purchasers should carefully inspect the property and list all relevant queries.

Other enquiries that are available regarding rural land in particular include the following:

• Chemical Residues – The presence of chemical residues in animal and plant products can have a major impact on profitability. Prospective purchasers should check land for typical sites of chemical disposal such as pesticide storage sheds, used drums or disposal sites etc – see Stock (Chemical Residues) Act 1975
• Livestock Diseases – Some livestock diseases might persist on contaminated land even when the property is de-stocked when sold, such as Johne’s disease and anthrax. Protection zones are declared in some parts of NSW – see Stock Diseases Act 1923
• Plant Diseases and Pests – Vegetables, fruits, cereals and other crops can be affected by diseases. Protection zones exist in some parts of NSW such as for bunchy top bananas on the North Coast – see Plant Diseases Act 1924
• Noxious Weeds – Legislation makes the occupier of land responsible for the control of specified weeds such as Blackberry and Bathurst burr which can invade neighbouring properties affecting productivity. After the land is sold, the new occupies may also be bound by any previous notices and may be liable for outstanding costs – see Noxious Weeds Act 1993
• Noxious Animals and Insects – Land holders are required to actively control noxious animals such as rabbits, wild dogs and pigs – see Rural Lands Protection Act 1998

Land Use Planning

Aspects of agricultural land not governed by legislation may affect land suitability such as topography, climate, soils, water availability and natural vegetation. Infrastructure and other improvements such as road access, sheds, yards and fences, water and power supply are also important.

Vendor Statutory Disclosure

Under the terms of the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 prescribed documents are regulated.

It is essential that vendors realise how important it is to make to note whether they have received any Notices within the meaning of the Regulations pursuant to the Water Act, Stock Diseases Act, Stock (Chemical Residues) Act, Soil Conservation Act and Native Vegetation Conservation Act . If the vendor has received any of those notices and does not disclose them the result is a breach of warranty with all the consequences for either vendor or purchaser that flow from there.

Access

It is important to assess what access is legally available, especially regarding easements. It often occurs in rural conveyancing that what a vendor had always thought was legal access leading to his property was in actual fact access across a stock route or an easement running across neighbour’s land.

Water Entitlements

It is essential that water entitlements be verified. Water licences and details pertaining to details of irrigation rights detail the amount of water that can be pumped for irrigation purposes and details of bores. Water is allocated over a 12 month period and may be carried over following sale of property. In cases such as these water rights can be sold.

Minister’s Consent

A vendor must attach an application for Minister’s consent when submitting a contract for sale of land. The vendor will be responsible for lodging the Minister’s consent and pay the Minister’s consent fee.

Relevant Authorities

The local council, Land and Water Conservation, Environment Protection Authority and other Government agencies control various aspects of rural land use covering areas as diverse as development and building approval; land clearing, irrigation; and intensive livestock production.

Albury Conveyancing Service have the skill and expertise to assist you right through out the buying and selling of rural property.  Contact us now or email us with any of your queries.

DISCLAIMER

This information is provided as an overview and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. If you require further advice in relation to the above please contact us at Albury Conveyancing Service.

If you let us know you’re in the market to refinance your loan, then we can help you transfer your mortgage to your new lender

It’s never been easier to refinance your loan than it is today.  And in the current loan market, you may find you can improve your lending rate and the terms of your loan if you’re prepared to go with another lender.

The problem with refinancing your loan through a different lender

If you choose a new company to refinance your loan, you need to be able to answer the following questions…

• Are there any stamp duty implications related to the refinance?
• How do I let my current lender know?
• How do I arrange for my current lender to provide to me a payout amount and a discharge of mortgage?
• What will the new lender need me to do?
• What do I need to do with the documents provided to me by the new lender?
• The new lender has asked me to provide a number of items. Where do I get these items?
• How will my current lender and my new lender finalise the refinance?
• What will happen to my certificate of title?

Some lenders will “hold your hand” through the refinancing process. But others will not.

However, that doesn’t mean refinancing has to be stressful.

If you are refinancing an existing loan, Albury Conveyancing Service can help you through the refinancing process.

We can review and advise on the loan and mortgage documents from your new lender as well as coordinate the discharge of your current lender’s mortgage.

We can tell whether or not you must pay stamp duty or whether or not there is an exemption available to you.

There are a number of reasons why you may need to transfer the whole or part of a property to a family member (or another third party).

For example:

• You might have to transfer the whole or part of a property as part of a Family Law settlement
• You may be acquiring an interest in a property presently held by another family member
• You may wish to transfer a property to your child or children
• You are named, together with others, as a beneficiary of an estate and you wish to acquire (subject to the agreement of the other beneficiaries) an additional interest in a property left to you in the will of the deceased
• You are changing the trustee of your family, unit or discretionary trust. Such trustee holds property as an asset of the trust, such property will need to be transferred from the retiring trustee to the new trustee.

There are a number of legal issues that need to be considered when transferring property. That’s where Albury Conveyancing Service can assist…

After more than 25 years in conveyancing we can can guide you through almost any situation related to the buying, selling or transferring properties.

Albury Conveyancing Service can assist you through this process. Questions? Contact us on 02 6021 5700 or request a quote now.