purchasing a property
whether you’re at the start of your home buying journey, growing your portfolio or at the end.
Contract Review
After you’ve found the property you’re interested in, it’s time for a contract review. A contract review is very important and should never be underestimated. There are certain things to look out for in a contract review that an untrained eye would simply miss. Examples being:
Land Tax on the property
Flood and bush fire zones
Restrictive covenants on title that affect the use of the land
Easements on the land and rights-of-carriageway
Heritage or conservation restrictions
Riparian land affectation (the need to protect water bodies, ensure public access, and maintain ecological balance)
Just to name a few. It is our job, as your conveyancer, to highlight these findings and report back to you to then make the informed decision on what to do next. Our contract review service costs $250 (incl GST) and is waived if you are a successful purchaser of the property reviewed.
Strata Report
Strata reports are accessible on most strata buildings. They are usually purchased upon viewing the listing online. Some vendor produced strata reports are not as thorough as what a purchaser strata report would be. Head to our resources to view our chosen strata inspector who can produce a purchaser strata report, these prices can range from $300-400. Strata reports are vital in getting to know what exactly you are dealing with, see below some examples we look out for:
Building maintenance and repairs upcoming and past work
Any upcoming special levies
Capital works fund amount and their general financial position
Recent general meeting minutes
Current by-laws
It is out of our scope as a conveyancer to give you definite answers in regards to a strata report. We are trained to look important red flags but can not usually comment any further.
Request for Changes and Make an Offer
If you’re happy to move forward with the property, it’s time to review the special conditions of the contract and request changes. This process involves us, as your conveyancer, creating a set of changes to meet your needs to make this purchase happen. A sometimes lengthy process, with what feels like playing internet tennis, going back and forth with replies to the other side. Once there is a mutual agreement between parties we can now, if sold by private treaty, make an offer.
Offer Accepted?
If your offer has been accepted, congratulations! It’s time to exchange the contract. Settlement date, names on the front of the contract, inclusions should be triple checked and your request for changes should be in the contract. Only the vendors conveyancer is to amend the contract if there are any changes that need to be made. We will then give you, as our client, the go ahead and sign the contract as we want to triple, (even quadruple) check the contract is in perfect condition to sign. Do not feel pressured from other parties to sign as it is our due diligence to ensure the contract is ready, as once you sign, it is legally binding.
Cooling Off Period
At auction, there is what’s called a section 66W. This waives the cooling off period and the contract signed on auction day is automatically binding. There are instances that a section 66W is produced not at an auction and is presented to the other side for immediate exchange. A cooling off period, by legislation, is 5 business days. If requested, this can be extended to 10 days. In the cooling off period, changes to the contract are not to be made. This period is purely for obtaining a building and pest report, strata report, any other specialty services to survey the property or if you are obtaining finance we can use this period to ensure your loan is unconditional. The cooling off period expires on the 5th (or 10th day) at 5pm.
Building and Pest Report
A building and pest report is by far one of the most important steps when purchasing a property. Whether it is a strata or Torrens, it is vital. Clients have saved thousands after obtaining a report after having recognised incorrect ceiling heights, illegal structures, drummy tiles or mould. Our contact seen in the resources page is one of the best in the business and we can not recommend obtaining one.
You may see vendor produced building and pest reports, but usually they are not as thorough. As your conveyancer, we will suggest if an external report is needed or not.