Galluzzo LawyersPROPERTY & CONVEYANCING
Pre Exchange
Offer and Acceptance
Once an offer has been put by you as Purchaser, we will advise you through the sale and review the contract prepared by the Vendor’s solicitors/ conveyancers.
Contract
The Contract of Sale contains all the details of the property. This includes the settlement period (usually 42 days), all the inclusions sold with the property and a copy of a Title Search stating any mortgages, easements, restrictions, etc.
In addition to a standard Contract of Sale, Galluzzo Lawyers will review and prepare Special Conditions which further secure your rights in the sale and also can create tailored provisions which meet any special requirements or protect any specific interests you may have.
A zoning certificate is also attached to the contract, stating relevant zoning and the developments which are permitted upon the property.
The contract also contains a sewerage and drainage diagram.
Pre-exchange reports
Contracts by themselves are limited, and do not tell you about other structural aspects of the property. To get a clearer picture about a property, we assist clients in obtaining and reviewing Pest, Building and Strata Reports.
These reports are crucial in ensuring that you know everything about the property you are purchasing, including problems or issues that a contract by itself does not show.
At this stage, Galluzzo Lawyers will advise you about the contract, what has been revealed through the extra reports and suggest any amendments that we will require to negotiate with the vendor’s solicitor/conveyancer.
Financing
Before you sign the contract, it is important to ensure that you have the finances to support your purchase. If it is necessary, you will have to apply for a loan and Galluzzo Lawyers advises that you must obtain an unconditional loan approval before exchanging contracts.
Exchange
Once everything is negotiated and the contract is agreed upon, we will proceed to exchanging the contract.
All contracts for residential property contain a five-day cooling off period. This means the Purchaser has five business days to decide to either proceed with the purchase of the property or not. The Vendor cannot change their mind during these five days. A Cooling-off period can be removed or extended through a Section 66W Certificate.
The cooling off period gives the Purchaser time to arrange their deposit, which is normally 10%. The deposit is payable before 5:00 pm on the fifth day.
If the Purchaser decides not to proceed, it will forfeit the 0.25% holding deposit which was paid upon exchange to the Vendor.
If the contract goes ahead after the cooling-off period, the contract becomes binding. If after the cooling-off period the Purchaser does not complete the purchase and decides to rescind the contract, it will forfeit the entire 10% deposit to the Vendor. Should this occur, the Vendor may sue for damages and loss for breach of contract.
Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is payable within three months from the date of exchange or, if settlement is earlier than three months, it must be paid on the settlement date. Stamp duty is calculated on the purchase price. The higher the purchase price, the more stamp duty you must pay. If stamp duty is not paid for within the required period, penalty fees apply.
We will advise you how much the stamp duty is as soon as the contracts are exchanged. The First Home Buyers exemptions and other Grants may be applicable, and we will advise you of these if they apply to your situation.
Searches
Once the contracts are binding, we perform various government searches. These include Council Certificates, Water Certificates, Land Tax Certificates any other information that your lender may require. These searches help calculate any outstanding bills the Vendor has left with the property and whether any government authority has any other legal interests over the property.
Settlement
Organising Settlement
After the usual 42 day period from the date of the exchange, and when mortgage documents have been signed and returned to the mortgagee, we will organise with the solicitors of both the Vendor and the mortgagee to arrange the settlement.
We will confirm this with you so you can arrange your affairs in moving out of your current residence, performing a final inspection, organising insurance, etc.
Notice to Complete
If, for whatever reason, you are unable to settle on the agreed upon date, the Vendor may issue a Notice to Complete. This means we will have to settle within 14 days, otherwise you will forfeit your 10% deposit. Every day settlement is delayed will also incur penalty interest. Should the Vendor not be able to settle by the date, a Purchaser can also issue a Notice to Complete.
Attending settlement
We will attend the settlement on your behalf and notify you once settlement is complete and the property is officially yours. Upon settlement, we will authorise your agent to release the keys to the property and to release the deposit to the Vendor.
Government authorities will be notified of the settlement and your ownership of the property will be officially recognised. If you have a mortgage over the property, the Certificate of Title will be given to the Mortgagee. If the property has no mortgage, you can elect to have the Certificate of Title stored safely at our office or you can collect it yourself.
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Galluzzo Law Practice Pty. Ltd.
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Galluzzo Law Practice Pty. Ltd. trading as Galluzzo Lawyers is a Solicitor Corporation under the Legal Profession Act 2004.
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