Conveyancing
Our experienced conveyancing personnel can help with all stages of Queensland property transactions whether you are buying or selling a home, unit, vacant block, strata title, commercial real estate, or rural property.
We also assist with:
- Legal advice about real estate contract law
- Drafting and reviewing contracts
- Sustainability declarations, disclosure and warning statements
- Vendor’s statement, general conditions, and special conditions
- Cooling off periods and deposits
- Commercial property and leases
- Advice on transfer duty concessions, first home owner grants and other government grants
- Advice on body corporate rules and community title scheme regulations
- Preparing and registering Powers of Attorney
- Advice about easements and covenants on title searches
What is Conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring the ownership (title) of real estate from one person/entity to another. With hundreds of thousands of property transactions conducted across Australia every year, conveyancing is often considered ‘routine’. However, a conveyancing transaction is a significant financial matter and can be quite a risky legal process. There are strict deadlines involved and high penalties for non-compliance with contractual terms. An experienced property lawyer will ensure that their clients (whether buying or selling) are aware of their obligations and that the transaction proceeds and settles as seamlessly as possible.
A conveyancing lawyer can also ensure a buyer gains all the property rights that they pay for and will check for undeclared debts or other liabilities (such as caveats) which could be attached to the property.
Joint Tenancy or Tenants in Common?
If you are buying a property with somebody else, you will be asked how your interests or shares in that property should be held. This is an important consideration, particularly when it comes to asset protection, succession, and estate planning.
If you hold property as a joint tenant with one or more others, your interests are held as a whole and cannot be separately divided. Joint tenancy is subject to the rules of survivorship which means if a co-owner dies, their share passes to the remaining owner/s.
If you hold property as tenants in common you can specify the individual shares held by each owner which need not be equal and may be transferred, sold, or left to a beneficiary in a Will.
If you are buying a property, you will likely need to secure finance from a bank or building society and the lender will require you to grant a mortgage in its favour which is registered on the property’s title. The mortgage secures the repayment of the money loaned and protects the lender by creating priority for payment of the debt and alerting others who may be interested in the property. If the property is later sold, the mortgage will need to be removed before the property title is transferred to the new owner and the lender will prepare a discharge of mortgage in anticipation of the borrower repaying the loan (or making other arrangements).
By signing a loan agreement and granting a mortgage you are liable for regular repayments and other fees and charges set out in the loan documents. Amongst other things, the agreement will usually stipulate that the property be adequately maintained and insured, and the lender will have a right to sell the property in the event of specified breaches. It is important to understand all your legal obligations as a borrower/mortgagor, which we can explain to you.